Cloher shares “the album cover photo was taken in my awa (river), Te Touwai in Matangirau, Te Tai Tokerau (Northland) Aotearoa (New Zealand). It is the river that my mother, grandmother and great grandmother bathed in, watered their gardens from and cared for. The day my dear friend Hera Tautoko-Orme took the photo was as freezing as the photo looks. We waded out in our bathing suits and stood in the middle of the river while it rained. When I finally surrendered to the cold something shifted and I felt that feeling of coming home—the presence of the wāhine Māori that I have come through and my connection and kinship with Te Touwai Awa. The whakataukī hit different now - I am the river, the river is me. ”

Harakeke is the focus track released today. “The clip for my new song Harakeke stars two extremely talented wāhine Māori who are also based in Naarm, Melbourne. Fallon Te Paa (iwi coming) and Breanne Peters (iwi coming) are members of T’HONI Kapa Haka, who you might remember from the Being Human video. Fallon’s five year old daughter Iranui makes an appearance in the clip, bringing four generations onto the screen. It echoes the themes of the song, remembering my māmā Dorothy Urlich-Cloher and her scholarly contribution to Iwi Muriwhenua in the Far North.

Patti Smith once said “The dead speak. We have forgotten how to listen." Te Ao Māori (the Māori worldview) tends to agree” says Cloher “We know there is a thin veil between the living and the dead and that our Tūpuna (Ancestors) are right there with us. This is the spirit I felt close when I was writing and recording the album. I am not doing this alone and it's not just for me.

Harakeke follows the release of impactful singles Mana Takatāpui , Being Human and My Witch . These are fiercely political songs that never feel heavy: They are energetic and full-blooded, alive with the knowledge that to simply exist — to scream and laugh and sing and make art — is as much a form of resistance as to fight.

Cloher says “One in five Māori live in Te Whenua Moemoea, Australia. That’s about 200,000 of us! Even though we have grown up on the other side of the ditch, we can feel the fruits of our Kaumātua’s hard work through movements like Kohanga Reo. The album cover was photographed in my awa, Te Touwai in Matangirau, Te Tai Tokerau (Northland). It is the awa my mother, grandmother and great grandmother bathed in, gathered kai and watered their gardens from. It is a remembrance that regardless of how far we may travel from our home, it is always there, calling us back when we are ready.”

I Am The River, The River Is Me is an album of remarkable generosity and grace. Recorded between Aotearoa (NZ) and Naarm (Melbourne) with producers Tom Healy (Tiny Ruins, Marlon Williams), Anika Ostendorf (Hachiku) and Cloher’s longtime drummer Jen Sholakis; the album brings in trailblazing artists including Emma Donovan (Gumbaynggirr, Yamatji), Kylie Auldist, Liz Stringer, Te Kaahu (Waikato-Tainui/Ngāti Tīpā), Ruby Solly (Kai Tahu, Waitaha, Kāti Māmoe) and members of the Naarm-based Kapa Haka, Te Hononga o ngā Iwi. The entire record feels communal — a celebration not just of Cloher, but of the rich, life-filled communities that surround them.

I Am The River, The River Is Me is out now