Music Industry News

Casual Healing (AKA Nikau Te Huki) has recorded his anthem ‘Aroha’ featuring Kenzie From Welly, which is set for release on the 14th February, 2025

‘Aroha’ was produced by Te Huki at his studio Te Whare Chur, who shares “The song came out of a fight I had with my wahine. It got me thinking, why do we always take our sh*t out on the people we love the most? Time to make a change. The guitar came first, then the drums. The beat felt like early 2000’s RnB which was exactly what i needed to feel connected and pour out my hopeful heart.”

With every new waiata, Casual healing is redefining himself as a composer. Not only do his productions break the mould, they are completely reshaping the blueprint of what recorded music has to be. This, he says, is accredited to his wide range of influences including Nina Simone, Jeff Buckley, magic mushrooms and Bob Marley.

‘Aroha’ is a stunning example of this. The new single introduces RnB, a rich reggae verse, a neo hip-hop bridge, a ballad chorus, a soulful horn section, nyabinghi drums, choir Bvs and a moment of liquid poetry from one of Aotearoa’s most inspiring female rappers – Kenzie from Welly.

‘Aroha’ will be the second single from the highly anticipated upcoming E.P. Nikau hopes to provide a plethora of new music in 2025, and we’ve heard that he plans to release 4 e.p’s before the year is over. Eyes on Casual Healing and the CHUR movement.

Casual Healing will release four EP’s in 2025, with each body of work representing a fundamental element in Te Taiao, the natural world. ‘Water The Good Seed’ was the highly anticipated first single of this series, breaking the ice for a cascade of new music to come. With an ever-growing national and international following, after sold out tours of both Aotearoa and Australia in 2024, Casual Healing has received a groundswell of love for his debut album Driftwood and many await the new works from this young, prolific songwriter.

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Photo credit: Francesca Sewell