She was born in Ōtautahi (Christchurch), New Zealand, but Em-Hayley Walker really came to life when she launched the music career of her alt-pop alter-ego, Theia. As the Greek goddess of divine light, sight and vision, Theia is said to have endowed gold and silver with their brilliance. In fact, Theia was also the name of a Mars-sized planet that collided with Earth around 4.5 billion years ago, forming our moon and forever reshaping both celestial bodies. Walker could not have chosen a more apt name. Theia’s songs at times shimmer in an ethereal glow, her voice a delicate, light-winged dragonfly, gently touching down just long enough to inspire silent wonder. At other times, Theia sings with all the rage and fury of a misfit, religion-traumatized girl living in a savage, colonialistic world.

Oral traditions are important to the Māori (specifically Walker’s Ngāti Tipā, Waikato-Tainui) culture, but her fluency in the te reo language actually came from studying it in university. It was during her university years that Theia’s music started becoming popular with campus radio stations and social media. Theia’s first official single “Roam” (2016) became the most-played song for seven consecutive weeks in New Zealand. Walker also manifested another musical entity, TE KAAHU, to honour and showcase Māori storytelling and singing. Now living in LA, Theia is making huge waves on this side of the ocean and is an unstoppable musical force to be reckoned with.

- Chantal Vitalis