New Māori record label, Waatea Music, will be releasing a string of waiata over the next few weeks in an effort to support Māori music. The first single release is from Howie Morrison Jnr, which has had over 5000 views on YouTube in its first weekend.
It’s a revamped song called "I Could Change My Life”, by one of Te Arawa's well-known performers, Howie Morrison Jnr.
“Russell Harrison and I wrote this song. And it's sung by Russell, myself and a guy called Chris Powley”, says Morrison Jnr.
The classic soul single is an ode to Morrison's father, one of the countries great entertainers, the late Sir Howard Morrison. It was written in 2010. But now is the time for Howie to take the stage.
Morrison Jnr says, “All my life I've lived in the shadow of my dad, and it's my way of saying okay, I love you father, where ever you are, I'm still here, I've lived more years than I've got left, so it's about me just making a statement, you know, me trying to do my thing now.”
The songs melody is reflective of Howie's passion of the big voices of yesteryear, to show a side of his dad not widely known to the public
“How he was, and how we perceived to see him as a family man, he taught us how to hunt, he taught us how to fish, every Sunday we'd be in the back yard, playing games, singing songs”, says Morrison Jnr.
Waatea Music will release three new songs by other Māori artists, over the coming weeks.