3 days ago
Ko wai tēnei: Jen Cloher
Ko wai tēnei? is a new series profiling inspirational Māori in Aotearoa and beyond. Today, we get to know songwriter and performer Jen Cloher.
Having spent years in Australia, indie music icon Jen Cloher (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Kanu ki Whangaroa) is back in Aotearoa and on a journey of reclamation of their language and culture. They have also released a new season of a podcast profiling indigenous musicians from Aoteraoa and Te Whenua Moemoeā.
Ko wai koe? Nō hea koe?
Tēnā koutou, he uri tēnei no Ngāpuhi me Ngāti Kahu ki Whangaroa. E noho ana au ki Ōtaki. I whakatipu au ki Naarm, Te Whenua Moemoeā. Ko Huriata tōku ingoa.
I whakapapa to Te Tai Tokerau, near Whangaroa Harbour up north but I grew up in Melbourne, Australia. I'm currently living and studying in Ōtaki, about an hour north of Te Whanganui-a-Tara.
What ' s the kaupapa that drives you right now?
Right now, I'm at Te Wānanga o Raukawa where I'm doing a year-long te reo Māori immersion course. Having lived in Australia my whole life, I started the course with the basics: a handful of greetings, a couple of karakia and my pepeha – so it's been a steep learning curve! It's been a slow start to my haerenga but I'm starting to understand more of what is being said and can put some basic sentences together. I feel so grateful to be able to step into such a beautiful kaupapa ia rā ia rā.
I've also just released the second season of my podcast Everybody's Trying To Find Their Way Home which are conversations with Māori and First Nations (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islands) songwriters and performers who are writing and performing in their languages. Making a podcast about writing and performing in indigenous languages during an intense year of beginning to learn mine has helped me to keep going. Hearing how people have worked so hard to reawaken their language so they can share it through song is tino ataahua.
What ' s the best piece of advice you ' ve ever received?
You're not here to be perfect.
What ' s one challenge you ' ve had to overcome on your journey?
Learning that a lot of my thoughts are negative but they're not the truth. Learning how to feel my feelings. It's giving self help but honestly, those two things have been a massive challenge.
What ' s a moment you ' re really proud of?
I'm really proud of my podcast. Indigenous women and queer folks are rarely centred in the music industry. I love that I get to create a longform audio documentary that takes time telling their stories with respect and care. I think the thing I'm most proud of though, is their honesty and courage – there's vulnerability in every episode that makes things feel closer. In the words of my editor and mixer Jon Tjhia: 'It speaks to the resonance and longevity of communal voice – and in a time where cultural industries are beholden to the narrative insistences of their patrons and masters – it draws me back to the importance of culture and song as a lifeline of knowledge.'
What does success look like to you?
British-American writer and orator Alan Watts once said: 'Stop measuring days by degree of productivity and start experiencing them by degree of presence.'
Late stage capitalism has wrought havoc on the planet, greater than human beings and humanity. Slowing down and learning how to be in relationship with everything feels like the antithesis of capitalism and so I'm choosing it more and more. Stop, breathe, see who's in front of you and love them with everything you have.
Who are three people you admire and why?
Shellie Morris, Whirimako Black and Byllie-jean. Three of the guests on the new season of my podcast. They've all lived big lives, they tell it straight and you always come away feeling better and wiser for being in their presence.
What keeps you grounded?
Karakia, waiata and mōteatea ia rā, ia rā.
What ' s one whakaaro you want to leave our readers with?
Ko tōku reo, tōku ohooho; tōku reo, tōku mapihi maurea; tōku reo, tōku whakakai marihi. My language is my awakening, my language is the window to my soul.
Flat or round doughboys in your boil up?
Both, of course.
What ' s something about you most people don ' t know?
I won't sleep in a room where the window doesn't open. I've left hotels on tour to find another that has a window that opens. The thought of air not being able to circulate or just being in an air-conditioned environment sends me sideways. I need fresh air.
