Christchurch musician Rebecca Robin will release her first bilingual waiata, Haere Rā, on 18 September during Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori.

The song was produced by Henare Kaa through the Waiata Reo Māori Incubator, a mentorship programme for artists developing waiata and working with te reo Māori, run through Toi Ōtautahi.

Haere Rā began with Robin’s first karanga, a ceremonial call within tikanga Māori traditionally carried by wāhine. Hers was a poroporoaki, a farewell.

“There is a generosity in offering your voice and your presence in a moment like that, and it stayed with me long afterwards,” Robin said.

The waiata is about loss, saying goodbye, and what comes afterwards when life still asks a person to keep moving, she said.

Robin describes the song as a journey from Te Pō towards Te Ao Mārama, a movement from darkness and uncertainty towards light and clarity.

“Loss doesn’t simply disappear. We carry people, relationships, places and experiences with us, sometimes for the rest of our lives,” she said.

Moving forward did not mean erasing what happened or pretending it had not hurt, she said.

Robin hopes listeners bring their own experiences to it, whether that is bereavement, the end of a relationship, a major life change, or leaving behind an older version of themselves.

Writing in both English and te reo Māori was an important step for her as a Māori songwriter.

“I didn’t want Te Reo Māori to feel like something added onto an English song. It needed to belong there and carry its own meaning,” she said.

The process had made her more deliberate about language, imagery, structure and intention, she said.

“It has also shown me that I don’t need to separate my identity as Māori from the contemporary pop and R&B music I make. They can exist together naturally,” Robin said.

She first approached the Waiata Reo Māori Incubator about a year ago and has worked with Kaa since. The relationship has become broader than language alone, extending into how she structures songs, tells stories and thinks about the intention behind her work.

Robin is also an Artist in Residence at Toi Auaha, a role that has given her access to networks, professional advice, other artists and opportunities across the creative sector.

“As an independent artist, having that ecosystem around you can make an enormous difference,” she said.

The official music video for Haere Rā follows on 27 September.

Her next single, Divine, is due in October. It was produced by Greg Haver, and the music video was filmed at Ravenscar House Museum in Christchurch.

Haere Rā is available to pre-save now.