MEDIA RELEASE
WEDNESDAY 9th AUGUST, 2023
Te Matatini presents ‘Kia Kino Nei Hoki’ a celebration of haka, music and language
Multi-award winning artists Rob Ruha, Ria Hall and 2023 National Te Matatini champions Te Kapa Haka o Te Whānau a Apanui have joined forces on ‘Kia Kino Nei Hoki’, an intensely powerful waiata gifted by Te Matatini to NZ Rugby. Chairman of Te Matatini Sir Selwyn Parata says “the power of waiata is its ability to transcend barriers and languages to evoke ihi, te wehi me te wana. Kia Kino Nei Hoki is a unifying force to rally our nation and fans worldwide to get behind our team.”
'Kia Kino Nei Hoki’ portrays parallels between stadium and stage. The song is an explosion of fierce energy which echoes the nervous pulse reverberating in the ears of the player and performer during their preparations. Rob Ruha describes the song saying “Kia Kino Nei Hoki is charged with the excitement and adrenaline that kaihaka feel on the side of stage before we go out to perform. No doubt that spirit will be similar to when our team is in the changing room before they hit the rugby field.”
‘Kia Kino Nei Hoki’ was performed first to a live and pulsing capacity crowd at the Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin on Saturday who very quickly took to the hook line “Ānanā! Kia kino nei hoki!” The trilingual track extends the domain of Reo Māori sung poetry and includes the hook line ‘N’importe quoi!’ which originates from a street expression Rob Ruha picked up on his recent trip to France meaning ‘Whatever’ and speaks to the attitude a professional player and performer must command if involved in a play off!
‘Kia Kino Nei Hoki’ is the masterpiece of Rob Ruha, Ria Hall, Pere Wihongi and Devin Abrams and will be available this Friday.