TE KAAHU

TE KAAHU is the brainchild of Christchurch-born singer and songwriter Em Walker (Waikato-Tainui, Ngāti Tipa), who is also known as the artist Theia.
Te Kaahu O Rangi (affectionately shortened to TE KAAHU) honours the craft and skill of traditional Māori songwriting and storytelling through music. It aims to pair modern instrumentation with lyricism that nods to the language of Walker’s ancestors. She intricately does this through the use of kupu whakarite (metaphor), pepeha (tribal sayings) and whakataukī (proverbs).
A fierce proponent for the revitalisation of Māori language and culture, Walker has a double degree in Te Reo Rangatira and Māori and Indigenous Studies from the University of Canterbury. Through TE KAAHU she pays tribute to her tūpuna wāhine and also seeks to shine a light on the beauty and vulnerability in Māori music, which is so often overlooked in the mainstream narrative.