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| Song List
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| Album Notes
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| The Hawai‘i Island Visitors Bureau is pleased to share this collection of mele from some of the Island of Hawai‘i’s best musicians. There are countless songs honoring all that is Hawai‘i nei but there is unique delight when the music celebrates stories of our homeland, the Island of Hawai‘i. These talented artists join us in presenting “Na Mele Moku o Keawe, Songs from Hawai‘i Island, the Big Island." For more information about the Island of Hawai‘i, visit www.BigIsland.org or call 800-648-2441. "This project was inspired by Japan and its people, whose aloha and enthusiasm for Hawai‘i and its culture has no bounds. In collaboration with the Big Island Visitors Bureau and musicians performing on Hawai‘i, the Big Island, these musical artists were asked to share songs that spoke of their homeland. The artists' songs (both traditional and originals) are based on their connections to ‘ohana (family), ‘aina (land) and kai (ocean) of Hawai‘i Island. Those who have visited our home, or now call Hawai‘i their home have come to realize how special this place really is. Hawaiian songs boast about the beauty that surrounds us and of experiences that tell stories of how we live as people. Our hope is that songs such as these continue to inspire others to live with much aloha." - Keoki Kahumoku, Producer |
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| Reviews
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| Friday, September 14, 2007 10:25 PM Excerpts from KHNL 8 Evening News By Diane Ako "New CD Celebrates Hawaii Island Through Song" HILO (KHNL) - "Na Mele Moku 'O Keawe (Songs from Hawai'i Island)," is a group effort between Keoki Kahumoku, Daniel Ho Creations and the Big Island Visitors Bureau. "Hawaiian culture is an oral tradition and oral tradition is passed down through speaking the language or singing the songs," says Kahumoku. "I have always dreamed of bringing together our gifted musicians here on Hawai'i Island and creating a beautiful compilation of Hawaiian music, which tells the stories of our island," said George Applegate, BIVB's executive director. BIVB will distribute copies of Na Mele Moku 'O Keawe to meeting planners, travel wholesalers and travel agents who are key to the vitality of the island's visitor industry. Three-time Grammy Award winner and Hawai'i Island resident Kahumoku, together with BIVB Senior Director of Marketing Kristin McGrath, and local boy-turned-Grammy Award-winning producer Daniel Ho, of Daniel Ho Creations in Los Angeles, teamed up to make the CD happen. The songs, which are as varied as Hawai'i Island itself, celebrate different regions of Hawai'i's largest, most geographically diverse island. For instance, Saddle Road tells the story of the infamous high-elevation road between East and West Hawai'i, and was written and sung by Dana Leilehua Yuen. Ka La Hui Pua'a, written by Larry Kimura, is performed by Daniel Kahikina Akaka, Jr. (Kalahuipua'a, which translates to "Gathering of the Pigs," is the Hawaiian place name of Mauna Lani Resort, where Akaka works as director of cultural affairs.) And Kealia, the South Kona ranching district, was written by Lottie Koko'o Kahumoku, and is performed by Kahumoku, a master slack key guitarist, singer and 'ukulele player. For more information and to purchase the CD, please visit www.danielho.com. Two of Ho's previous projects were awarded the Grammy for Best Hawaiian Music Album of the Year: Masters of Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar, Volume One (2006) and Legends of Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar - Live From Maui (2007).
"Songs From Hawai'i Island (Na Mele Moku O Keawe)" by various artists; Daniel Ho Creations Genre: Traditional and contemporary Hawaiian Distinguishing notes: A project of the Hawai'i Island Visitors Bureau, this 11-song sampler of tunes celebrating the Big Island taps a range of artists who bring diversity of style and texture to the plate. The fare ranges from the lilting "No Kohala," performed by veterans Mary Ann Lim and Elmer Lim Jr., to the vibrant and gutsy "Lei O Hilo Ka Ua Pe Ka Uahi" chant rendered by students from Hawai'i Community College led by Kekuhi Kanahele Kealiikanakaoleohaililani and Taupouri Tangaro. Darlene Ahuna is represented with "Pua O Ka Makahala" and John Keawe's ki ho'alu supports his voice on "Hawai'i Island Is My Home." Diana Aki's "Ka Lei E" is hula-worthy in the old-fashioned style; Keoki Kahumoku brings his new generation stance to "Kealia," which has the spirit of yesteryear. The mix of talent — male and female, award-winning and up-and-coming — helps speak to both the younger and the older generation. While liner notes offer brief bios of the performers, lyrics to the tunes or why they were selected are sorely missing. Our take: There might be a promotional angle to this one, but the bottom line — selling the flavors of the beloved Big Island — makes it a win-win situation for artists and listeners.
