Singer Stan Walker has dropped his latest English single, Back to the River on Thursday, following his release of the reo Māori version, Ki Taku Awa, during te wiki o te reo Māori.
Wal;ker is from Tūhoe, Ngāi Te Rangi, Ngāti Ranginui, Ngāti Pūkenga, Tūhourangi Ngāti Wāhiao, Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Whakaue, and Ngāi Tahu.
The track is intended as a prequel to some of his previous songs, I Am and Māori Ki Te Ao.
Walker said this single represented the end of a trilogy seven years in the making.
“It’s an exciting moment for me, both musically and personally as I close this trilogy, this chapter.”
While the song is already out on streaming platforms, the music video for Back to the River will premiere on YouTube at 9pm NZT tonight (Thursday, October 3).
Walker said the video symbolised his healing journey, supported by his whānau, as he returned to his awa, completing a full circle.
A line in the song, Take me back to the river, was the first one Walker wrote and became the guiding force for the rest of the track. Once he penned that line, he said he knew the song would bring him back to a place of healing.
“Once we had the chorus, I wanted an old-school soul sound to come through. There’s a familiar pain shared across the world from old soul artists. After 15 years of writing music, I’ve found that this kind of sound feels the most like home,” he said in a statement.
The reo Māori version of the song, Ki Taku Awa, charted at No 1 on the Hot NZ Singles Chart after a week, while ranking second on the Top 10 Te Reo Māori Singles Chart, and became the only Aotearoa song to reach the Hot 40 Singles Chart, coming in at number ten.
Back to the River and Ki Taku Awa are available now on all streaming platforms.