This is for those of you that love the mele (music) from the beautiful islands of Hawaii. Let's take a holiday from design for a bit and talk about three new albums from some of Hawaii's most noteworthy artists. (By the way, hele on means let's go, albeit in a pidgin or relaxed form of usage.)
Most of you are probably familiar with the musical group Hapa that is still performing sold out concerts around the globe to this day. Hapa has been around for well over twenty years, and has been winning multiple serious music awards (Na Hoku Hanohano) since 1994. A couple years ago, Keli'i Kaneali'i decided he had spent enough cold winters in the mainland away from his family and decided to go solo, concentrating on small, more intimate venues on his home island of Kaua'i, with occasional stints on Oah'u or Maui. He is releasing a solo album, Kaua'i, on August 25, 2009. This is available from http://www.mele.com/. Five of the songs are his original creations.
Keli'i has one of the most pure voices this side of Robert Cazimero, so this album will surely be a delight. I still get "chicken skin" when I hear him sing Lei Pikake. He's an amazing man with an even more amazing talent. I know you can't go wrong with this choice.
Diana Aki, the songbird of Miloli'i, has a new CD coming out with many traditional Hawaiian mele as well as original compositions by her. Miloli'i is a fishing village on the Big Island, south of Kona. Miloli'i means "small shade" and it's true -- this village is in the middle of a lava flow with very few trees around. This was also the setting for one of Iz's last concerts, and Diana can been seen in the audience of the video of this concert. The mele on this CD is about as pure in Hawaiian heritage as you can get, and is guaranteed to please kama'aina's and malihini's alike.
Speaking of pure Hawaiian musical royalty, Amy Hanai'ali'i has a new CD coming out that is a collaboration with the best of the best of Hawaii's elite musical family. Friends and Family features songs with Palani Vaughan, Martin Pahinui, Keali'i Reichel, Robert Cazimero and many more. This CD features a great cross section of the best that Hawaiian mele has to offer -- different styles, interpretations, and actual Hawaiian Ali'i flowing in the blood of these magnificent performers.
Again, all of these are available from http://www.mele.com/. Whether you are a long time aficionado of true Hawaiian music, or just learning what the sounds of the islands are all about and mean, you are guaranteed to love these CDs.
A hui hou, Aloha Pumehana.
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