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K​ō​tuku

by Ariana Tikao

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creaturenz Gorgeous song! Sensitively performed and beautifully captured...
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about

‘Kōtuku’ was initially inspired by a song playing on the radio in a dream that Ariana Tikao had during the first Covid-19 lockdown in 2020. When she awoke, Ariana remembered the first few lines and jotted them down. It was produced by her friends Brooke Singer and Ben Lemi of French For Rabbits who also perform on the track.

‘Kōtuku’ is fully in te reo Māori, and the previously released bilingual version ‘Fly You Home’ is a mix of English and te reo. The recordings and music videos were funded by the Waiata Takitahi initiative jointly funded by NZ on Air and Te Māngai Pāhō. Tikao sees the waiata as a musical bridge to connect to her friend, the internationally renowned Lakota/Kiowa Apache storyteller Dovie Thomason.

The kōtuku, or white heron of the title is a bird that features in Māori traditions as being very prized, and often an important manuhiri is spoken of as a “kōtuku rereka tahi” a bird of a single flight, as they are not often seen. This whakataukī is present in the lyrics of the waiata.

lyrics

Ia rā he parekura
He waka eke noa
E kī rā
Pōrewarewa kei tāwāhi
Ka tahuri au, ka whātuturi

Kūkū, he manu tāpapa ana
Hoki mai, rere mai ki taku taha

Waiho taku tuaiwi hei ara mōu
Whāia te kahuraki, he tohu
Kāore he karaka
He pākākā noa
I ahu tātou i te pūrākau

He kōtuku rereka tahi koe
Me hoki mai ā wairua kē

Pōua ruha kia mau ki tō rika
Me te tai, te mamae, kua wetekina
Kāore he karaka he pākākā noa
I ahu tātou i te pūrākau

Kūkū, he manu tāpapa ana
Hoki mai rere mai ki taku taha

He kōtuku rereka tahi koe
Me hoki mai ā wairua kē

Hoki mai, rere mai
Hoki mai, rere mai
Hoki mai, rere mai
Hoki mai, rere mai
Kūkū, he manu tāpapa ana
Hoki mai rere mai ki taku taha

He kōtuku rereka tahi koe
Me hoki mai ā wairua kē

credits

released July 1, 2022
‘Kōtuku’ and ‘Fly You Home’ lyrics, vocals and taonga puoro by Ariana Tikao
Translation and te reo support by Ross Calman (Ngāti Toa, Ngāti Raukawa, Kāi Tahu)
Co-produced and recorded and mixed by Brooke Singer and Ben Lemi
Backing vocals and keys by Brooke Singer
Drums, Bass, Lead Guitar, Rhythm Guitar by Ben Lemi
Mastered by Mike Gibson, Munki Music

Video and animations and cover composition by Jacob Perkins, RDYSTDY
Illustrations by Emma Riha Kitson (Kāi Tahu)

Graphic design by Hannah Howes
Promotion and label support by Oro Records NZ
Project management by Horomaka Productions

Funded by NZ on Air and Te Māngai Pāho, ‘Waiata Takitahi’ initiative

license

all rights reserved

tags

about

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Oro Records Wellington, New Zealand

Oro records: a virtual ātea where the voices of taoka pūoro and the oro that feeds them combine, to wānaka, and share the gift of sound woven into the world around us.

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