Riding high off his beautiful waiata ‘I AM’, Stan Walker has released a brand new track.
Titled ‘Māori Ki Te Ao’ (Māori to the world), it’s a “reggae-inspired anthem that builds on his acclaimed narrative of Māori culture.”
“This song is our beautiful Māori language to the world,” Stan said. “We as tangata whenua have been blanketed by the term Māori, but in fact, we have our own identities within te iwi Māori.”
“We are our hapū and iwi; the blood that courses through my veins belongs to many hapū and iwi of Aotearoa.”
This meaning is apparent in the song’s visualiser on YouTube, which was shot in locations connected to Stan’s Tūhoe roots and features his uncle, Tāme Iti.
“[Tāme Iti] is like the face for Māori to the world and for Tūhoe to the world, and so it was important to me to have him there,” Stan explained.
“He is a meaningful part of our Tūhoe history, and having all the generations there showed the past, present and future. We all live our own version of mana motuhake. All the whanau together filming at our mountain and our marae… coming together just makes us more powerful.”
People are already falling in love with the track, with the YouTube comments full of praise for Stan.
“This is AMAZING!!!” said one person. “How does Stan Walker keep outdoing himself? What a talent, what a voice, what a vision!!! This song instantly became an all-time favourite song of mine, after decades of listening to music!”
“Amazing as always!” said another. “Thanks Stan for another visually amazing and heartfelt song!”
“Love the power, pride and passion that exude from this video!” a third added. “Another amazing creation Stan.”
‘Māori Ki Te Ao’ is the second single from Stan’s upcoming EP, which will be out in early 2024. Leshgo.
