Kiwi Discovery: RIIKI REID - Pāinaina

Aotearoa artist RIIKI REID is back with her latest single, ‘Pāinaina’, a bright, disco-infused celebration of te reo Māori.

‘Pāinaina’ marks an important milestone for RIIKI REID as her first song written entirely in te reo Māori. The release arrived during Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori, giving the track an added sense of purpose as Reid brings the language into a colourful, modern pop and dance setting.

RIIKI REID is on such a run this year too, hot off the back of winning the Taumata o te Horapa Radio Airplay Record Of The Year at the 2026 Aotearoa Music Awards

Drawing from dance music spanning the 70’s, 90’s through to the 00’s, RIIKI and collaborators Pere Wihongi and Devin Abrams began researching the history of Māori-language dance and disco music, discovering Dalvanius Prime’s ‘Voodoo Lady’, a track by one of Aotearoa’s most influential Māori artists.  

With credits on hits such as ‘Poi E’ alongside his work with Patea Māori Club Dalvanius was a huge advocate for Te Reo and Te Ao Māori.

RIIKI who has long admired his work, wanted to bring a piece of that musical history into something new, so they sampled a short instrumental loop from ‘Voodoo Lady’ and built ‘Pāinaina’ around it.

“My hope is that by releasing this track during Te Wiki o te Reo Māori, it gives listeners in the pop/dance world exposure to our reo; to push the language and culture forward. Imagine if waiata in this genre was sung in all corners of the globe.” – RIIKI REID

Get this groover ‘Pāinaina’ in the sun set sangria on the back deck playlist asap!