Marlon Williams Joins Forces With Lorde On 'Kāhore He Manu E'

Marlon Williams has released another single from his first-ever Māori language album, Te Whare Tīwekaweka, this time teaming up with fellow Kiwi singer Lorde (aka Ella Yelich-O’Connor).

The song Kāhore He Manu E is a tender piano ballad that allows both singers’ voices to shine. Each sharing a verse, Williams’ rich vocal effortlessly contrasts with Lorde’s distinctive, commanding aura. Hearing them both sing in Māori is a treat—it’s just a shame the song is so short.

For Te Whare Tīwekaweka, Williams worked with his band, The Yarra Benders, while the album was co-produced by Mark Perkins (Te Whānau-ā-Apanui). Williams’ upcoming album is arriving on Friday, 4 April, five years in the making. You can pre-order the album here.

The music video for Kāhore He Manu E has been pulled from the forthcoming documentary, Marlon Williams: Ngā Ao E Rua - Two Worlds, a film by Ursula Grace Williams that captures the making of the record. Meanwhile, the clip provides a sneak peek into the friendship and collaboration between Williams and Lorde.

The singer-songwriter said of his latest single: “Kāhore He Manu E was one of those gentle labours. It played itself out to me easily and near complete from the first. It was also obvious who should be singing it; Ella’s voice, in a very real sense, wrote the song.

“The distinct and striking characteristics in her voice cornering and demanding of the melody and phrasing what only her voice could. Singing with Ella is incredible; the amount of mind she’s able to pour into the vessel.”

He continued, “We got to know each other through sharing the highs and lows of touring life, and in a real sense, this song is an ode to the colourful but grim wormhole of road life, to the friends made and lost in the folds of time, ‘visions lost in the blur.’”

Lorde added, “Over the course of several years, I watched Marlon pull at the threads that became Te Whare Tīwekaweka. I saw that the further he got into the album, the deeper my friend came to know himself, his whānau and his world at large.

“Marlon is an undercover perfectionist, and he was never going to embark on this journey without turning over every stone, crafting complex waiata that speak to the past while also braiding in his characteristic humour and X-ray vision.

“Singing with Marlon is one of my favourite things to do on earth, whether we are tipsy backstage by a pool table or in a luscious studio, and I was honoured he asked me to sing with him on this album. I’m so proud of my friend.”