Tiki Taane says concert with Christchurch Symphony Orchestra is 'the pinnacle'

He made his name with a simple, one-piece acoustic guitar ballad but now one of New Zealand's most recognisable singer-songwriters is teaming up with the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra.

Tiki Taane will take centre stage on Friday night for a special performance inside the city's refurbished town hall. 

He says Ōtautahi Proud is the show of a lifetime and he's been preparing for it for months. 

"It's going to be something really beautiful to look back on," Taane tells Newshub. 

"Sometimes there are 40-50 people involved in playing the music, which takes it to another level - a level that is powerful, it's unforgettable, it's moving, it's emotional, it has so much depth to it and width to it. For me, it's the pinnacle." 

After starting his musical career as a teen and gaining early fans as part of Salmonella Dub, the singer became a household name as a solo artist with his hit 'Always On My Mind'. But it's his work since that has gained him a reputation as one of the best.

On any given week, Taane's projects can include anything from long days in his Papamoa studio curating the sounds of our biggest stars to writing the film score for the Six60 movie to mixing the sound for Shapeshifter's live shows. 

For years he's been honing his skills as a one-man-band building and creating sonics, sounds and beats on the spot by looping - a technique he'll be bringing to the stage on Friday night.

"Then the orchestra comes in and then they embellish it, and then they take it off into the stratosphere," he says.  

In two 40 minute sets, he'll take over Christchurch Town Hall in the city he grew up in with special guests Tali, Big Sima, and his two children Charlie and Karcia. 

The concert will feature 13 of Taane's songs put together by four arrangers to explore different styles across 80 minutes of music. 

He's stoked to be exploring a new frontier, while maintaining some classic Kiwi humility, too.  

"At the end of the day, it's like oh my gosh there's an orchestra behind me," Taane says.