NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Kahu

1 Drop Nation’s new album pays homage to music scene struggles, coming home and the Warriors

By Mana Wikaire-Lewis
Other·
13 Oct, 2023 09:52 PM2 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

1 Drop Nation's music video for their new track Play it Loud.
1 Drop Nation's music video for their new track Play it Loud.

1 Drop Nation's music video for their new track Play it Loud.

By Mana Wikaire-Lewis of Whakaata Māori

Christchurch-based music group 1 Drop Nation has been drawing popularity since their start on the scene more than a decade ago as a support act for some of Aotearoa’s biggest artists and festivals.

Now they’re continuing to grow with the release of a second album, titled Moment in Time, which includes the official One New Zealand Warriors anthem I’m Home and their top-10 hit This Heart.

Two of the four band members, Kanei Johnson (Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Kahungunu) and Paerau Hemopo (Ngāi Tahu, Te Arawa, Ngāpuhi), were the founders, having been friends since primary school.

Johnson explained the story behind the Warriors song, which is a call for people far away from home to come back and reconnect, particularly with the rugby league club that moved its home base to Australia in the NRL’s Covid era.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

“Māori, in particular [those who are] overseas and wanting to come home, but obviously the stability and higher income in Australia keeps them there.

“The same thing with the Warriors - the boys spent two years [in Australia] digging in there to keep the NRL going, so we wanted to pay homage. So the song has a big push for supporting the Wahs,” Johnson says.

Hemopo says the album was about making songs for future generations.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Music for tamariki’s tamariki

“For me, it was about making music for my tamariki’s tamariki.”

Play it Loud, the first track on the new album, details a story most musicians or groups in New Zealand can relate to.

Read More

  • Kiwi music hopefuls get big boost
  • The cream of Māori music, Six60 and L.A.B, dominate ...
  • Māori music set to light up the month of Matariki - ...
  • Waiata Anthems: Kicking off NZ Music Month with Māori ...
  • Kiwi music giants Six60 release first single from new ...
  • Omāhu Marae to host special Waiata Māori Music Awards ...

“The inspiration came from a lack of funding. For us, we’ve tried and tried to get funding, and it was one of the hardest things,” Johnson says.

“It was ironic because we shot the video clip. The twist was around us not getting funding, and just before we released the album and the track, we got funding. So we manipulated the video clip to acknowledge that.

“It’s nice to be acknowledged for all the hard mahi that we’ve been putting in over the years.”

Their summer schedule is already busy enough, with eight bookings to get their music, especially the new album, out to the masses.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Kahu

New Zealand

Teen's 900km ride for Māori wards ends with cheers at Parliament

Premium
New Zealand

Editorial: Why the Tāmaki Makaurau byelection matters for Labour

Politics

Peeni Henare selected as Labour's candidate in Tāmaki Makaurau


Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Recommended for you

Newcastle Knights star reportedly considering shock switch to rugby union
Sport

Newcastle Knights star reportedly considering shock switch to rugby union

'Grateful': Rescued German backpacker details Australian bush ordeal, miraculous survival
World

'Grateful': Rescued German backpacker details Australian bush ordeal, miraculous survival

Man high on mushrooms crashes car into garage, with a preschooler on his lap
New Zealand

Man high on mushrooms crashes car into garage, with a preschooler on his lap

Auckland ambulance patients being diverted to non-hospital clinics
New Zealand

Auckland ambulance patients being diverted to non-hospital clinics

Cambodia to implement military conscription amid Thailand tensions
World

Cambodia to implement military conscription amid Thailand tensions

'Speechless': Woman's lost engagement ring miraculously found with stranger's help
Lifestyle

'Speechless': Woman's lost engagement ring miraculously found with stranger's help



Latest from Kahu

Teen's 900km ride for Māori wards ends with cheers at Parliament
New Zealand

Teen's 900km ride for Māori wards ends with cheers at Parliament

He delivered a support letter to Parliament, and was greeted by Chris Hipkins.

14 Jul 12:34 AM
Premium
Premium
Editorial: Why the Tāmaki Makaurau byelection matters for Labour
New Zealand

Editorial: Why the Tāmaki Makaurau byelection matters for Labour

13 Jul 05:00 PM
Peeni Henare selected as Labour's candidate in Tāmaki Makaurau
Politics

Peeni Henare selected as Labour's candidate in Tāmaki Makaurau

13 Jul 02:08 AM


Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

06 Jul 09:47 PM

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP
search by queryly Advanced Search