New Zealand roots singer-songwriter Marlon Williams has announced a new album, which is the first he has recorded entirely in the Māori language. Due April 4, Te Whare Tīwekaweka features a collaboration with fellow Kiwi artist Lorde, who released an EP comprised of some of her Solar Power songs sung in the Indigenous language back in 2021.
"The Māori language is a window to the Māori world," Williams shared. "Through the process of constructing these songs, I've found a means of expressing my joys, sorrows and humour in a way that feels both distinctly new, yet also connects me to my tīpuna (ancestors) and my whenua (land, home)."
He added, "I hope that music may do the mahi (work) that conversation cannot, and that it may broaden and deepen our sense of interconnectedness."
The album's ambling, melancholic lead single "Aua Atu Rā" was inspired by '60s Māori showbands, and is now available for your listening pleasure, arriving alongside a music video directed by Williams. Find that and the full tracklist details below.
Te Whare Tīwekaweka:
1. E Mawehe Ana Au
2. Kei Te Mārama
3. Aua Atu Rā
4. Me Uaua Kē
5. Korero Māori
6. Ko Tēnā Ua
7. Whakamaettia Mai
8. Ngā Ara Aroha
9. Huri te Whenuak (feat. KOMMI)
10. Kuru Pounamu
11. Kāhore He Manu E (feat. Lorde)
12. Pānaki
13. Rere Mai Ngā Rau
14. Pōkaia Rā te Marama