Clément Akel Waya, known as Akel, is a Kanak singer-songwriter, performer, arranger and writer from the Pénélo tribe, in the district of the same name, on the island of Maré in New Caledonia.

After growing up in Riverstar, a district of Nouméa, and participating in several musical groups, he founded the group Nodéak in 1993. The name of the group means "country of the East" in nengone, the Kanak language of Maré.

Akel is among the artists who have contributed to the development of kaneka in New Caledonia. With Nodéak, he develops a music characterized by polyphonic vocal harmonies, rhythms marked by percussion and bamboo, as well as influences from traditional songs of Maré, religious hymns, reggae and ska.

He composes and arranges most of Nodéak's songs. He also works with the Marean playwright Pierre Gope, like himself from Pénélo, setting several of his texts to music. The songs address topics such as Nengone culture, yams, beliefs, moral values, the relationship between tradition and modernity, and various social issues.

Since its creation, Nodéak has performed on numerous stages in New Caledonia and the Pacific region. In 1999, Akel Waya and Honoré Béaruné presented the show Nodéak Revisited as the opening act for Manu Dibango's concerts at the Tjibaou Cultural Centre in Nouméa.

Alongside his work with Nodéak, Akel pursues a solo career. In 2002, he released the solo album Ciel et terre on Mangrove Productions. This nine-track album includes the songs Homme debout, Yzal, Lorena, and Ejengen.

Also a teacher and trainer in the field of education, Akel Waya develops work dedicated to the transmission of cultural and moral values. He writes texts in Nengone and French, which he sometimes adapts for the stage or for music.

In 2020, he published his first novel, Mon amoureuse, with Plume de Nautou publishers. Through two stories blending humor, culture and personal reflection, the book addresses childhood, life in Maré, custom, love, the clan and the place of the individual within society.