Tāmaki-based producer MOKOTRON (Ngāti Hine) has dropped the powerful title track “WAEREA” from their upcoming album.
MOKOTRON shares that the song was inspired by the days following their father’s passing. They were struck by a moment during the funeral when a prayer was said over the hearse, prompting them to think about the prayers needed for their own healing from trauma and violence. “This waiata is not a lament, it’s about clearing away these things I carry – hurt, shame, belittlement, violence, so I can stand as my own person in my own mana,” they explain.
MOKOTRON’s music blends urban marae influences from Central Auckland, using three instruments – pūtōrino, hue, and koauau – to represent the three kuia from Ngāti Whātua who have supported their voice. They add, “For ‘WAEREA’ I played these instruments to express the murmur of grief, the call of the rūrū representing death and a distressed cry of anguish.”
The track is accompanied by a music video created by animator Simon Ward and uku artist Stevei Houkāmau, showcasing clay transforming into new shapes and reflecting the song’s themes.
“Stevei’s work is just a tour de force of mana,” says MOKOTRON.
MOKOTRON sees “WAEREA” as a blueprint for the future, expressing how music, art, and literature have kept their spirit alive while being separated from their culture. They aim to create lifelines for others who feel trapped in a colonised existence.
“I was taken out of my community as a child and denied access to my whānau, reo, tikanga, whakapapa, whenua, marae, everything. But there were three dangerous things that are seen as innocuous enough to infiltrate the Pākehā world – Māori music, art and literature, and those were the things that kept my wairua alive. These are not songs or ‘tracks’, they are lifelines for people like me, trapped in a colonised existence, to keep their wairua alive and call them back to that which has been denied them. I’m happy with this Māori Trojan hōiho and I hope to build and dispatch many more.”
“WAEREA” follows “ŌHĀKĪ,” released in August, with both tracks appearing on the new album coming out December 6th through Sunreturn.
In 2022, MOKOTRON released three EPs through Spanish label Electro Records and was recognised at the 2022 Student Radio Network Awards. Earlier this year, they also released THE UNITED TRIBES OF BASS, a remix project featuring Māori and Cook Island Māori electronic artists from around the country.
MOKOTRON’s “WAEREA” is out now via Sunreturn. Pre-order/pre-save WAEREA (album) here.
