Talented Māori music artist Em Walker (Waikato-Tainui and Ngāti Tipa), known as Theia, is today releasing her new te reo album, Te Kaahu.
She released her debut single, Roam, in 2016 and was nominated for three awards at the Vodafone New Zealand music awards in 2017.
Walker started her musical journey when she was releasing her music on to SoundCloud and through “major determination” sent her music to be played on iwi stations and student stations “and it naturally took off from there”.
Walker says she has two music projects running: Theia with alternative pop music, plus Te Kaahu, which she refers to as her "beautiful safe haven" for her compositions that are in Te Reo Māori.
Walker says she grew up around kapa haka and that it helps her with the creation of Theia and Te Kaahu. "Te Kaahu is the combination of the matauranga that I have been blessed with from my ancestors and kuia."
“When you are a passionate, young Māori it just naturally comes.”
The album art for Te Kaahu has a distinctive New Zealand style akin to that of colonial portraits. "Through this art I want to present the embodiment of the kaupapa of te kaahu, which is to heal my people and provide healing to that trauma that we have gone through."
"My purpose and what I really want to show with Te Kaahu is to counter many of the tropes that we get by simply being Māori and instead show the intelligence, vulnerability and passion of our people".