His first gig was in his parent’s Polynesian band at the age of 6. Perched on a chair on the front of the stage he banged on a set of bongos ‘til the ripe old age of 7. He was then promoted to the drum kit from which he has forged his career and standing as one of Australia's best drummers, ever since.
Through the early years he played a mix of styles and learnt many of the traditional rhythms of the south pacific. Fresh out of high school he started his touring career after joining the modern soul/funk band Bellydance and also funk outfit Swoop. A couple years on and many funk grooves later Terepai co-founded acid jazz band D.I.G. This was where he really made his mark on the music scene. Writing and recording on multiple ARIA award winning albums. From the early ‘90's Terepai also started work as a studio/session drummer and has played with many of Australia’s biggest names, creating the rhythm for such artists as The Whitlams, Missy Higgins, Savage Garden, Guy Sebastian, Delta Goodrem, PNAU, Natalie Imbruglia, Pete Murray, Katie Noonan, Tina Arena, Wes Carr, iOta, Wendy Mathews, King Tide, Professor Groove, Max Sharam, Andy Clockwise, James Blundell, Adam Brand, Melinda Schneider, Multiball, the list goes on.
