Pictures: Chris Cuffaro
Moana McArtney had never thought she’d follow in the musical footsteps of her dad, Dave McArtney. Dave founded the band Hello Sailor in the mid 1970s with Graham Brazier and Harry Lyon. Their anthems included Blue Lady and Gutter Black, which later became Outrageous Fortune’s theme song. Despite her dad being rock ’n’ roll royalty in New Zealand, Moana had never been interested in playing an instrument or singing but, heartbroken after her beloved dad passed away in 2013, she turned to music to heal.
“One night, I was writing some lyrics and picked up Dad’s guitar,” recalls the 32-year-old. “I’d never played but I started hand-picking a melody to go with my words. I don’t know what happened, but my fingers just seemed to move.
“In the end, I created this really beautiful song and it was such a cathartic experience. I felt like I’d really released something and expressed myself.”
Moana was extremely close to her dad, describing them as two peas in a pod.
“I was your classic daddy’s girl,” she tells. “I’d go on adventures and skiing with him. We did a road trip together up the west coast of America, just the two of us, when I was about 14.
“Dad was adventurous, cheeky and kind. We were like kindred spirits on the same wavelength. We could just sit there and not talk to each other and still feel connected.”
She loved seeing her dad on stage and the effect his performance had on the crowd. Even today, fans will stop to share memories of Dave.
“I don’t think many people are lucky enough to have people come up to them after their parents have died to share stories of their time with them and different facets of their personality. I love that.”
Despite his success as a musician, Moana says Dave was most passionate about being there for his family – his wife, model and athlete Donna Mills, son Gabriel and Moana.
“He was such a family man,” she shares. “We were always close-knit. We travelled a lot and spent days at the beach surfing. A lot of our childhood memories were of us being together as a family, which I’m so grateful for. Even when I was 10, when we were living in the city and he was gigging at night, he was always present at home. He was more than a rocker – he was intelligent, into literature and also taught at music school.”
When Dave passed away, Moana was broken. Seeking a change of scene, she escaped to Europe with her best friend, looking for new beginnings.
“I was 22 and I just wanted to throw myself into something new to distract myself,” she confides. “I had no real plan, but I’d started to write songs and I’d brought Dad’s guitar overseas with me, so I decided to audition for music school in London. It was terrifying – I was surrounded by people who had done music since childhood, while I could barely play a note.”
But Moana impressed the school with her audition and won a place. However, the elation of being accepted was short-lived when she discovered she suffers from crippling performance anxiety.
“I’d be so terrified, I would be shaking,” she admits. “I’d just dread it. I don’t know how I got through music school because it didn’t get any easier. It was so hard for me to be so raw and open in front of everyone, playing these deep and personal songs.
“I found an amazing vocal coach who helped me with visualisations and breathwork before I’d go on stage, which helps to cut off that part of my brain that wonders what the audience is thinking of the lyrics, if they’re enjoying it or ridiculing me… Otherwise, my brain just goes into this overactive state. I fought my way through it, but it wasn’t easy. It’s still not easy. But I grew a lot and learnt a lot.”
After completing music school and then a masters in music business, Moana began to miss home. The gloomy London weather and a relationship that wasn’t working out started to weigh her down. Six years after leaving New Zealand, she returned in 2022, and moved into her childhood home with her mum and grandparents – Les and Colleen (who has since sadly passed) Mills, of Les Mills gym fame.
“It’s nice to be able to spend this time with Granddad, bonding with him and helping out. He’s almost 90 and he’s as sharp as a tack.”
Moana also feels lucky that she was on home turf for the release of her first album, A Fleeting Moment Of Clarity.
“It’s a collection of songs from various periods in my life,” she tells. “The song I feel most naked about releasing is the one about my dad, I Just Wanna Be Like You. It’s like a diary entry – it’s my actual thoughts and very specific to me and him. Releasing that felt very raw and vulnerable.
“I think anyone who has lost a loved one will agree that it’s the day-to-day things you think about and the dark places you go to. I hope it might resonate with others and that people feel something from it.”
The album also has a couple of songs about Moana’s ex, whom she left behind in the UK. She’d initially come home for a holiday, but then had the epiphany that she was depressed in London and needed to stay in New Zealand, with her family.
“I had to break up with him,” she says. “We’d been together for four years and we lived together, so my brother had to go and pack up all my stuff. Let You Down is my song about that experience. It was all very heartbreaking.”
She’s since found love with a Kiwi, Stefan, whom she met 12 months ago through a mutual friend. He’s just moved in with Moana and her grandpa.
“He is my biggest supporter,” she enthuses. “He just loves the fact that I’m chasing after what I really want to do.”
Moana has released her album under her stage name, PRYNNE.
She explains, “When I perform, it’s the little girl inside me who comes out – the one who’s frightened and wants to hide away. Using the name PRYNNE – which is a Japanese flower – helps take some of that pressure away. I still find performing petrifying.
“Being someone who struggles with performing and then releasing this album to the world means I’ve gone and dumped myself into a hard spot, haven’t I?
“I’m just trying to tell myself that one day I’ll be 90 and I’ll regret not doing it. We’re all just floating around on a rock in this universe. We need to get on with it and do what we want to do, even if it means living my fears!”
Keep up to date with Moana’s music on her Instagram page.
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