Aotearoa singer and songwriter Theia (AKA Em Walker) has revealed a new te reo Māori project called TE KAAHU, which
coincides with Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori.
Listen to TE KAAHU's debut waiata 'E Taku Huia Kaimanawa' here.
Walker (Waikato-Tainui, Ngāti Tīpaa) is a fierce proponent for the revitalisation of Māori language and culture and has
a double degree in Te Reo Rangatira and Māori and Indigenous Studies from the University of Canterbury. Through TE KAAHU
Walker pays tribute to her tūpuna wāhine, including her late great grandmother Mite Kukutai who is a famed Tainui
composer. She also seeks to shine a light on the beauty and vulnerability in Māori music, which is so often overlooked
in the mainstream narrative.
This is evident in ‘E Taku Huia Kaimanawa’ – a moving ode to Walker’s grandmother Rangirara, who passed away suddenly
four years ago. The full name of the project - Te Kaahu O Rangi - is also a nod to Walker’s beloved kuia and it is her
photo, which adorns the cover and features in the waiata's lyric video.
“’E Taku Huia Kaimanawa’ explores the pain and grief of death,” explains Walker. “That desperate feeling of loneliness
and wanting so badly for that person to return to you but knowing that you must let them go.”
“Tukuna atu koe kia rerea
Ki tua o te ārai
Noho ki te pō”
“I should release you to soar
Beyond the veil
To rest in the night”
The song was written as part of Te Māngai Pāho’s Tūhonohono funding round, which inspired Walker to invite her friend
and pop music comrade, Sydney-based William Bradshaw AKA Oh Boy, to produce.
“When I found out that I was able to ask an artist of my choice to collaborate with me, I immediately thought of Will,"
says Walker. "I had been excited to learn that he too was Tainui. Growing up in Australia, he had always felt a
disconnect with his culture and language but I was so heartened by his desire to learn more. It has been very special to
share this experience with him.”
Walker also called on one of her favourite artists, Misery, to create the imagery for TE KAAHU.
It is Misery’s image of a girl atop a kaahu, riding through the night, which poignantly symbolizes the project. The
Auckland-based artist is undeniably one of Aotearoa’s most beloved female wall and pop artists.