“We consciously decided that we wanted to return to our rootsy Kiwi origins which put us on the map in the first place, which was really refreshing,” SIX60 vocalist Matiu Walters tells Apple Music, reflecting on how the New Zealand quartet’s fifth studio album was influenced by their early output. “I think it’s why the music felt so natural to make and perform.” Each track on Right Here Right Now was recorded live in one take, with Walters saying, “I can hear imperfections in a really good way. The record feels human to me.” Initial songwriting attempts focused on the darkness in the world, before the singer had a change of heart. “Why I love music is its profound ability to bring people together and [create] joy, and I think our band at its best offers that for people. And I said, ‘We’re going to make an album with heaps of heart, and with lots of love in the process and joy.’” Here, Walters walks Apple Music through the feel-good island vibes of Right Here Right Now, track by track. “We Made It” “The song is saying that life is great and beautiful. There are all these things we still want to do, but you can stop sometimes and have a bit of gratitude for how much you’ve done and how great it all is. That really sets the tone for the album.” “Knocking at Your Door” “We’d had a bit to drink and were jamming outside. We were in celebration mode. Love is a big theme coming through the album, and not just love for a partner, for a person; I’m talking about general love for the universe.” “Enjoy the View” “I’ve got a dear friend, Michael Parekōwhai. I guess you could call him a mentor. He’s an amazing Māori artist. We’ll sit and drink tea and just prophesize. He allows me a space to talk and confess. He said, ‘Sometimes just stop and enjoy the view, enjoy the thing that you’ve built.’ It’s not always a building phase.” “We Are All Kings” “I was sitting with my producer Malay and my friend [American rapper] Yelawolf. We were talking about the rollercoaster of life, but also of a music career, and you’ve gotta be careful what you wish for. All those conversations about the grass is always greener. Despite how far you think you need to go or what situation you’re in, we’re all kings. You are mighty.” “Hurricane” “Is it a metaphor for love? Of course. Anyone who’s been in love can probably attest to that. There’s gusts of wind and there’s rainy times and that kind of stuff.” “Father’s Eyes” “We’ve all been making babies in the last few years. It’s been seismic how much it’s affected our lives, how we see the band, how we see ourselves in the world. We have an old song called ‘Mothers Eyes,’ and I thought a response to that would be cool. I actually had my kids play on the song.” “Endlessly” “I arrived in Nashville at 11 pm and had a session at 10 am, and I was jet-lagged and exhausted. When you’re tired, sometimes you write your best stuff. This is perhaps the best song I’ve ever written. It just melts my heart. I’ve always dreamed of making a song like this. It’s so restrained and so painful of a love song.” “Red Mist” “It’s a true story about people who live on the sweat of their brow, and life can be suffering, and when it comes time to let loose, they go for it. It’s like this guy who gets a couple of drinks and he sees red mist. But I also thought of funny stories about these weekend warriors who work in the mines and get to their weekend and they go for it and all their inhibitions go. But they’ve got church in the morning. They play both sides.” “Be Gentle, Please” “I wrote that song with Mikky Ekko, who I’ve been a big fan of for a long time. I love how it’s touching on a man’s perspective of like, ‘I’m committing to this love and I’m going to give you all this stuff, but I just ask you in those moments, be really gentle, because we’re sensitive.’ Just because we’ve been told to bottle up [our emotions] doesn’t mean we don’t feel things.” “The Alchemist” “It’s such a part of being a New Zealander that we think we have to leave—it’s part of our culture. It takes people going away to realize how good they’ve got it. It’s a call to those people who feel like they need to leave, so they know there’s always a place to come home to.” “Same Dirt” “In Māori culture there’s such an intrinsic tie to the land. Whenua is the word for land, but it’s also the word for placenta. I was having these conversations with my producer and talking about the state of the world and the divide, but that we’re all so much more the same than we are different. The same dirt that we come from we’re going to return to, with none of our ideas and our preconceptions or our money.” “Right Here Right Now” “I’m in this kind of Goldilocks zone in my life, where there’s so much love and possibility. I have these two young kids. My parents are still here. My grandparents are still around. This window won’t last for very long. [I wanted] to immortalize it and write a song about it.”