07 July 2023 - 0 Comments

Celebrated Aotearoa songwriters Te Kaahu (AKA Theia) and Delaney Davidson have come together this Matariki to share I Ngooku Moemoeaa - a timeless and haunting waiata tangi.

Listen to I Ngooku Moemoeaa HERE

The waiata captures the raw heartbreak of grief. “I Ngooku Moemoeaa is a poroporoaki - a eulogy to express the grief over the passing of a loved one,” says Theia (Waikato-Tainui, Ngaati Tiipaa). “Composed in metaphoric language, it nods to the traditional places the spirits of our dead travel to for their final rest,” she adds.

It is no coincidence that I Ngooku Moemoeaa comes at this time: “Matariki is the time of year when we farewell those who we have lost, so it feels fitting to release this waiata to coincide with this period in the hope that it can be of comfort to those who are grieving to help and usher their process,” says Theia.

The two award-winning artists came together to write and record I Ngooku Moemoeaa during Delaney’s residency at Massey University in Pōneke in 2022.

“I have wanted to work with Theia for ages so I asked her to come be part of my residency at Massey for 2022. Hearing her album of Te Kaahu waiata was really inspirational so I hoped we’d find a space we could connect with that timeless magic.”

On working with Delaney, Theia says: “Lyrically and sonically we channeled the nostalgia that you hear on Te Kaahu. But it was important for me to feel that this waiata would be a gentle combination of both our styles and I feel that we really captured that.”

The beautiful artwork for I Ngooku Moemoeaa was done by Pūtere - Landless Native (Kāi Tahu, Kāti Mamoe, Waitaha, Te Ātiawa).

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