Island Mele
Friday, January 11, 2002
The KCCN/FM100 Pride of the Islands contest was conceived in part as exposure for local songwriters and people who had never recorded. Winners in six categories got to record their original songs for a KCCN/FM100 album and also do a song with an established act. "Pride of the Islands Vol. 4"
Various artists
KCCNOf course the contest was also intended to promote FM100 and so some of the rules have changed since FM100's musical monopoly as Honolulu's only Jawaiian/"island music" station was shattered by Island Rhythm 98.5. The requirement that contestants use unrecorded songs was dropped for "Pride 3." The slack-key category is missing from "Pride 4." And, instead of giving each winner two songs on the album, producer "Radical Rob" Onekea is including runner-up acts, prior winners, and acts that weren't part of the contest.
The content ranges from praiseworthy originals to insipid Jawaiian remakes.
The best song in terms of balancing musical content with the FM100 Jawaiian/"island music" format is "The Other Guy." The song was Mark Stephen's winning entry in the "Original Composition" category, and he recorded it with a major assist from producer/arranger Onekea and guest star Jamin "Chief Ragga" Wong.
The trio's teamwork makes this catchy danceable ode to a romantic triangle the best of the seven reggae-beat songs on the album, although "Take Your Time," by "Group" category winners Roots Rockaz, has a clean Jawaiian ambience that merits radio play beyond FM100.
The bottom of the barrel is plumbed by Kea Davis Milo's pointless cover of "What A Girl Wants" and a lame Jawaiian rehash of "Whenever I Call You Friend" by Jeff Rasmussen and Jaclyn Galios. Galios redeems herself with "Drop Everything," the original that earned her "Female Vocalist" honors.
Male Vocalist winner Keoni Ku's gorgeous falsetto rendition of "Ipo Hula" is a refreshing affirmation of Hawaiian cultural pride. "Point Man," an original instrumental by Nick Sierra, winner in the Ukulele category, is the other nod to Hawaiian musical traditions heard here.
The impact of arch-rival station 98.5 is obvious. Ten tracks were produced and arranged by Onekea, whose Way Out West Enterprises enjoys a close relationship with KCCN/FM100. Two others add acts that have no apparent ties to the contest but which give other influential local record producers a piece of the project.
"It Only Happens When I Look At You" is a Whodunnits production that features Pati. "Don't You Worry" introduces Believe (formerly Unique), a local-pop girl group out of Roni "Hobo Kid" Yurong's Hobo House on the Hill stable.
www.wayoutwestenterprises.com
MP3 Audio Clips:
The Other Guy - Mark Stephen and Jamin Wong
Quicktime | RealPlayer | MPEG-3 info
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.
