You will always get my attention when you perform in the beautiful, indigenous languages of the peoples of this world. I’m Welsh, born and bred. Despite living outside of Wales since the very start of the 1990s, and in New Zealand since 1997, I still have my accent, and I know my native language. This is why I am going to speak a lot about how important music and performers like AJA are in these times we live in.

AJA (Aja Wairere Ropata) has brought us an R & B waiata and video as a tribute to her ancestral Iwi and Marae, Te Reo ki Whakarongotai. This roughly translates to English as The Words Of Reconciliation. Please forgive me if I have that wrong. She’s described it as “an adornment in the sky; a brooch worn by the Sky Father himself. A product of the vast wisdom inherited from generations before.”

Lyrics written by AJA‘s uncle Kahu Ropata, composed by her older sister Trey Ropata, the song was developed by AJA, Kahu and Natasha Ropata. It celebrates the revival and preservation of knowledge, language, tikanga and traditions – beautifully capturing the deep connection to roots and treasures of language. “The lyrics symbolise the plume of knowledge that spans the heavens,” says AJA.

The song was recorded in the Wellington home studio of producer, singer and musician Mara TK (Electric Wire Hustle, Meeting House Records). It was mastered by Bennytones (Ben Horton) of Organik Music.

I’m not naturally attracted to a lot of R & B. I’ll be honest there. This track, however, has a bewitching vibe. An earthy, swaying, enticing tune supported by a strong rhythm and a exceptional vocal performance. It’s a deeply thought out work of orchestration, arrangement and engineering, and it gives out an organic, mesmerizing feeling of being invited into something as old as these islands, and as sacred as the past and the future. It’s very well put together.

The video is charm incarnate. It’s filmed to allow us an insight into a whanau gathering, and is not cluttered with ambiguity or lofty statements aimed at anything or anyone. Filmed at Whakarongotai, it was directed by Tola Newbery, filmed by Isaac Te Reina and Tama Kawha, who also did the editing.

Bringing the language, Te Reo, to the recorded world is very important. Music is colour-blind, and does not vote in elections. The wisdom of knowing that we are all diverse and unique is captured nowhere more than in our different forms of language. Nobody has the right to tell you that you must not speak in your language and have to adopt theirs. Maori, like my people the Welsh, faced that for generations – and both still do. Speaking our indigenous languages shows that we are us. We are us and we can and do live beside you but remain us. Never have we tried to cancel your languages, your cultures – and we show you that we do not want ours to be cancelled, by using the words of our ancestors. By remaining spiritually bound to the land, and by keeping our customs and traditions. If that felt a little political for a music site, then frankly I don’t care.

This is a professionally delivered R & B track. A tune you’ll be humming. You can listen to this while driving, on air at work, it has liveliness too so stick it on your playlist when you go for a walk. And follow AJA on her socials. Give this a listen: this is a professional musician in control of her game.