The Kiwi reggae classic ‘Politician’ by Kora has been re-recorded and re-released in te reo Māori.
‘Taraketi’ is a brand new take on the 2004 political anthem, including a fresh guitar solo by L.A.B’s Joel Shadbolt while still keeping the funky synths and unforgettable bassline and harmonies.
A Taraketi is a person of influence in an iwi, similar to a councillor.
Band member Franic Kora said in a press release that “creating the Te reo Māori version was a very precious process that holds mana and pride to an updated version of the waiata”.
“It was important for us to incorporate Ngāi Tūhoe dialect into the waiata,” he said.
The re-recording comes as part of the Waiata/Anthems project which began in 2019.
The aim of the project is to “support the emergence of a truly bilingual musical landscape, using the power of popular music to increase the reach of te reo Māori and its unique cultural identity to all of Aotearoa.”
