Zentarge is the soulful, reggae/RnB combo of brothers Mana and Hau, who’ve likely been playing up together since birth. From busking covers as kids in the Far North, the duo now in their early 20s are building towards the release of their debut album in July 2026. Expressing quiet resolveTall Poppy was a first building block towards the album release, and was included by NZ On Air Music on their May NewTracks compilation.

What are your names and where are you from?

We’re brothers; Te Manawanui Tawhara-Crown (aka Mana, aka Zenith) and Te Hauroamairangi Tawhara-Crown (aka Hau, aka Targe) and those are just our first names 🙂

We were born and raised in Hamilton till we were 6 and 8, then raised in Ahipara and Kaitaia. We whakapapa to Whakatōhea, Waikato, Te Whanau a Apanui, Ngati Awa and Tuhoe on our Mum’s side, and Rereahu, Maniapoto, Te Arawa and Ngati Mamoe/Ngai Tahu, and others lol, on our Dad’s side.

We grew up together our whole lives making music, playing Bball and attended the same kohanga, kura kaupapa, college (St Johns in Hamilton) and now Waikato University – we’ve pretty much done everything together!

What instruments do you play?

We are both multi-instrumentalists, or ‘tutus’, but our go-tos are guitar, bass, drums and piano. Most of the time if there’s an instrument lying around we’ll try play it.

Any other projects that NZM readers might know you from?

Most people probably know us from busking over the years down Commerce Street in Kaitaia, or the Kaitaia Markets lol. Or from performing covers with our uncles (our backing band) at community events, weddings, university or other tertiary kaupapa. Before originals, that was basically our world. Busking as kids got us on Maori TV on ‘My Party Song’, so some people recognise us from that.

Was any school or other music tuition specially important?

Honestly, a lot of our learning came from being around music all the time. Our whānau are musical, so growing up there were always guitars around and jams happening. We studied without realising from watching older musicians and just practicing nonstop. Our Uncle Boycie and Aunty Lae (Leonie Adams) used to create Youth Talent Shows and tutor the contestants, vocal lessons, stage performance etc. 

Then when we got a bit older, our Mum set up ‘Shine on Kaitaia’ with local musos and ‘Far North’s Got Talent’, so we built a lot of confidence and skills by getting out and performing at community events and comps. Kapa haka and busking was a huge learning. Te Hauroa did guitar at St John’s College as well, and Mana has attended DJ classes.

What’s the background story of how Zentarge came to be?

We’ve been surrounded by music since we were babies. Our whānau are very musical, so music was never really a separate thing it was just part of life. Guitar parties, marae kaupapa, road trips, busking, singing with our cousins, all of that shaped us.

We busked for years growing up and that influenced our sound more than anything. You learn real quick how to read people and connect emotionally when you’re playing on the street.

We’ve been inspired by heaps of people including our uncles Tama and Chub Renata, our older brother Te Whainoa Te Wiata and our uncle Phil Crown. Old school reggae or soul music, RnB, Māori music – honestly anything with feeling in it that moves you. Mana especially got to learn a lot on guitar from Uncle Tama – jamming with and learning from him is a taonga (treasure) we carry with us. So we aim to always respect and do justice to what we play, in honour of him and those who gave their time over the years to help grow and shape us.

Our kaupapa is mainly just being ourselves and making music that people can genuinely feel. We want our music to connect with people from all walks of life while still carrying who we are and where we come from.

How did you come up with the name?                                                   

We wish we had a cool story behind our cool name haha. But basically, Mum come up with it. When we hit our young teens we were doing a lot of community events, so we needed a shorter stage name :-). We were raised in the Far North with everyone only knowing our Maori names, so Mum thought it would be a cool way to honour our pakeha birth names too.
So ‘Zen’ from Zenith (the Zenith Star), was a name given to him from our Aunty Sharna and ‘Targe’ who is our Koro’s uncle – Targe Octavius Bradshaw to carry our whakapapa from Bluff. Mum put them together and it’s stuck ever since.

How has musical output evolved as Zentarge? 

We started out mainly doing covers, busking and performing at events, weddings and huinga tauira etc. Over time we naturally started writing our own music and developing our own sound. That transition from playing other people’s stories to telling our own has probably been the biggest evolution.

