28 June 2024 - 0 Comments

REED. is the moniker of Sasha Te Whare (He/Him, Ngāti Maniapoto), a producer and musician based in Tāmaki Makaurau.

REED. delivers a playful take on pop, with waiata infused with modern soul and alternative RnB. His skills as a musician were forged through years of performing covers at bars and clubs across Tāmaki, and his catalogue dates back to 2019 featuring collaborations with The Freq Collect & Daizzy. In 2023 REED. released his debut EP She’s A Mixtape, solidifying his place as one of Aotearoa’s exciting emerging talents.

Today REED. delivers his new single Murimuri Aroha, their first song completely in Te Reo Māori. The waiata is accompanied by a music video directed by Luke Penny (Paige, K M T P, Ray Leslie) and made with help from Te Māngai Pāho & NZ On Air Music.

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Murimuri Aroha sees REED. take a different approach to songwriting, examining the grief of an ending relationship over a shuffled 808s and sparkling synths.

“Murimuri Aroha is a song of grief and the end of a romantic relationship,” says Sasha. “It was an exaggeration of what was going on in my life at that point in time. My partner was leaving for Whāngarei to fulfil her dream job the week before I attended Song Hubs so there were a lot of emotions building up to that point. We were set on making it work but there was always that question of what if this doesn’t work out.”

Murimuri Aroha as written at a 2023 APRA AMCOS’ Te Reo Māori Song Hubs where REED. was handpicked by Hāni Dread (Creative Natives, Katachafire) to attend alongside talent like Aja Ropata, Byllie-Jean and Amba Holly.

“Mā played the grand piano and guitar, I drummed and Noema Te Hau III came in with all of the glue on synth and production. Hani Dread came through with the spice playing a guitar solo that plays out the rest of the song.”

Murimuri Aroha is accompanied by a music video made by Luke Penney and sees the song's themes play out in real time, albeit down a winding country road. “During COVID lockdowns Luke saw someone sitting in the back of a caravan going along the motorway. He mentioned to me that had always wanted to use that idea but wanted to wait for the right song to use it. I think I tore that caravan apart three times, we had about 15 minutes to capture all of the takes so there was a lot of adrenaline pumping the whole time. Gotta say, staying composed through all of the bumps was pretty hard too.”

Murimuri Aroha is REED.’s first waiata completely sung in Te Reo Maori and he was assisted by Mātanga Reo Dr Hona Black (Tūhoe, Te Whānau a Apanui, Ngāti Tūwharetoa). “I was super nervous at first but after explaining the song and my feelings he said 'Yeah, we can work with that'. It was crazy to see how much information and detail you can fit into one sentence. Looking back I don’t feel that using English would have been possible, without Dr Hona Black Murimuri Aroha would’ve just been another sad break-up song.”

“It still feels unreal,” says REED. while reflecting on the experience of making Murimuri Aroha. “I’m still pinching myself as this is by far the most effort I have ever put into a song. I’ve always wanted to create a music video and for it to be in full reo māori, with the song sounding that good and the video looking that great, I am super proud of myself and everyone who has played their part."

Photo Credit: Tessa Libby

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