Source: Radio New Zealand
Before playing sold-out stadiums last summer and dominating the NZ music charts with his Hori Shaw duet ‘Ready to Ride’, Te Wehi shared covers, but not his original songs, on TikTok.
As he got older, the reggae, soul and country-inspired musician was freed up when he “stopped caring what people think”.
“I just thought, ‘Man, I want to do it because I love it, and I know that there’s some people out there that need this’,” he tells RNZ’s Music 101.
Te Wehi, who’s been songwriting since he was 16, says he tries to sing in a “real” way about things he cares about, because that’s what’s most relatable.
In the new single ‘I’m Home’, that’s his commitment to being “a strong and willing protector of this land” as a bushman.
The title track was “transformed” by award-winning producer Kings who produced the I’m Home album, Te Wehi says.
Joined by a five-piece band, Te Wehi is both nervous and excited to share his new songs with all-ages crowds in Hamilton, Auckland, Tauranga, Rotorua, Wellington and Christchurch.
“I just want to show everyone everything.”
He also learnt being a touring musician is a “hard grind”.
“You have to be on all the time, so you’ve just got to really lock in… That was real eye-opening.”
While Te Wehi says he was just writing songs and singing covers for enjoyment the last few years, he also knew he was a “good enough producer” to put an album out.
“I just thought, ‘Man, I want to do it because I love it, and I know that there’s some people out there that need this”,
The title ‘I’m Home’ is a reference to “how I found my true calling in music”, Te Wehi shared in a recent TikTok post.
“To be in the charts is mind-blowing … I just thought I’d be fencing for the rest of my life.”
– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
