For Niuean-Samoan independent pop artist Tyrun a life-long passion in music has become a pathway back to language learning.
His debut EP Fall In Love Again is rooted in that journey, an ongoing reconnection to Vagahau Niue, the Niuean language.
"I really want people to listen to this, and for me to have my language in anyone's ears is just amazing to me," he said.
Raised in Aotearoa, Tyrun's relationship with language and culture has not always been "straightforward".
"I don't speak fluent Vagahau Niue, and so I'm still learning. I'm still on that journey," he told RNZ Pacific.
"I knew that if I was going to create this, I really needed to do it in a way that I felt comfortable, because I've grown up with a lot of shame around not knowing the side of myself."
Lifelong feelings surrounding this tension, and now growth, sit at the heart of his EP blending both English and Vagahau Niue in the lyrics.
Tyrun said the process of incorporating Vagahau Niue into his music was a very intentional experience, starting out by writing his songs in English. He then worked alongside his language tutor with whom he takes classes at Manukau Institute of Technology to translate and help reshape the lyrics.
"I had to kind of get over a lot to really be confident in completing the project and believing in it, right up until the end. I started writing the songs myself, all in English, and then had it translated by my [language] tutor," he said.
"So he translated it all, then I went through and replaced which lines I wanted. I write all of my demos generally by piecing together a beat. Then once I arrange it all, and have my analogies in place, I'll send that over to whoever's producing it."
Even with that support, stepping into the language publically came with its own array of challenges.
"One of those challenges, I guess was getting over that shame," he said.
Tyrun has been encouraged heavily by many people who have come across what he is doing and who love it because of what it means.
"It's a part of revitalising our language. But I still feel a lot of like imposter syndrome energy just because I'm still on that journey.
"I think one thing that was really challenging was actually saying the word, actually singing the word, actually being confident and comfortable pronouncing the words and having them in my music, and being proud of that," he explained.
That sense of "in-between" identity - of belonging and not belonging - has shaped new thoughts about his artistry and an understanding of the the process.
"I feel like this piece of work could only be created by someone like me, someone in the diaspora, but specifically in a place like Aotearoa, where diversity is such a normal thing to me.
"Even though I grew up really disconnected from my Samoan side, I still felt like there was a culture that I belonged to because of how I was raised."
Tyrun said he felt there was always Māori being spoken at his school.
"I grew up Catholic, so I went to Catholic schools, but there was respect for that."
