The singer-songwriter’s new album wasn’t intended to be political, but it arrives at a tense moment for Aotearoa politics.

This has not stopped opponents, including white New Zealanders and Maori New Zealanders ... there has been as much anger and hostility and emotion that has been created by central government ...

So, for his fourth solo album, he turned to Te Reo Maori, spoken irregularly in his family for three generations. “Emotions are self-justifying, but language is where things fall apart,” says ...