Jen Cloher is back with season two of their Indigenous language podcast, Everybody’s Trying to Find Their Way Home.
The project continues Cloher’s exploration of Māori and First Nations songwriters writing and performing music in their own languages.
Since releasing their fifth album Ko Au Te Awa, Ko Te Awa Ko Au and launching the podcast’s first season, Cloher has relocated from Naarm (Melbourne) to their homeland of Aotearoa (New Zealand), where they are undertaking a year-long immersive Te Reo Māori course at Te Wānanga o Raukawa in Ōtaki.
“Rumaki means to immerse or drown,” Cloher says of the course, “and for a beginner like me, drowning in the Māori language definitely sums up the experience.”
View this post on InstagramLove Music?
Get your daily dose of metal, rock, indie, pop, and everything else in between.
The podcast received widespread recognition in its first season, earning nominations for Best New Podcast and Best Arts & Culture Podcast at the Australian Podcast Awards, and featuring in the Wheeler Centre’s Spring Fling program with a special live episode.
Season two features an impressive lineup of Indigenous artists. Cloher travels to Kakadu with Shellie Morris to explore the legacy of the Borroloola Songwomen and visits Whirimako Black in Ruatoki to uncover why her debut album Hinepukohurangi (Shrouded in the Mist) was shelved for five years.
The season also includes a truck ride with Byllie-jean to discuss her Taite Prize-winning debut, a late-night meal with Jordyn with a Why at a 24-hour diner in South Auckland, and celebrations with Naarm-based waiata group Takatāpui Tuesdays and campaigner Te Raukura O’Connell Rapira.
In season one Cloher met Theia (Waikato-Tainui, Ngāti Tīpa), Emma Donovan, and more.
Cloher, now based in the rural town of Ōtaki, has earned acclaim including a J Award and an AIR Award, plus nominations for an ARIA and the Australian Music Prize.
The new season of Everybody’s Trying to Find Their Way Home is available now at everybodystryingpodcast.com.