"Songs From Hawai'i Island (Na Mele Moku O Keawe)" Various artists (Daniel Ho Creations) "Place songs" have been a popular subject for Hawaiian song writers for generations. This compilation, created for the Hawai'i Island Visitors Bureau by Keoki Kahumoku and Elmer "Sonny" Lim Jr., utilizes the talents of 13 Big Island residents in an 11-song collection that "celebrates stories of our homeland, the island of Hawaii." Kahumoku produced the project; Lim is credited with providing additional bass, slack-key guitar and steel guitar. Both men also perform. Kahumoku contributes "Kealia," one of three hapa-haole songs. Lim is joined by his mother, Mary Ann Lim, on "No Kohala." The list of participants also includes Na Hoku Hanohano Award winners John Keawe, Darlene Ahuna and Diana Aki. The pre-Contact music of Hawaii is represented by a chant, "Lei O Hilo Ka Ua Pe Ka Uahi," performed by Kekuhi Kanahele Kealiikanakaoleohaililani, Taupouri Tangaro and their students. "Ka La Hui Pua'a," performed to a catchy hapa-haole rhythm by Daniel Kahikina Akaka Jr., is also noteworthy. Friday, August 31, 2007 Excerpts from Midweek, MUSIC MONTAGE By Melissa Moniz Midweek Associate Editor/Sr. Writer "Na Mele Moku O Keawe" - Various Artists After returning from a trip to Japan, Keoki Kahumoku and fellow Big Island musicians were inspired by the overwhelming support and interest of Hawaii music overseas. So beyond just producing a collaborative album of Hawaiian music, they decided to take it one step further, creating an album that embodies the place they call home, the Big Island of Hawaii. The album, Na Mele Moku O Keawe, Songs from Hawaii Island, The Big Island, includes 11 tracks by Big Island musicians that honors all that is Hawaii nei. “We wanted to do an album of songs of the Big Island that talks about different places,” says Kahumoku, producer and musician featured on the album. “I wanted to also include people who are working and are somehow connected to the community with their music, so a lot of the musicians either perform at the hotels or are known for their performing.” A partnership with the Hawaii Island Visitors Bureau will definitely help in distribution numbers, as they not only have given their stamp of approval, but they are also taking an active part in promoting it. A portion of album sales will support and perpetuate Hawaii music education. More specifically, proceeds will help fund workshops for the local community, provide scholarships for youths and assist in giving children access to Hawaiian music through the school system. |
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| Artist Bios
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| Kekuhi Kealiikanakaoleohaililani is following in the steps of her family history as a hula dancer, chanter, singer, and composer of music. She is also an advocate for higher education and an instructor and project co-ordinator for the Hawaiian Life Styles Program at Hawai'i Community College in Hilo. Like her parents and grandparents before her, she lives and perpetuates Hawaiian culture and tradition. Kekuhi and her husband Taupouri Tangaro, continue to teach and share their talents with students from Hawai'i and around the world. Kevin Kealoha was born and raised in Waimanalo, O'ahu. A remarkable falsetto singer at an early age, he performed with a host of notable entertainers including Noelani Mahoe, Moe Keale, and Israel Kamakawiwo'ole. Now residing on the Island of Hawai'i, he performs with the local bands--Free and Easy and Ekoku Mea Nui--and sings four nights a week at the Four Seasons Resort at Hualalai. A Big Island native, John Keawe was born in the little town of Hawi in North Kohala. After a four year tour in the Navy, John returned to his home and was drawn to the sound of Hawaiian slack key guitar. He taught himself to play and developed his own distinct style as a songwriter and slack key guitarist. John was part of the compilation CD "Slack Key Guitar, volume 2" which won a Grammy for Best Hawaiian Music Album in 2005. He is also a multiple Na Hoku Hanohano Award recipient. Growing up in Kailua-Kona, Marcus Wong Yuen began playing the ‘ukulele at the tender