What’s been the highlight to date?

Honestly, releasing our own music has been the biggest highlight so far. Seeing and hearing people connect with songs we created ourselves is a different feeling. Recording at Parachute Studios and having our songs fully come to life was a massive moment for us. Being one of the support acts for Hori Shaw and Te Wehi on New Years Day, 2026, has definitely been the best gig moment we’ve had to date!

How often do you get to perform live?

We’ve performed live pretty consistently for over 10 years now – busking, private events, community gigs, birthdays, weddings, all sorts. These days we’re performing our original music more. Balanced, which we released in 2024 is a live gig highlight and now Tall Poppy, which we released this year has definitely become one of the live highlights.

What made Tall Poppy stand out for you as a single choice?

Tall Poppy stood out because it felt honest and relatable straight away. It has energy to it, but the message underneath is something heaps of people in Aotearoa understand.
The song is about judgement, pressure and people trying to pull others down for being different or striving for more. But it’s also about backing yourself and staying true to who you are regardless of outside opinions.

What’s your favourite moment, musical or lyrical, of the single?

That’s always been a big part of how we make music together as brothers. There’s also a moment towards the end where everything lifts emotionally and it still gives us the same feeling every time.

Who did you record/produce the single with?

Luan Meaker looks after the engineering and production. There were definitely a lot of random funny moments during recording – late nights, surviving on snacks, constantly replaying tiny sections over and over until they felt right. One of the funniest was when we showed up to the studio, Luan turned on his computer and smoke started coming out of the interface. We said it was probably because of how good the album is haha. Luckily Luan has our stuff on three different backups, so we weren’t too worried.

What would you like listeners to take away from this song?

We’d love people to take away confidence from the song. To not shrink themselves just because other people are uncomfortable with them standing out.

Quite a few musicians contributed to Tall Poppy. Are they a band?

The musicians involved are people we genuinely respect and look up to. Some are friends, some became whānau throughout the process – we’ve jammed with them for our gigs for years. Having talented people contribute helped bring the song to life in a bigger way. We’re especially stoked to have our older brother Te Whainoa on the album.

Anyone else in your team?

We’re independent artists, but we’ve got a solid team around us. Luan Meaker has been producing with us, Precise Digital handles our music distribution, Diaz Grimm supports us as a mentor, Malachi Mackey helps with our social media and Nathan Rahui supports us with management – we’ve had a lot of support from whānau, friends and mentors.

You’ve already followed up with Life of a Mischief. How aligned are the two singles?

They’re pretty different sonically and emotionally. Tall Poppy is more reflective and emotional, while Life of a Mischief has more bounce and personality to it. But both still feel very ‘Zentarge’ because they come from real experiences and emotions.

Are there more in the pipeline?

Definitely. We’ve got a lot more music coming and 2026 feels like the beginning of a new chapter for us. We’ve spent years developing quietly, so it’s exciting to finally be putting our own sound out properly.

Can you name three other local tunes that would fit well on a playlist alongside Tall Poppy.

Te Wehi – Mama Don’t Cry
Hohua Star – United we Stand
IA (feat. Jordyn with a Y) – Rerehua

Have you previously applied for / received NZOA or TMP funding?

We’ve applied for both NZOA and TMP funding. We thankfully received funding from Te Māngai Pāho for our upcoming waiata Māori included in our album that’s coming out on 31 July 2026.

Are there any musical blogs, Youtube channels or podcasts you’re into?

When we first started learning guitar, Nat Picking was probably the main YouTuber we watched.  IYKYK!! 😂

How can we find you on social media?

TikTok 

Instagram

Facebook

YouTube

Where are your singles getting supported?

We’ve been getting a lot of support online through Spotify, TikTok, You Tube and Instagram, plus heaps of love from whānau and communities around Aotearoa. Seeing people share the songs organically has been an awesome experience.

Any last words?

Thanks heaps NZM for this opportunity to share our story with you! Huge love to everyone supporting local music and backing us on this journey. We’ve still got a long way to go, but we’re excited for what’s ahead.
And a shout out to our parents – who without them none of this would be possible or happening  xox