KIKO – Āwhā: 13th Floor New Song Of The Day

Auckland-based Māori rock band KIKO have dropped their new single for this year’s Te Wiki o te Reo Māori Āwhā.

Here’s the blurb:

Āwhā is a single from a new EP ‘Waharo’ KIKO plan to release at the end of the year. It’s been a project in the works for a while and one the band is happy to see come to completion. The music video made with the support of NZ On Air features powerful dream state imagery, set in the early 1800’s in Aōtearoa. It was co-directed by Lukas Wharekura and Rewi McLay who also produced it. The director of photography is Pepe de Hoyos and the editor Alex Gandar.

Lyric writer Hohepa Maclean explains the kaupapa of the waiata:

Āwhā (The Tempest). The environment is to be respected, when a tempest arrives, the roaring winds whip, the world shakes, the lands, the forests and the seas are left desolated. Just like the heart of man, when all the strife and troubles of the world come, one gets anxious, disturbed, stressed. But once the storm passes and the winds have calmed, and the waters cleared the land regenerates, and grows back. This song is about resilience, encouraging people that no matter how hard the storm is on the inside, it will pass and the sun will shine again, and you will grow from it.

Koia rā ko te taiao e noho mana nei ki waho, ka tū mai tētahi āwhā nui, ka patua rā e ngā hau kaha, haruru pai ana te ao, mōtī ana te whenua, mōtī ana te ngāhere, kakare nei te wai. Koia e ōrite ana ki te ngākau tangata e noho mana nei ki roto, pā mai nei ngā raruraru o te ao, ka hēmanawa, ka kārangirangi, ka mate nei i ngā au kaha o roto. Heoi anō koia rā te kōrero he rā kei tua, tae mai ana te āwhā, patua ana te ao, ngaro atu ana te āwhā ka tupu anō te ao. Ko te waiata nei he mea whakahou i te tangata ahakoa rā ngā tūwhai āhuaranga ka pā kino nei ki a koe, kia ū, kia kaha kei tua atu anō te rā e whiti ana, ā, ka tupu anō koe.

KIKO is a Māori Rock band from Aōtearoa New Zealand that                                        incorporates a multitude of genres, producing a truly unique and                                       powerful sound.

KIKO is short for Kikorangi, the Māori word for blue, or as it is directly translated “the esh of Ranginui” the Sky Father in Māori mythology. After launching their debut EP in Nov 2018, the band has gone on to establish themselves as a festival act playing at events such as Waitangi Ki Waititi, Matariki ki Waitakere, Psycred Aliance. Sharing the stage with acts like Black Slate, Stan Walker, Che Fu and Ladi 6 to name a few.                                          The band have been in the studio working on their next EP Waharoa                                            set to be released later this year. They have released one single                                            from it titled Ka Puta with a video that has had international                                             success being an official selection at the SXSW 2022 Austin and                                           Clipped festival in Sydney Australia.

Kiko have been sharing its music and mahi, aimed at empowering indigenous people around the world, for the past five years.The musicians started writing songs in both English and Māori but now te reo is at the forefront of their waiata, which aim to not only inspire people to retain and revitalise the language and culture but progress with it as we advance into the future.

Website: Waateamusic: www.waateamusic.co.nz