The music was written, performed and produced by Irish musician and singer Jonathan O'Riordan in Wellington, New Zealand over the course of 2006 and early 2007, except for "Chunky Nonsense", which was written and recorded in Edinburgh, Scotland in July 2004. Additional drums were provided by Mark Finlay and recorded in Dunshaughlin, Co Meath. Additional remixes were provided by Herv (Ewen Hennelly) and Fairlights (Enda Bates). Album artwork was created by American artist, Annushka Sonek-Wienert in Essen, Germany. Additional mixing and mastering by Alex Leonard in Co Leitrim, Ireland 2008/2009. The album was originally released on a limited run of 100 CDs in distributed independently by Love Rhino. This abum is a collection of music inspired by what was originally supposed to be a short stay of nine months in New Zealand that was extended to just over two years. Hence the album title, "Tumatakuru", which is the Maori word for "Wild Irishman". The name comes from the original English settlers in New Zealand who disliked a particular plant, which the Maori had named "Tumatakuru" but the English gave the name "Wild Irishman" for reasons unknown, though easy to discern.