Opetaia Foa'i grew up in Samoa surrounded by the island's rhythms, sounds and songs. But surviving wasn't easy and his family moved to the city of Auckland in New Zealand. As he grew up in this new environment he began to look into his roots and started to make music about his voyager ancestors. It caught the eye of producers at Walt Disney Animation Studios who wanted him to co-write the music for their upcoming movie Moana, about a Pacific Island teenager trying to save her community. Opetaia Foa'i made sure the smash hit movie stayed true to Pacific culture - writing the soundtrack's lyrics in Samoan and Tokelauan and turning to his daughter Olivia Foa'i to sing.
Although we couldn't include the music from the movie in this podcast, if you'd like to hear this interview in its full musical glory, you can listen to the original episode on BBC Sounds, just search for Moana: the Polynesian family behind the smash hit songs.
Olivia has a new solo album out called Candid.
Presenter: Emily Webb Producers: June Christie & Mariana Des Forges
Picture: Opetaia and Olivia Foa'i at the Disney premiere of Moana Credit: Supplied by Julie Foa'i