27 September 2024 - 0 Comments

Tāmaki Makaurau duo Ra Charmian have today shared their uplifting, soul-filled, reggae-pop debut album Waiata Wairua - and it’s not to be missed!

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Throughout the 8-track album, songwriters Ra Charmian Toia-Booth (Ngāpuhi, Tainui) and Hayden Booth showcase that they know what it takes to create an Aotearoa summer soundtrack. The gorgeous record includes popular singles Papatuānuku He Ataahua Koe / What a Wonderful World and Te Aroha.

“We want our album to be one that listeners play on a sunny day and just feel good,” says Ra. “As artists, we love reggae and motown, so soundwise you should hear this inspiration coming through!”

The record was written, recorded and mixed at their home studio in Titirangi, Tāmaki Makaurau - a convenient location for the duo, as they settled into life with a newborn pēpi/baby. “It was so special to be able to take our pēpi along to our recording sessions, but it did mean that the process wasn’t quite as straightforward as it was pre-baby!” laughs Ra.

The songs on Waiata Wairua were inspired by a period of time when Ra and Hayden were going through big life changes - marriage, death (Hayden losing both parents and Ra losing her Dad), and having a baby - which meant they quite literally experienced the circle of life while making this debut album.

While Hayden and Ra are the main writers/arrangers of the album, whānau were called upon for te reo Māori translations, and some of NZ’s finest musicians - including drummers Alistair Deverick (Neil Finn, Lawrence Arabia), Adam Tobeck (Gin Wigmore, Aaradhna) and Chris Grant (Sola Rosa), horns/keyboardist Finn Scholes (Tiny Ruins, Carnivorous Plant Society), keyboardist Joe Kaptein (Princess Chelsea, Nathan Haines), guitarist Dixon Nacey (Annie Crummer, Stan Walker) and bass player Isaac Etimani (Keshia, Christmas In The Park). Dixon also worked with them on the arrangement of new single Hine Ruhi - a te reo Māori interpretation of Sir Dave Dobbyn’s treasured Slice of Heaven. Ra says te reo Māori is such a beautiful and poetic language to sing in, she feels it adds a whole new dimension to the song, paired with the duo’s twist of funk and soul.

Bringing another ‘slice of heaven’ to the track, is an exciting new music video made by Hayden. WATCH HERE.

A collection of originals and reimagined covers meaningful to the pair, Waiata Wairua also features tracks such as Rahiri, written by Mutunga Rameka, a song that expresses some of the history and ancestors of the Hokianga. Ra is a descendant of the tupuna (Rahiri and Uekunu) in the story of this song, and the tupuna Kaharau is relevant to Ra as the urupā where her Father is buried, is named Kaharau. I Shall Be Released, written by Bob Dylan, has been a huge musical inspiration for Hayden since he was a teenager, and when Ra discovered and introduced Hayden to the Nina Simone version, it was suggested they record it. The Only One is an original Ra Charmian song, inspired by the duo’s own love story, and the incredible journey many go through (ups and downs!) to find ‘the one’.

To celebrate the release of the album, Ra Charmian are set to put on an unforgettable show at Auckland’s Big Fan on October the 5th. For more info and tickets, head to Under the Radar HERE.

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