Lorde Releases EP With Māori Renditions of Solar Power Songs

If you thought Lorde stretched herself on Solar Power, wait until you hear her surprise-release Te Ao Mārama EP — which is sung entirely in the Maori language of New Zealand’s indigenous people.

Lorde gets a boost from several Maori musicians on the EP, which features revamps of five songs from Solar Power. In a statement explaining the release, she says “Many things revealed themselves slowly to me while I was making this album, but the main realization by far was that much of my value system around caring for and listening to the natural world comes from traditional Māori principles.”

“There’s a word for it: Kaitiakitanga, meaning ‘guardianship or care-giving for the sky, sea and land’. I’m not Māori, but all New Zealanders grow up with elements of this worldview.”

All proceeds from the new EP will benefit the New Zealand-based charities Forest And Bird and Te Hua Kawariki Charitable Trust.