Theia is one of our most-covered Aotearoa artists — and for good reason.
We named her long-awaited debut, Girl, in a Savage World, as one of the third-best New Zealand albums of 2025.
We then included Theia in our Future of Music 2026 series, chosen as one of 25 ANZ acts we’re excited about this year and beyond, for which she recorded an exclusive In My Room session (watch below).
We know a lot about Theia, in other words, but there’s always more to learn about any artist.
Despite her being in one of the most remote spots in the entire world (more on that below), we managed to catch up with the idiosyncratic singer-songwriter over email to discuss Matariki, staying connected to home, and her Māori identity.
Follow Theia’s music here and here.
Rolling Stone AU/NZ: As we look ahead to a new year in the Maramataka, tell us how you’ve been going and what’s ahead for you?
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Theia: I am currently in Inuvik, an Indigenous community up in the Arctic Circle, performing at a festival and leading workshops for the community here. It’s hard to be away from home at Matariki, but also I am honoured to be sharing my waiata and stories of home with kin on the other side of the world. Ahead are more Turtle Island (Canada) festivals and semester two of my Master’s degree studies.
This year’s Matariki theme was all about encouraging all people to celebrate Matariki together. How did you mark the occasion this year?
I may be in the North Western Territories of Canada but I’m still messaging everyone from home, replying to emails with aunties about important marae kaupapa and planning and watching the Taikura and Kura Tuarua whakataetae, which keep me connected to my haukaainga and Maaoritanga regardless of the oceans between us, which is comforting, especially at Matariki.
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Where are you from in Aotearoa?
He uri ahau noo Waikato Taniwha Rau, noo Te Puuaha! Ko Taupiri te maunga. Ko Waikato te awa. Ko Ngaati Tiipaa te hapuu. Ko Tauranganui te marae. Ko Kūkūtai, ko Karaka ngooku whaanau!
How would you describe the space you’re in creatively at the moment?
I would describe it as a circus of juggling lol — I treat my essays (for my Master’s of Indigenous Studies) with the same intention as my songwriting — in fact they reference each other. Then there’s the energy and drive needed to perform at these festivals and I am conducting both simultaneously this year.
Do you think your Māori identity is something you consciously write about, or has it become impossible to separate from who you are as an artist?
I am Maaori. I am wahine Maaori. I am a wahine-moe-wahine Maaori. Therefore everything I write is through these lenses. I just write from my experiences, from my anger towards injustice, and from my pride of my whakapapa and tuupuna waahine.
