Critically acclaimed singer-and-songwriter Theia has today announced that she will be releasing the debut album from her reo Māori project TE KAAHU on Friday, May 6.  

She has also revealed that TE KAAHU will be playing a special one-off show LIVE AT MATARIKI on Friday, June 24 at the Tuning Fork in Tāmaki Makaurau/Auckland. This is a rare chance to witness the magic of the album – titled TE KAAHU O RANGI - in its entirety with a live band on Aotearoa’s first-ever Matariki public holiday.

“I’m honoured to perform my album for the first time, which is also the first year Matariki is observed as a national celebration. Matariki represents rebirth, gathering together and remembering our dearly departed, these are also the themes explored in TE KAAHU O RANGI,” says Theia.

Composed by Theia (Waikato-Tainui, Ngāti Tīpa) in te reo Māori, and produced by the award-winning Jol Mulholland, the TE KAAHU O RANGI album is an immersive experience, in which Theia’s ethereal and dreamy vocals take centre stage against a backdrop of nostalgic production. Using kupu whakarite (metaphor), pepeha (sayings) and whakataukī (proverbs), Theia weaves together a magical tapestry of lyricism and sound, which pays tribute to her tūpuna wāhine (female ancestors).