RIQI HARAWIRA releases new waiata ‘E rere ai (fly away)’.
RIQI HARAWIRA (Te Aupōuri, Ngapuhi) is a Maori fusion artist and a guitar virtuoso who is passionate about telling stories about Aotearoa through his original music.
A multi-instrumentalist, Riqi frequently melds te reo Māori and English with rock and grunge music. His new Single ‘E rere ai' is a song which originally came from a poem written by Riqi and his partner Floss, which touches on love, hopes, and dreams.
E rere ai (fly away) is a soft rock song which easily switches between English and Te reo Māori. A 70’s style and American in flavour, this is a song about a culturally blended couple who are flying away above the noise and opinions and doing their own thing. Inspiring others to find their wings too.
RIQI says .. “Our song about Flying Away above the noise... to a quiet place where the voices of opinions can’t be heard. We have learnt to fly and blend our family together, which has not always been socially accepted. But we endure because we row in our waka together and love each other through the noise. We hope our song Fly Away helps others in culturally blended relationships find their wings to Fly Away too.”
‘The lyrics are incredibly important’, says Riqi, and this Waiata is dedicated to interracial couples who have the courage to embrace each other, who understand the cultural differences, racial disparities, inequities, cultural history of violence and trauma. Despite these differences develop a respect and love for each other to counter racial prejudice, systemic racism, and the oppression of specific racial groups.
Accompanying the new single is an uplifting video shot in the beautiful Hawkws Bay locations of Te Mata, Waimarama and Waitangi Beach in Napier. Listen and watch here:
