PRE-SAVE Mana EP
Released Friday October 23

Sydney-based Kiwi collective SUB-TRIBE return with Mana EP, their first full release in over two years and the beginning of a new chapter with Loop Recordings Aot(ear)oa.

Across six tracks, Mana EP pushes SUB-TRIBE further into forward-thinking modern bass music while weaving te reo Māori throughout the soundscape. Roots reggae and dub remain at the foundation, but the EP stretches outward into electronic production, Afro-future R&B, house and bass-driven soundsystem culture.

It’s a progression that reflects SUB-TRIBE themselves: an Aotearoa-rooted seven-piece now operating out of Gadigal Country in Sydney, carrying their whakapapa with them while creating music within a contemporary Australian bass and festival scene.

That meeting of worlds runs throughout Mana EP - between Aotearoa & Australia, tradition & contemporary life, reggae tradition & electronic music. Rather than treating those influences as separate, SUB-TRIBE bring them together as part of the same evolving identity.

The EP includes recent singles ‘Te Waka (feat. Casual Healing)’, ‘For The Land’ and title track ‘Mana’.

The wider intent of the EP is perhaps best captured by ‘Future’, which closes the record with a spoken-word reflection on the space SUB-TRIBE occupy. It frames Mana EP as a journey balancing old ways with modern life - music for people navigating multiple cultures and finding their own identity within that space.

“This body of work
Is a journey
Where culture meets creation
Where the past meets the bassline
This is for the ones caught up between cultures
For the ones balancing old ways and modern life
For the ones searching for themselves in the noise
This ones for the bassheads
The festival roamers, The deepthinkers,
The people who still believe” 

The release arrives during a period of growing momentum for SUB-TRIBE on both sides of the Tasman. Following a sold-out seven-show Australian tour, the band join SIX60 in Sydney ahead of the EP release, with their return to Aotearoa already confirmed as part of the Electric Avenue 2027 lineup.

Since forming in 2017, SUB-TRIBE have developed their sound independently through a catalogue of releases and extensive live performances across Aotearoa and Australia. Their festival history includes appearances at Splendour in the Grass, WOMADelaide and Good Love, alongside support slots for L.A.B and The Original Wailers.