A popular sound in the fight for that title — prized for its pitch and purity — is the voice of Celine Dion. But hearing the singer known as the queen of power ballads late into the night is driving some Porirua residents crazy.
Porirua Mayor Anita Baker said she is hearing an increasing number of residents complain about the pulsating noise that reverberates through their neighborhoods as late as 3 a.m. While the “organized” groups have agreed to work with city officials and stop their music at 10 p.m., a smaller “breakaway” faction has kept pumping sirens into the wee hours.
“They don’t want to follow the rules, and they’re just making it hell for people,” Baker told The Washington Post.
Siren clubs are made up mostly of young men, many of them in Porirua’s Pacific Islander community, known as Pasifika, Baker said. They get together to modify cars and bicycles with public-address system speakers, which they call sirens. They spend hours wiring and soldering multiple sirens and amplifiers to car frames or onto bicycles. Before battling, they must also become DJs, remixing songs with the goal of producing a sound that is not only loud, but also clean.
Strong voices with a high pitch are favored, Baker said. Dion’s “My Heart Will Go On” and “The Power of Love” are siren club classics. Sia’s “Chandelier” is also a go-to, Baker added.
Then, the sirens do battle. The siren clubs often sneak into a train station or a private parking lot.
“Any distortion or reverberation will make you lose,” Paul Lesoa, a member of a siren club in Auckland, told the Spinoff, a New Zealand news website. “Celine Dion is popular … so we try to use music that has high treble, is clear and not much bass. Reggae is our go-to as it has nice beats and doesn’t sound distorted.”
Baker said siren clubs first came to her attention during last year’s Rugby League World Cup, in which New Zealand’s national men’s team made it to the semifinals and Samoa made it to the championship match against Australia. Both were cause for celebration, and Porirua’s large Pasifika population did so through siren battles.
The battles outlived the World Cup festivities and continued throughout the summer, Baker said. They abated a bit over the winter — but never died out — and have reemerged as summer in New Zealand approaches.
So have the complaints, she said.
Earlier this month, a petition started on Change.org implored the Porirua City Council to “act and stop the gathering of car meets blasting music and emergency sirens noises at all hours of the night.” More than 325 people have since signed it.
“I’m sick of the disturbing of the peace that sometimes goes on for hours,” one signee wrote. “Although I enjoy Celine Dion in the comfort of my lounge and at my volume, I do not enjoy hearing fragments of it stopping and starting at any time between 7pm and 2am.”
Baker said that she and other city officials are working with police to stop the late-night siren battles. But that could be difficult, given that they spring up spontaneously at unpredictable locations. Residents calling in to report noise complaints often cannot home in on the source. And even when they can, the competitors have often taken off by the time police arrive.
“It’s really frustrating,” Baker said. “… I feel powerless.”
Baker said that, even though the subculture grew out of the Pasifika community, she hopes it doesn’t get blamed for what she described as handful of bad actors turning a positive community celebration into a nuisance.
“They’re an awesome community. They love music, they love dance, they love church. They’re a really close-knit community … and that’s what we love about Porirua. We have such diversity here.”
Lesoa, who spoke with the Spinoff, told the news outlet that the battles are a way for him and his friends to enjoy music while staying out of trouble. They prefer modifying their cars and bikes over partying and hitting nightclubs. They’re committed to the hobby, investing significant time and money to prepare for competitions. Each siren costs about $80 to $100, and fully decking out a car runs about $7,000, he told the news site.
Baker told The Post that she attended one of the organized siren battles around May. She said those competing were in their 30s and 40s, and many of the attendees were their relatives. It was fun, a way to celebrate, enjoy music and create community.
“I can understand why they do it,” she said. “… It can be a real family event.”
But that battle ended by 10 p.m., and everyone went home to get a good night’s sleep.
That’s what Baker wants for everyone in Porirua.
