5 New Zealand music acts keeping te reo Maori alive and rocking

Che Fu

Looking back over 2025, one of the most powerful events for New Zealanders was the reclaiming of the Guinness World Record for the world’s largest haka at Eden Park.

The crowd was diverse. Some were deeply committed, while others were simply excited to dance. Either way, footage from the day clearly signals a growing engagement with te reo Maori (the Maori language) within mainstream Aotearoa New Zealand.

The mass haka was championed by Hinewehi Mohi, who famously sang the national anthem in te reo and led the Waiata Anthems project) – and was supported by New Zealand’s most-streamed band Six60, whose song Pepeha is often sung in school assemblies.

The event also reflected a broader trend identified in the 2023 census, wherein the number of people who speak te reo Maori grew 15% since 2018. This trend is changing the music landscape of Aotearoa.

Sounds that reshape the nation

Music offers us a window into societal thoughts about politics, identity and power. Sounds, lyrics and genres can reflect public tensions, hopes and debates that might not always surface in more formal settings.

In recent years, a number of Aotearoa’s musical artists have used language to build on and reshape our national identity. At the forefront of this cultural shift are two well-loved acts: genre-bending singer-songwriter Marlon Williams and heavy metal export Alien Weaponry.

Both have been reconnecting with te reo in a big way, with documentaries charting their journeys (see Nga Ao E Rua – Two Worlds and Kua Tupu Te Ara).

But there are many other exceptional artists also playing their part. And since Spotify Wrapped didn’t quite do our local acts justice, we thought we’d provide our personal pick of five musicians doing remarkable mahi (work).

Mokotron

Hailing from Ngati Hine “down North”, Mokotron is the musical project of long-time Tamaki Makaurau-based producer and University of Auckland academic Tiopira McDowell.

His Taite Music Prize-winning album Waerea (2024) brings reo Maori and taonga puoro (Maori musical instruments) into what he describes as “dark, problematic, trauma-driven Maori electro bass”.

The track Ko Wai Koe?, which grew out of McDowell’s involvement in Treaty settlement negotiations, is built around the repeated questioning of authority and the legitimacy of colonial power.

The visuals for the track combine hulking Maori carvings with colonial-themed Space Invaders imagery, reflecting what McDowell describes as his approach to “ancient futurism”. It goes off live too – such as at Glastonbury and in this Boiler Room set with TeKuraHuia.

Theia/Te Kaahu

Theia, and her folk leaning alter-ego Te Kaahu, are the stage names of Em-Haley Walker, from the iwi (tribes) Waikato-Tainui and Ngaati Tiipaa.

Theia is a fierce proponent of Maori language revitalisation – and was number five on politician and iwi leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer’s end-of-year Spotify Wrapped.

Signed back in 2016 to Warner Music, Theia’s breakout pop track Roam (2016) feels worlds away from her sharp, confrontational 2025 single BALDH3AD!, which addresses colonial violence and culminates in the refrain “Ka whawahi to, tonu matou, ake ake” (“we will fight on forever and ever”, referencing Ngati Maniapoto leader Rewi Maniapoto).

Theia’s strong visual aesthetic is highlighted through the Edwardian-esque visuals of her new album Girl, In A Savage World (2025) – a subversive approach that takes colonial era garb and artfully reclaims it, akin to Dam Native’s 1997 track Behold My Kool Style.

GreatSouth

GreatSouth (from the iwi of Ngati Kahungunu ki Wairarapa and Te Rarawa), formerly Fable, is a grounded and humble emerging indie-rock artist blending sharp musicality with strong urban foundations.

Driven by today’s social and political climate, he speaks openly about Maori inequities both in his music and on social media.

This tane (man) crafts his guitar music with taonga puoro, weaving te reo where it feels natural, and “sharing his slice of Maori being” one indie-rock waiata at a time.

Geneva AM

Geneva AM (from the iwi of Ngati Ruapani mai Waikaremoana, Ngati Kahungunu ki Wairoa, Aitutaki, and from Palmerston) is multi-talented.

She is a producer, former indie-electronica band SoccerPractice vocalist, former radio DJ and visual artist. In 2025, she released her debut album Pikipiki – a joyful bilingual project about rising up and moving forward.

Original tracks sit alongside reimagined Aotearoa favourites such as Tutira Mai Nga Iwi and Purea Nei, and blend a ton of unexpected genres including classical, drum and bass, and emo rock.

The track Toitu Te Tiriti champions the 1840 treaty, with strings so emotive they could stir the hearts of anyone – even if they didn’t attend the nation’s largest march in support of the treaty.

Mokomokai

Mokomokai – a playful hip-hop collective featuring Dirty (aka Manu Walters), Dusty and Ghos – is a great microcosm of the changing way te reo Maori sits within music.

On their 2023 album Whakarehu, the track Kupe (featuring Melodownz) name-checks legendary Polynesian explorer Kupe and well-loved singer-songwriter Che Fu – situating the act within an expanding New Zealand hip-hop genealogy.

At the back-end of Melodownz’ verse, his pepeha (tribal saying used to introduce oneself) slots in comfortably. He speaks to his journey as an artist embracing his Maori identity (as shown in the Waiata Anthems documentary series, in which everything is linked back to Hinewehi Mohi).

Tatou tatou e (all of us, all of us)

There are many more extraordinary musicians championing te reo, including MA, Anna Coddington, Rei with his Maori language degree, and L.A.B. (who recorded their first song Maumahara Noa Ahau in te reo).

As a nation, we’re getting there, and we can count on our musicians to lead the way. Let’s not forget, toku reo toku ohooho (“our language is our awakening”).

The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.