Island Mele

By John Berger

'Chief Ragga'

Chief Ragga
Hobo House on the Hill

Jamin "Chief Ragga" Wong and Roni "H-Diggler" Yurong's Hobo House on the Hill ohana take local rap to new levels of excellence with his long-awaited second solo album. The self-titled project -- Wong's first with Hobo House -- is a tremendous step beyond 1998's "Goldmind" and reaffirms his talent as a writer, musician, arranger and vocalist.

Wong's arrangements set a new standard for local rap and "island music." Rather than simply adding generic reggae rhythms to Hot 100 oldies, he adds subtext with interpolations of older songs. Wong's use of Leo Anderson Akana's "Island Love" as an embellishment to "Hawaiian Lover," stands out among several such creations.

B.E.T. (J.D and Papa T), O-shen and Justice Moon top the list of guests who join the Chief on this landmark project.

www.mountainapplecompany.com

Mpeg Audio Clips: Hawaiian Lover Good Thing Kilia (Here Come The Vukkagers) Quicktime | RealPlayer | MPEG-3 info

'Aloha Ku'u Home 'O Hana'

Kai
Ululoa Productions

Kaiolohia K. Funes Smith (Kai, for short) does Hana proud as he introduces himself with this beautiful celebration of Hawaiian falsetto. Smith proves an accomplished interpreter of island standards such as "Waikaloa." He also shares three originals -- future standards, perhaps -- that establish his talent as a composer. "Kawena'ulao- keao," written for a nephew, is certain to be a family favorite and perhaps a hula favorite for others as well. "Luakalai Lani" honors two of Smith's romantic friends in equally fine style.

Smith and co-producer Jake Rohrer use clean acoustic arrangements throughout, with nary a trace of synthesized strings. Acoustic piano and steel guitar occasionally join the basic trio of Smith on ukulele, guitarist Vinton Castro and bassist Leimana Abenes in this perfect musical portrait of a promising new talent. The album includes the Hawaiian lyrics; translations are available on the Web site.

www.ululoa.com

Mpeg Audio Clips: Waikaloa Hanohano Hale'iwa Luakalai Lani Quicktime | RealPlayer | MPEG-3 info

'Favorite Japanese Instrumentals'

Various artists
HanaOla

HanaOla Records struck gold when producer Billy Rose handled the re-release of four albums of music recorded by Japanese and Okinawan Americans in Hawaii after World War II. His new project contains vintage recordings of Japanese pop songs from the same era and is certain to have similar appeal.

George Ching was the visionary who brought a Japanese dance band to Hawaii a few years after the war when it was again acceptable for Japanese Americans to embrace things Japanese.

The musicians, identified either as the Tokyo All-Stars Orchestra or the All-Star Orchestra, recorded two albums of instrumentals for Ching's 49th State Hawaii Records. Apparently, no session notes survived, but anyone discovering these songs for the first time will wish Rose had included some information on the songs.

ww.cordinternational.com

Mpeg Audio Clips: Miren Toge Charumera Jinsei Aita Ina Ano Hito Ni Quicktime | RealPlayer | MPEG-3 info

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See Record Reviews for some past reviews.
See Aloha Worldwide for locals living away.

John Berger, who has covered the local
entertainment scene since 1972, writes reviews of recordings
produced by Hawaii artists. See the Star-Bulletin's Today
section on Fridays for the latest reviews.