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

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.

“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.

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.

“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.