Marlon Williams announces his first Māori language album, Te Whare Tīwekaweka, will arrive on April 4th, ahead of the LP’s arrival, the New Zealand singer-songwriter has shared the lead single, “Aua Atu Rā,” alongside a self-directed video. Williams, has also announced release shows in Los Angeles, New York City and London in April.

“Ko te reo Māori, he matapihi ki te ao Māori” goes the Māori whakatauki (proverb) that has guided Te Whare Tīwekaweka. Translated to “The Māori language is a window to the Māori world,” it expresses Marlon’s motivation behind this album. He comments, “Through the process of constructing these songs, I’ve found a means of expressing my joys, sorrows and humour in a way that feels both distinctly new, yet also connects me to my tīpuna (ancestors) and my whenua (land, home).”

Throughout the five years Marlon spent creating the album, he reconnected to family, friends and his home town of Lyttelton after a globe-trotting decade establishing his career. His journey developing his ancestral tongue unlocked both a newfound lyrical honesty and a grand sonic vision. Supported by long-time touring band The Yarra Benders, co-producer Mark Perkins, the He Waka Kōtuia singers and featuring a collaboration with Lorde, the album is a collection at once contemporary and timeless, traversing Marlon’s familiar folk-country-bluegrass territory, while continuing his exploration of poppier waters and the inherent rhythms of Māori music.

Inspired by 60s Māori showbands, the album’s lead single, “Aua Atu Rā,” is a mournful lament on isolation featuring lyrics co-written by Marlon and Lyttelton-based rapper Kommi. Responding to a famous Māori proverb expressing communal solidarity “he waka eke noa,” meaning “we’re all in this boat together,” Marlon sings “I am alone / in this boat / on the ocean / There is not a trace of wind / No, none at all.”

In Williams’ words, “‘Aua Atu Rā’ has existed as a song since May 2019. My stumbling around in flawed, simple Māori in my Lyttelton bedroom studio, spurned on by the thought of writing a depressively isolationist rebuttal to the above whakatauki, was the moment that kickstarted the record. It speaks to something universal, but especially pertinent to Te Ao Māori’s collectivist culture, that I’ve always found difficult to square. We ARE all in the same boat, and as the British literary pundit GK Chesterton added to the picture, ‘we owe each other a terrible loyalty,’ and yet are at once utterly alone.

“As a songwriter, I cherish simplicity, but as a speaker of Māori, I had a bucketload of whakamā (self-doubt) to push through before I could even approach my friend Kommi about helping me write songs in Māori. We took this song out on the road with us five years ago and it just felt so damn good to play. I’m proud of it for reasons deeper than I’ve felt as a songwriter before. This song acted as a guiding light for the rest of the album to follow.”

MĀORI LYRICS

Ko au anake
Ki te waka,
Ki te moana
Kāore kau he matangi
Kāore he aha nei

Titiro mai
Titiro mai!
Te ama!
Ka tāuke atu nei
Aua atu rā

Ka mate au ki te moana mārie
Kāore ōku tūmanako
Kāore he aha nei

Anana e
Anana e!
Te ama!
Ka tāuke atu nei
Aua atu rā

E kore au e hoki anō ki a koe
Kāore e hoki anō ki tō kainga ē
E kore au e hoki anō ki a koe
Kāore e hoki anō ki tō kainga ē

Ko au anake
Ki te waka,
Ki te moana
Kāore kau he matangi
Kāore he aha nei

Aroha mai
Aroha mai!
Te ama!
Ka tāuke atu nei
Aua atu rā

ENGLISH TRANSLATION

I am alone
in this boat,
on the ocean
There is not a trace of wind
No, none at all

Look here
Look here!
The outrigger!
It is breaking away
Never mind

I will perish on the calm ocean
There is not a trace of hope
No, none at all

Behold
Behold!
The outrigger
is breaking away
Never mind

I won’t be coming back to you
Nevermore will I visit your home
I won’t be coming back to you
Nevermore will I visit your home

I am alone
in this boat,
on the ocean
There is not a trace of wind
No, none at all

Have mercy
Have mercy!
The outrigger!
It is breaking away
Never mind

“I hope that music may do the mahi (work) that conversation cannot, and that it may broaden and deepen our sense of interconnectedness,” Marlon says. By expanding his output into Māori, Marlon has widened the portal through which that connection might happen. Te Whare Tīwekaweka, he says, has given him “a bigger playground”.

Marlon Williams
Te Whare Tīwekaweka
Tracklist:

1. E Mawehe Ana Au
2. Kei Te Mārama
3. Aua Atu Rā
4. Me Uaua Kē
5. Korero Māori
6. Ko Tēnā Ua
7. Whakamaettia Mai
8. Ngā Ara Aroha
9. Huri te Whenua (Featuring KOMMI)
10. Kuru Pounamu
11. Kāhore He Manu E (Lorde)
12. Pānaki
13. Rere Mai Ngā Rau
14. Pōkaia Rā te Marama

Marlon Williams 2025 Tour Dates

Thu. Apr. 10 – New York, NY @ National Sawdust
Tue. Apr. 15 – Los Angeles, CA @ Zebulon
Wed. Apr. 23 – Fri. Apr. 29 – London, UK @ St. Pancras Old Church

Pre-order Te Whare Tīwekaweka HERE