Since going viral for their feel-good folklore take on waiata Māori years ago on Facebook and YouTube, whānau band The Harmonic Resonators are back again with another album featuring hits by Fleetwood Mac, The Doobie Brothers and Coldplay and others – all in te reo Māori - and called Rongo ki te Oro.
Having travelled from Tauranga to talk to teaomāori.news, Jenny Hantler spoke of son and lead singer Jeremy's passion for music as someone who "couldn't stop moving" to any genre but in particular found his heart with waiata Māori.
“For a mum, to see him so happy in his place, words just can’t describe.”
Infectious and incredible - Harmonic Resonators are back!
Jeremy says the process to get the rights of songs made by other artists was a six-month long process, asking other record companies of bands to be able to re-version their music into te reo Māori.
“We had quite a few translations and versions recorded. The ones that came back were the perfect 12, they just came together perfectly, and it’s been about a year in production,” Jeremy says.
The response to the new album, “Pākehā and Māori alike” has been massive, Jeremy says.
He’s even had a go at translating the songs himself, along with his reo Māori teacher Justin Kereama helping out too, either by completely reworking or making subtle changes to Jeremy’s takes.
Rongo ki te Oro is now available to buy as a CD, and can be streamed on Spotify or YouTube.
