Stan Walker on Creating the Song “I Am” for Ava DuVernay’s ‘Origin’

Stan Walker is a singer from New Zealand. Rising to prominence through Australian Idol, he has since gone on to release seven albums; the most recent one in 2022, All In. In 2023, he was summoned by director Ava DuVernay, who, after being shown a video of him doing a cover of Kanye West’s “Ultralight Beam” by her producing partner, asked Walker to do the song for her latest film, Origin; which tells the story of how journalist Isabel Wilkerson researched the caste systems in the histories of the United States, Germany, and India, for her 2020 book, Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents.

Inspired by the film, as well as his desire to reclaim his Māori heritage when his parents and grandparents couldn’t, out came “I Am” — a ballad with both English and Māori lyrics, that was submitted by DuVernay for consideration for Best Original Song for this year’s Academy Awards. Although it didn’t make the nominations, there’s no denying the fact that as the song plays out as the credits for Origin roll, it accomplishes what Walker designed for it to do.

The Nerds of Color recently spoke with Walker about the making of the song, other ideas that inspired it, and the importance of having it be a bilingual track.

The Nerds of Color: Congratulations on “I Am!” The song is beautiful and such a moving piece of music to cap off Origin. I read how the song is a response to the themes and topics addressed in the film, but did you at all have any ideas for it prior to seeing the film, just going off of preexisting information?

Stan Walker: What an excellent and pertinent question. I have known Ava’s work. The central theme of the book — the film’s inspiration — had spoken to me on a very deep almost visceral level. One of the privileges in being an artist is travel, and as a young kid I thought many of the human race’s challenges were due to natural disasters- people facing famine for instance. What I have learnt is that famine is more often a product of civil war — inequality and in fighting and the land itself can be deeply abundant. As I traveled I saw patterns mirrored around the world and that when people lose a deep connection with the ancestors they become spiritually rootless. Inside of me was the beginning of an idea about the importance of knowing where you have come from.

Once you did see the film, how immediate did the song come to you after that?

Pretty fast. Origin is an extraordinary piece of film maker and it was such a potent muse.

Can you talk about the process of writing the song with co-writers Michael Fatkin, Vince Harder, and Te Kanapu Anasta?

“I Am” closes the film and what was so important was that tonally we wanted it to encapsulate the journey the film takes you on. So whilst writing the composition flowed, we did spend time ensuring the productive could reflect the mood of an audience sitting reflecting as the credits roll. There was a lot of small evolutions on the final “sound” of the record until we felt it captured the spirit of the credits.

How important was it for the song to have its lyrics be in both English and Māori?

Imperative. The themes of the film- the understanding of caste spoke very deeply to me and my own lived experience. I wanted to stand by the film and say “yes this is my story also.”

Was this your first time writing a song for a film? If so, how was the overall experience like compared to just writing for an album or EP?

I have been privileged to have my music placed in two films I have enjoyed an acting role in. My first lead role was in a film called Mt. Zion and I co wrote the lead track, “Take It Easy,” for that film. I also had a part and wrote a song for the film, The Stolen, called “Find You.”

Writing for an EP can be a very personal, biographical experience. What made the creation of “I Am” such an empowering experience for myself is that the films themes — of oppression of identity, culture — was my journey also.