He waiata hōu kua puta i te rā nei, e whakanui ana i te whakataetae o Te Matatini ka tū ki te kāhui maunga hei te marama o Pepuere.
Kua whakakotahi mai nei ngā rōpū pūoro rongonui o Aotearoa, a Corrella me L.A.B, hei reo o te waiata nei o ‘We Belong.’
E ai ki te kaiwaiata o Corrella, ki a Ngāwaiwera Campbell, ko te waiata nei, he karanga ki a tūmatawhānui mā, kia whakawhirnaki mai nei tātou ki te kaupapa.
“He waiata mō tātou katoa. He wāhanga ki roto rā e kōrero ana ki te hunga kāore pea kua tae mai ki Te Matatini. No reira, e kaha āki ana rātou te haere mai, ki te tomo mai te kite, te rongo i te hiranga i te ataahuatanga o tō mātou ahurea Māori, otirā o te Kapa Haka.”
The blending of two languages
The song is predominantly in English, and Campbell says that they had to ‘sit on that decision’ for a while, but they were confident in the decision they made.
“It ended up being a good decision to do it in te reo Pākehā so that everyone could jump along the ride and be a part of our waiata.”
Fellow Corrella vocalist Pipiwharauroa Campbell is confident that the song’s primary message will spread far and wide.
“This song is a little bit different to other Te Matatini songs with it being predominantly in English, even though we have the utmost respect for the Māori language. This was to convey that even if you don’t speak Te Reo Māori, you still belong.
Both Corella and L.A.B are currently on their summer tour.
L.A.B frontman and vocalist for the song, Joel Shadbolt, says working with Corrella was an awesome experience.
“We really wanted to capture the vibe and unity that Te Matatini brings to Aotearoa, and ‘We Belong’ is the result.” he said.
Whakakākahuria ki te kotahitanga
Nō te tau 2018 whakaputaina ai te waiata whakanui i a Te Matatini e kī ana ‘Te Matatini ki te ao.’ He kotahi miriona ngā mātakihanga i Youtube, ā, tōnā toru miriona ngā whakarongohanga i Spotify.
I mīhia ngā kaiwaiata nei e te hea o Te Matatini, e Tā Herewini Parata, me tana tautoko mārika i ngā kōrero o roto i te waiata.
“The waiata ‘We Belong’ is about Kotahitanga (unity) and champions a place for us all in Aotearoa, including a place for te reo Māori and traditional Māori performing arts. Te Matatini is where we belong.”
