Theia returns worth protest anthem ‘BALDH3AD!’
Published: Friday 13 September
NZ born and now US based artist Theia returns today with her first new music in over a year, the powerful single ‘BALDH3AD!’
A sparse electronic song that switches into dark, brooding heavy beats at pivotal moments, it is a blistering denouncement of colonisation and the treatment of Māori and indigenous people worldwide. ‘Baldhead, you’re so well fed on my destruction / Fetishise our women, silence our children / Plunder my motherland, pollute the sea / But still, I survive though you clip my wings,’ Theia sings. The anger, hurt and outrage are made all the more powerful by Theia’s gentle, almost angelic vocal performance.
The song also features a number of clever sonic touches, including medieval accordions and the traditional Māori instrument, the pūtaratara, which is “a conch used to signal war”.
‘BALDH3AD!’ is my musical assault on the plague of colonisation, which has impacted our people since the 1800s and continues to threaten our language and culture under the current government. It’s an expression of seething anger but also a call to action for my fellow wāhine Māori, rangatahi Māori and indigenous folks worldwide,” Theia says. “Through ‘BALDH3AD!’ I hope people are reminded of the atrocities that have occurred in our country and of the deep wounds that are now being reopened because of the actions of our current government. I also hope that other Māori, and indigenous folks, are reminded of our power. Despite a system that strives to eradicate our language and culture, we are carrying on the work of our ancestors. We will keep fighting for justice and for the betterment of our people. And as youth, we are standing strong together.”
Also out today it’s the equally compelling music video for ‘BALDH3AD!’. Dressed as a medieval English queen, Theia, who is of Waikato-Tainui, Ngāti Tīpā descent, stands proud amongst her fellow rangatahi Māori who are dressed in traditional kākahu. In a wild, untouched landscape, the juxtaposition between the ‘coloniser’ in a land that does not belong to them, next the beauty of the indigenous owners of the land, is striking. Filmed on the Wainuiomata coast, it features students from Massey University in Te Whanganui-a-Tara, where Theia was Mātairangi Mahi Toi – Artist In Residence last year.
Theia became one of New Zealand’s brightest new stars in 2016 when her single ‘Roam’ and self-titled debut EP became hits, earning her three nominations at the New Zealand Music Awards in 2017. Over the intervening years she has proven to be one of music’s most singular talents, with a remarkable ability to shapeshift with ease, from the brash hyper pop of ‘Kitty Kat’, the rap-hip hop of ‘Avant Garde’ to the moving ballad ‘Pray 4 Me’ and the melancholic pure pop ‘Bad Idea’. What makes Theia’s music all the more special are her poetic lyrics, which always tackle important social issues such as colonisation, suicide, feminism and LGBTQIA+ rights.
Theia has spent the last five months touring the US and Canada, appearing at such festivals as Toronto Pride, Miami Beach Pride, Women’s Freedom Festival (LA), San Diego Pride and SheFest. Now with new music out in the world, the next chapter of her career begins and it is looking as connective, emotive, beautifully crafted and important as ever.
‘BALDH3AD!’ is out now. You can buy and stream here.
Follow Theia on Instagram and Facebook.
