Niccolo Piccolo Releases Two Beautiful Waiata for Tamariki + Announces Debut Album
Niccolo Piccolo (aka award-winning Aotearoa country-folk artist Nicola Mitchell (Ngāti Maniapoto)) has today announced her forthcoming debut album with the release of two new Aotearoa bird-song-inspired, bilingual waiata – Tama te Tūī and The Bellbirds – out now!
Following previous releases Row My Waka and Mauri Ora, Niccolo Piccolo continues to create music that tamariki (and the whole whanau!!) genuinely love for both its music and celebration of te reo Māori. Blending acoustic folk, country influences and rich harmonies, her waiata are crafted to spark joy for all who engage with it.
Tama te Tūī is a playful waiata inspired by the kīwaha ‘he korokoro Tūī’ – to sing as sweetly as a tūī. Full of whistling, harmonies and yodelling, the song wears its country influences proudly as it celebrates finding your own voice.
“I grew up in a home filled with voices like the Topp Twins, Dolly Parton and Tom T. Hall,” says Niccolo Piccolo. “Coming from a whānau of country music, I really wanted that to be connected to this kaupapa.”
The recording also became a true whānau affair.
“There was actually a different yodel in the original version, but my twin sister Maegan, who is a very good yodeller (and I am not!), came up with the yodel that made it onto the album. Since then she’s been teaching me to yodel.”
Meanwhile, The Bellbirds is a soothing lullaby reminding tamariki that everyone needs to rest – from the bellbirds to the sun itself. Filled with rich folk textures including bowed double bass, mandolin and guitar, it was one of the very first Niccolo Piccolo songs written.
“Instrument-wise it’s probably my favourite track on the album,” she says. “In the same way as Tama te Tūī, I see both of these tracks as a bridge between Niccolo Piccolo and my other musical projects.”
Niccolo Piccolo’s upcoming debut album will bring together a collection of playful, heartfelt songs that celebrate te reo Māori, imagination, and the natural world. It is sure to quickly become a treasured taonga in many households!
Originally from Gore and now based in Ōtaki, Niccolo Piccolo makes joyful, accessible te reo Māori music she wishes she had growing up. The project has become a celebration of music, language and connection, encouraging tamariki and their whanau to embrace te reo Māori simply through the joy of waiata.
These new waiata were created with support from mātanga reo Kommi Tamati-Elliffe (Kāi Tahu, Te Āti Awa, Ngāti Mutunga, Ngāti Tama) and Theia (Em-Haley Kukutai-Walker, Waikato, Ngāati Tiipa), alongside performances from Michael Muggeridge (mandolin), Michael Story (double bass), Maegan Mitchell (yodelling), with mixing by Tom Broome and engineering and mastering by Troy Kelly.
Made with the support of Te Māngai Pāho, Creative New Zealand and the APRA Aotearoa Mentorship Programme, where Nicola was mentored by multi-disciplinary artist and APRA Maioha Award recipient Byllie-jean (Ngāti Kahungunu ki Heretaunga, Ngāti Pāhauwera).
With the debut album now on the horizon, new waiata Tama te Tūī and The Bellbirds offer another exciting invitation to the wondrous world of Niccolo Piccolo – a world filled of waiata that tamariki and their whanau will want to sing again and again.
