Ahead of her European tour dates this June with UK shows in Manchester, Leeds, Newcastle, Glasgow, Birmingham, London, Bristol and Brighton (see dates below), Australian singer songwriter Jen Cloher has shared a joyful and thought-provoking culturally insightful video for the title track of her fifth studio album ‘I Am The River, The River Is Me‘. The video was filmed by Nick McKinlay and shares a day in the life story of a young Māori boy growing up in Collingwood, balancing the modern world with the traditional practices of his culture.
The album, which featured songs sung in both English and te reo Māori, brings focus to how everything is interconnected and our purpose as human beings. There is much we can learn from other cultures, especially those that have such a strong bond to nature and recognise not just the fragility of that web of life but also the part we must play in that. Despite the weight of these topics, the album is laced with hope. She shared the following about the album:
The title “I Am The River, The River Is Me” is taken from a Māori proverb with Jen sharing further insight saying “It holds especially deep significance for Iwi (tribes) along the Whanganui River in the North Island of Aotearoa, NZ. In 2017 they won a landmark legislation when the New Zealand government granted the Whanganui River legal personhood—a status that is in keeping with the Māori worldview that the river is a living entity. The legislation refers to the river as an “indivisible, living whole,” conferring it “all the rights, powers, duties, and liabilities” of an individual.
At the heart of this album is a remembering of our purpose as human beings. We are not of this earth, we are the earth. When we frame our dependence in this way, we remember our purpose as guardians, caretakers – as kaitiaki.”
The parents of the boy in the film (Fallon Te Paa and Kodie Heremia) are members of Te Hononga o ngā Iwi, kapa haka (a Māori performing arts group), who appear across the album and will be joining Jen on tour for the capital city shows. Discussing the clip’s creation, Jen shares, “When we were writing the treatment for the clip, Fallon and Kodie joked how their life is spent dressing up to be Māori. We ran with this idea which shows the time and care that goes into every performance. Like the song, the clip contrasts the grind of modern life with the transformative joy of connection, family and culture.”
Buy/ stream the new album here: https://jen-cloher.lnk.to/iamtheriverID
See Jen Cloher live:
7 Jun – Deaf Institute, Manchester UK
8 Jun – Belgrave Music Hall, Leeds UK
9 Jun – The Cumberland Arms, Newcastle UK
10 Jun – Stereo, Glasgow UK
11 Jun – The Hare & Hounds, Birmingham UK
13 Jun – Jazz Café, London UK
14 Jun – Louisiana, Bristol UK
15 Jun – Green Door Store, Brighton UK
16 Jun – Witfloof Bar Botanique, Brussels BE
17 Jun – EKKO, Utrecht NL
18 Jun – Rotown, Rotterdam NL
20 Jun – Supersonic, Paris FR
22 Jun – Molotow Skybar, Hamburg DE
23 Jun – Privatclub, Berlin DE
Ticket links can be found here: https://www.jencloher.com/jen