Beyond the waves

He’s signed to pop star Benee’s record label and counts Elton John as a fan. Now Raglan musician Muroki has released his third EP, the emotion-filled Timezones, and made a major move.

words Karl Puschmann

UNO’s first question to Muroki leaves him stumped. He scratches his dreadlocked hair, which is pulled back behind his studio-grade headphones, and says, “Um…”.

Thinking for a moment, the singer-songwriter sensation from Raglan eventually says, “Good question,” then looks around his room and wonders aloud, “What am I doing here?”

He’s stayed up late for our interview – it’s approaching midnight when he Zooms in. Just nine days ago, he flew out of Auckland, where he’d been living, to set up shop in Berlin.

“I didn’t really have a huge plan. I just kind of came over here,” he says in answer to the question of what he’s doing in Germany. “I wanted to switch it up, in life and with music, and expand my horizons. I was getting over what I was doing in Auckland. I enjoyed my time there but felt I needed to move on and do something else for a bit.” Then he grins and says, “I’ve never lived in another country before, so I’m just giving it a go.”

He’s certainly jumped right into the deep end. He has few contacts in the city and doesn’t speak the langauge. Aside from his German partner, the person he’s spoken to the most so far is an old Turkish fellow who lives in the same building.

“This old dude’s always outside,” he says. “He doesn't speak very good German and doesn't speak a word of English. I don't think he knows that I don’t speak German! We have these weird interactions every single morning. It's pretty funny.”

By chance, we’ve caught Muroki on the cusp of beginning a new life chapter, one in which the future is uncertain. “I’ve been battling with it a little bit,” he admits. “It’s kind of weird not knowing exactly what’s happening next. It’s a strange period. I think it’s really good, but sometimes you’re like, ‘Is this the right decision?’” He pauses for a second, then says, “I think it is.”

The move has been on Muroki’s mind for a while, with his plane tickets purchased nine months ago. The shift also helps decode and add extra depth to Timezones, his newest EP that has just been released and is the reason for our chat.

The seven-track EP pushes him into deeper emotional territory than previously and expands his genre-hopping sound while losing none of its characteristic smooth flavour, synth-funk grooves and feel-good vibes. Fans of his platinum-selling single, Wavy, will find a lot to love here.

Timezones’ seven songs were recorded quickly, with Muroki writing, recording and laying down the tracks in a blisteringly fast 11 days. “It happened swiftly,” he says. “I’m really happy with how it all came out, and in the process of making it, I learned a lot in terms of how I want to go about creating things in the future.”

He says the sudden success of his 2020 debut, Dawn, led to feeling intense pressure while creating his 2022 follow-up, Heading East. He burdened himself with expectations and on reflection says he didn’t particularly enjoy the process. The fast turnaround of Timezones was a successful attempt to rediscover the joy.

“I didn’t let it consume me,” he says. “I’m really happy with how the third one’s come out.”

He’s described the EP as “an emotional awakening”. This, it turns out, was another benefit of working quickly. He didn’t have time to second-guess or edit himself.

“I tapped deeper, man,” he says. “I was trying to be more authentic with how I was feeling and the experiences I was having. It came out by not overthinking. I didn't go into the record thinking, ‘I’m going to open up.” I just let it happen and let it all come out naturally.”

Muroki may be new to Berlin, but the similarities with his hometown of Raglan are already apparent. Size discrepancies aside, it’s the city’s huge support for the arts and music scenes that reminds him of home.

“I love Raglan. It’s cool, man. There’s a nice sense of community – everybody knows everybody and everybody's supportive of each other. Everyone was really supportive of what I was doing from a pretty young age. It’s got an artsy scene there. Some good stuff comes out of it. But it’s the sense of community that makes it. A lot of people there support and come to the shows.

“When I started out, everyone would come down to the gig,” he continues. “I’d have a sold-out gig and I hadn't even released a single yet! There’s a confidence boost.”

Then he smiles and says, “I don’t think I’d be where I am without the people from Raglan.”

Muoki’s new EP Timezones is out now.