Watch LEAO's Video For New Single 'LALELEI'

Tāmaki Makaurau innovators of their own South Pacific "niu wave" sound, Noa Records teammates LEAO are travelling abroad this week for their first ever tour in the northern hemisphere. Their parting gift for local fans and welcoming gesture for newcomers everywhere is today's single 'LALELEI', released with the announcement LEAO's very keenly awaited debut album THE SAMOA TAPES will be out in the world soon.

Sung entirely in Samoan and sporting a heart-bursting blend of steel guitar, amp-sizzling garage-surf-psych licks and crashing percussion, 'LALELEI' (Beautiful) is LEAO's poetic homage to Samoan pop music traditions. Directed by Frandson Bahat and made with support from NZ On Air, the accompanying video is a kaleidoscopic spotlight of the group in action, stylishly shot in black and white by DOP Matt Hunter.

Performing in the UK this week at The Great Escape Festival before they tour Scandinavia with Tinariwen, we can look forward to lots more in the near future from David Feauai-Afaese, Navakatoa Tekela-Pule, Levi Gemmell, and Rāhana Tito-Taylor...

"The intent behind LALELEI initially was to write something closer to older classic Samoan pop songs. A lot of old Samoan classics from the late-70’s and throughout the 80’s took inspiration from American popular music of the time such as soft rock, funk, soul and R&B, thus compositionally we had a strong idea of what to reference sonically. Lyrically, there’s nothing more iconic in Samoan songwriting than writing a song dedicated to Samoa. LALELEI is a tribute to Samoa and to all the Samoan bands that contributed to what we know Samoan pop music today.

I’m proud to be Samoan and the fa’asamoa (the Samoan Way) deeply lenses how I see and interact with the world. However, it’s been so long since I’ve been back to Samoa and it’s not lost on me that my conceptualisation of Samoa as someone in the diaspora, is unique to how Samoans in Samoa imagine Samoa and themselves. That said, I think it’s what makes a project like LEAO so meaningful, in both it’s intention and makeup, because the conversation about Samoaness and the fa’asamoa is invigorated and opened, rather than existing as a monolith. My own fa’asamoa involves honouring Te Tiriti; it involves uplifting other cultures & peoples that aren’t Samoan. For at the heart of the fa’asamoa is the value of alofa (love) and tautua (service); and my duty is to uphold that.

Having LALELEI be finished and ready to be shared feels fulfilling, special and exciting. It feels like the next stepping stone in our journey as a group, during a time where we feel very inspired and comfortable in our practice. Each LEAO song we’ve released thus far always feels like yet another contribution to the tapestry that is Samoan music and we feel very honoured to be able to contribute as such." — David Feauai-Afaese

'LALELEI' is out today on major streaming platforms.