Jen Cloher - I Am The River, The River Is Me

I Am The River, The River Is Me, Cloher’s fifth album, is verdant and rich; it luxuriates in stillness, and carries itself with cool, unfussy confidence. It suggests that home is not found in a place or a politic, but in the community you keep.

Inspired by Cloher’s powerful matrilineal line of wāhine Māori, I Am The River, The River Is Me is not urgent, or hurried, but it is vital, made with the care and ease of someone who knows that their past began before birth, and will continue long after they’re gone.

Recorded between Aotearoa (NZ) and Naarm (Melbourne) with producers Tom Healy (Tiny Ruins, Marlon Williams), Anika Ostendorf (Hachiku) and Cloher’s longtime drummer Jen Sholakis; the album brings in trailblazing artists including Emma Donovan (Gumbaynggirr, Yamatji), Kylie Auldist, Liz Stringer, Te Kaahu (Waikato-Tainui, Ngāti Tīpā), Ruby Solly (Kai Tahu, Waitaha, Kāti Māmoe) and members of the Naarm-based Kapa Haka, Te Hononga o ngā Iwi.

The entire record feels communal — a celebration not just of Cloher, but of the rich, life-filled communities that surround them.

Pressed on limited white marble vinyl. Printed with full colour inner sleeve and translucent lyrics insert.

Tracklist:
1. Mana Takatāpui 04:26
2. Harakeke
3. My Witch 02:45
4. Being Human 03:25
5. I Am The River, The River Is Me
6. Protest Song
7. The Wild
8. Aroha Mai, Aroha Atu
9. Jen Cloher - He Toka-Tu-Moana
10. I Am Coming Home