SOUNDS of LA SALLE - YOU

The boys who won our hearts with their 'Dear Brother' single in 2021, are back with another song, which is also about winning hearts - just in a different way. 

The boys of Sounds of La Salle took the internet by storm in 2021 when they released their song and music video to 'Dear Brother'

Sounds of Lasalle is made up of 9 members (past and present).

It comes as no surprise that these talented young men hail from South Auckland - where brilliance is bred.

The polynesian band started in the classrooms of De La Salle College in Mangere, a school the boys rep proudly.

Following their win at 'Smokefree Tangata Beats' heats they were given one week to prepare for Regionals. When coming up with ideas for a new song, the band came to the sad realisation that there weren’t many songs about mental health, in particular Men's mental health. 

At their young age, these young men recognised that mental health in our Pasifika community needed to be spoken on, and that they did. 

When asked what inspired them to write such a heartfelt song they responded;

“Because as men we are taught to hide our emotions and to hide away our feelings. We feel like when men are given the chance to speak they don’t exactly take it”

“We feel with this song we were able to share and give them the encouragement they need to reach out because it’s not easy. It’s easier to hide in your feelings than it is to speak out so hopefully this song is more than enough encouragement to help others”

Their love for their community is evident. 

The boys share that they are no strangers to the struggles of mental health stating that all of them know of friends, family and community members who have struggled with mental health issues.

This is where the drive to encourage our Pasifika community to speak out has come from.

The passion and drive for their art to be of service to more than themselves is testament to their upbringing, their families, community, and school.

Much like Climate Change activist Brianna Fruean said in her Commonwealth Day speech 'they are not self made, they are village made.' 

The boys talent was recognised with a win at Regionals, taking them through to Nationals in 2022 which is where their latest song ‘YOU’ (video above) was first staged.

Remember when I said they were back to win hearts? ‘YOU’ is a love song, suspiciously inspired by 'nobody' as every single member stated, unsurprising as a Samoan woman, with Samoan parents ... I get it!  I too have written a few love letters dedicated to 'nobody'.

But I digress ... Inspired by 'nobody' or not, it doesn’t take away from the level of artistry displayed in their latest song.

It’s easy to forget that these boys are barely 18, when listening to their music which is on par with musicians with many more years of experience. 

Put simply, it's a TRACK!   A track backed with some beautiful cinematography in their 80s themed music video. 

Sounds of La Salle member Josh Leuluai Alo stated “Our latest song was a song we performed at the smoke free Tagata Beats national finals where we won and had the opportunity to record our song and we all instantly knew the 80’s vibe for our music video was a must.”

Alongside $3k of musical equipment from the Rockshop NZ, they won the recording of this single and an accompanying video with the support of NZ On Air and the RQP team.

When asked about their future plans for the band, they were all very hopeful.

Sebastian Nisa shared “what I want would be to see us strive and become a full fledged band in the music industry, performing on stage and creating music is a dream I would like to share with my brothers.”

Fonteyn Olofai echoed his band members response stating “Me personally I would love to make this band a full time band and be able to make song after song”

The boys eagerly listed off their musical inspo’s, which included heavy hitters like Adeaze, Lani Alo, Spawnbreezie and SWISS.  All were musicians they grew up listening to over the years and have influenced their music today. 

Evident in their two debut songs, there is a bright future ahead of this young band, and I for one, can’t wait to see what they do next. 

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Public Interest Journalism funded by NZ on Air