Marlon Williams (Kāi Tahu, Ngāi Tai) is about to release his first Māori language album, Te Whare Tīwekaweka, (out April 4th) and today, also announces a 11-date album tour of Aotearoa.
Performing with his long-time band The Yarra Benders as well as some special appearances from some of the album’s collaborators, Marlon Williams will bring Te Whare Tīwekaweka to life across the main stages in our most illustrious theatre venues.
In another first, Marlon will make his debut headline appearance at Tāmaki Makauru’s Spark Arena this Matariki in what promises to be a sparkling and spectacular arena show.
“Ko te reo Māori, he matapihi ki Te Ao Māori” goes the Māori whakatauki that has guided Te Whare Tīwekaweka. Translated to “The Māori language is a window to the Māori world,” it expresses Marlon’s motivation behind this album. He comments, “Through the process of constructing these songs, I’ve found a means of expressing my joys, sorrows and humour in a way that feels both distinctly new yet also connects me to my tīpuna and my whenua.”
Throughout the five years Marlon spent creating the album, he reconnected to family, friends in Lyttelton, Ōtautahi after a globe-trotting decade establishing his career. His journey developing his ancestral tongue unlocked both a newfound lyrical honesty and a grand sonic vision.
Supported by long-time touring band The Yarra Benders, co-producer Mark Perkins (Te Whānau-ā-Apanui), the He Waka Kōtuia singers and featuring the collaboration with Lorde, the album is a collection at once contemporary and timeless, traversing Marlon’s familiar folk-country-bluegrass territory, while continuing his exploration of poppier waters and the inherent rhythms of Māori music.
“As a songwriter, I cherish simplicity, but as a speaker of Māori, I had a bucketload of whakamā to push through before I could even approach my friend KOMMI about helping me write songs in Māori. We took this song out on the road with us five years ago and it just felt so damn good to play. I’m proud of it for reasons deeper than I’ve felt as a songwriter before. This song acted as a guiding light for the rest of the album to follow.”
“I hope that music may do the mahi that conversation cannot, and that it may broaden and deepen our sense of interconnectedness,” he says. By expanding his output into Māori, Marlon has widened the portal through which that connection might happen.
Opening all shows throughout Aotearoa is Marlon’s dear friend KOMMI.
KOMMI (Kāi Tahu, Te-Āti-Awa) is a non-binary solo music artist, recording and performance collaborator, writer, poet, and a lecturer in Māori and Indigenous Studies and Te Reo Māori at the University of Canterbury and Lincoln University.
They also teach reo Māori within the community of Ōhinehou/Lyttelton and throughout Ōtautahi. They have just completed the recording of ‘TAUWHENUA’, a collborative Witch-Hop, Swamp Hop, Experimental Hip-hop Reo EP with producer Infectiouss (Zac Harding).
KOMMI regularly composes reo Māori waiata with various NZ musicians including Troy Kingi (Te Arawa, Ngāpuhi, Te Whānau-ā-Apanui), Delaney Davidson and more recently the significant collaboration with Marlon on Te Whare Tīwekaweka.
Ticketek presale starts Monday 3 March, 12pm. Tickets go on sale midday Wednesday 5 March.