age of 13. In high school, he studied slack key guitar from the legendary Gabby “Pops” Pahinui. "I dedicate this song, Kona Kai ‘Opua, to the loving memory of Uncle Cyrus and Aunty Mary Green, who were long time members of the Kona Kai ‘Opua Canoe Club and who will always be very special to me." The only artist to be a part of the first three Hawaiian Grammy Awards, slack key guitarist and ‘ukulele player Keoki Kahumoku has been performing music professionally for over 17 years. His love for Hawaiian music and its culture is evident in his personality and style of playing... from the heart. Keoki continues to share his passion and knowledge in all aspects of the Hawaiian culture through his performances, teachings, farming and cooking with “Aloha.” "I feel very humbled and honored to be on a CD along with those who have influenced my music over the years, but my greatest musical inspiration, my grandfather, Henry Yuen, was never recorded. Fortunately, I have memories. I remember evenings in our beach house at Kehena, when he played `ukulele and sang, and my grandmother taught me hula. I remember learning "My dog has fleas" and writing chords out by kerosene lamplight. I remember practicing `ukulele as my grandmother drove us back to Hilo on Sunday afternoons. I remember when he died, and how later I finally got up the nerve to ask my Nana if I could learn to play his guitar. And I remember the awe I felt when she said 'Yes.'" - Leilehua Yuen Daniel Kahikina Akaka, Jr., son of Daniel K. Akaka, Sr. and Mary M. Akaka, is of Hawaiian and Chinese ancestry. He is currently the Director of Cultural Affairs at the Mauna Lani Resort, on the island of Hawai'i. His position allows him to share the history and culture of Hawai'i with hotel guests, school groups and kama’aina. Daniel Akaka, Jr. has been honored with several prestigious awards, including the Waikoloa Foundation's Naupaka Award and Hawaii Tourism Authority's Kahili Award. Kumu Hula John Mark Kamuela Jenny, aka "Keoni," is the third generation of a distinguished Ka'u family known for entertaining Hawai'i's political figures. Like his forefathers, Keoni continues to teach hula and play music in Pahala. The mother of six children and the matriarch of the Lim Family, Mary Ann Lim was born and raised in Kohala on the Big Island of Hawai'i. She started her career singing at the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel with husband Elmer as the Lehuanani’s. Today, she sings five nights a week at the Atrium at the Mauna Lani Bay Hotel & Bungalows and performs internationally with the Lim Family. Mary Ann is the recipient of multiple Na Hoku Hanohano Awards. Elmer Lim, Jr., better known as “Sonny,” was born and raised in Kohala. Sonny was part of the compilation CD "Slack Key Guitar, volume 2" which won a Grammy for Best Hawaiian Music Album in 2005. His solo CD “Slack Key Guitar the Artistry of Sonny Lim” was nominated for a Grammy the following year. He currently performs at the Canoe House at the Mauna Lani Bay Hotel & Bungalows and the Hapuna Beach Prince Hotel's Reef Lounge. Darlene Ahuna grew up in Kaneohe and moved to Hilo when she was fourteen. She was inspired, mentored and nurtured by some of Hawaii’s greatest music legends, including Aunty Genoa Keawe, Aunty Leilani Sharpe Mendez and Alberta Kalima. Of her six recordings, all were nominated for Na Hoku Hanohano Awards, and four won. Diana Aki, also known as the "Songbird of Miloli'i", is Ke Po'o (Executive Director) of Songbird Productions. Her cultural mana'o and God-given talents have extended from her little village in Miloli'i to international bookings. Diana has performed with many of the great Hawaiian music artists such as Eddie Kamae and the Sons of Hawai'i, Dennis Pavao, George Kahumoku, and Israel Kamakawiwo'ole. She has been employed by Kamehameha Schools for the past 20 years and currently works at the Kamehameha Preschools located in the heart of Keaukaha. |
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| Credits
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Record Label: Daniel Ho Creations Release Date: September 2007 |
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