13th Floor New Song Of The Day: Kora – Weekend

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Today’s pick is a no-brainer…what could be better than a new song called Weekend by Kora on a Saturday morning.

Weekend is the second single to be released from Kora’s upcoming EP, due out early next year. Here’s the record company blurb with more…

A song to dance the stress away to, ‘Weekend’ features a 90’s flavoured beat and digital funk bassline, accompanied by chilled chords and dubwise bubbles. This is a tune to resonate with anyone sick of their “9 to 5”.

‘Weekend’ is a celebration of the end of the working week and a hymn for the working folk who can finally put down their tools and revel in the euphoria of their “two days to feel alive”.

The song also gives insight into the new upcoming project from Kora who are further exploring the music that they grew up on, and watch this space for an incredible animated accompanying video (December 4) and DJ Spell remix (December 11) to follow.

‘Weekend’ follows the band’s extremely well received single in July, ‘Secret Lover’ which marked a return for one of New Zealand’s favourite bands.

Originating from Whakatane, the four musical brothers from the Kora family – Laughton, Francis, Stuart and Brad – began playing together as a band in the early 1990s. In early 2002, Kora‘s core members Laughton and Francis recorded a four-song demo while on holiday in Queenstown, sharing songwriting duties with local muso Dan McGruer who also joined them on bass guitar and keyboards.

THE VOLUME EP was released in 2004 and the band quickly developed a reputation as being one of the nation’s finest live acts. A debut LP followed in 2007, the eponymous KORA, which went to #1 in the New Zealand charts, spending a year in the top 40 and reaching double-platinum status. Live performances at festivals including the Big Day Out cemented their reputation as a live force in New Zealand and beyond.

The long-awaited 2012 follow up LP LIGHT YEARS continued to show the band’s ability to fuse a multitude of influence, from reggae to heavy metal to dirty south hip hop. This album went on to achieve platinum sales and to cement Kora as a top tier act in their home country.

In the years since, between live appearances, the band pursued a multitude of other projects, with rock radio favorite ‘Carolina’ in 2016 showing an appetite for the band’s unique material that remains as strong as ever.

Songwriting for new releases began in 2019, and new material has been received exceptionally well at recent shows. A fresh line-up based around long term members Fran Kora, Dan McGruer and Richie Allan has blossomed with the addition of some of the hottest musicians in the country in Darren Mathiassen (Trinity Roots, Hollie Smith, Shapeshifter), Marika Hodgson (Hollie Smith, Troy Kingi, Alae) and Karlos Tunks (Troy Kingi, Modern Maori Quartet).

With a deep and undeniable groove created by some of the best in the business, mixed with soaring vocals and lyrics that reach into the heart of the listener, Kora looks set to remain as one of the few acts that can make THAT magic happen on stage.

Kora will take this stage this summer at the One Love Festival in Tauranga on February 6, Sound Valley in Wanganui on February 20 and Electric Avenue in Christchurch on February 27, 2021

Marty Duda
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