Fresh from a summer of performances across the US and Canada, New Zealand’s own Theia returns with a bold new single, “BALDH3AD!.”
More than just a song, “BALDH3AD!” is a fiery protest anthem that cuts deep into the colonial scars still felt by her people.
“’BALDH3AD!’ is my musical assault on the plague of colonisation, which has impacted our people since the 1800s and continues to threaten our language and culture under the current government,” Theia explains. “It’s an expression of seething anger but also a call to action for my fellow wāhine Māori, rangatahi Māori and Indigenous folks worldwide.”
The track is her rallying cry, a fierce message to her fellow wāhine Māori, rangatahi Māori, and Indigenous communities around the world. With lyrics like, “Baldhead, you’re so well fed on my destruction. Fetishize our women, silence our children. Plunder my motherland, pollute the sea. But still, I survive though you clip my wings. Baldhead, you tricked us with your treaty,” Theia’s words are a sharp, unapologetic confrontation.
The sonic landscape of “BALDH3AD!” is just as intense as its message, with Theia leaning into a bass-heavy, alternative pop-rock sound, with touches of ethereal folk. She revels in pushing boundaries, adding medieval accordions and the pūtaratara — a traditional Māori conch shell used in times of war.
The accompanying music video, filmed on the windswept Wainuiomata coast, is just as visually striking. Theia is decked out in regal British attire in an act of defiance and decolonisation. Her fellow Māori youth are adorned in traditional kākahu, standing proudly against a seemingly untouched landscape — an image that could be placed in either the distant past or a post-apocalyptic future. The video’s raw power elevates the already potent message of the track, blending past, present, and future in a stunning visual metaphor for resistance and survival.
“BALDH3AD!” marks Theia’s first new release in over a year, and it’s clear she’s using her platform to speak out against social injustice. The song is a natural extension of her work, which continually challenges power structures while embracing her Māori heritage.
Theia’s journey — from her critically acclaimed alt-pop hits like “Roam” and “Not Your Princess” to her award-winning reo Māori project TE KAAHU — has taken her around the world. Yet no matter how far she travels, it’s clear Theia’s roots in Waikato-Tainui, Ngāti Tīpā, remain at the heart of her music.
The September-November issue of Rolling Stone AU/NZ features an in-depth profile of the globetrotting artist, ‘The Wonderful Double Life of Theia’, accompanied by photographs by the legendary Chris Cuffaro. Theia goes deep about being an artist in Aotearoa, her touring life in North America, making her most politically charged music yet, and much more.
Theia’s “BALDH3AD!” is out now.
