Koia Ko Koe/So True

The Black Seeds , Music Video – 2023

In 2005 Wellington band The Black Seeds released double platinum album On the Sun, featuring what would turn out to be their most requested song, laid-back reggae ballad 'So True'. The band revisited their biggest hit 18 years later, translating the romantic lyrics into te reo Māori for music project Waiata Anthems. The accompanying video is a case of 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it' — the noughties clip of a sun-kissed summer roadie (featuring Bret McKenzie) to the Coromandel remains, with additional shots of a soulful Barnaby Weir delivering the refreshed, te reo Māori version in the studio.

'So True' is probably our most loved and well-known song, so it makes total sense to translate and deliver something much more familiar in te reo Māori for people to sing along to. Actually, we had been in discussion about doing this for some time. Everyone in the band was right behind the idea and I think that by translating a known Kiwi classic, you can encourage non-te reo speaking fans to get involved and learn something using the song as the waka. It’s meaningful.
– Black Seeds co-founder Barnaby Weir on translating his band's hit song into te reo Māori, The NZ Herald, 7 September 2023