Island Mele
With this beautiful debut album, Raiatea Helm joins Brittney Anelaikalani Jennings in bringing Hawaiian female falsetto singing forward another generation. Whether employing ha'i, the Hawaiian technique of emphasizing the break between lower and upper vocal registers, or simply letting her falsetto soar, Helm interprets 11 local classics in exquisite style. "Raiatea"
Raiatea
Rip TideCredit producers Kenneth Makuakane and Alden Levi with working out the vocal arrangements. Levi also did the musical arrangements; most are appropriately organic and several feature steel guitar. But synth tracks add sonic clutter to one or two.
Given the cultural importance of passing on correct lyrics and the basic English translations of Hawaiian songs, it is unfortunate that Levi and Makuakane fail to include that information -- not everyone knows who Kimo Henderson was or what "Kauoha Mai" is about!
www.riptiderecords.net
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This has been a slow year for local comedy albums. Augie Tulba's "Locally Disturbed" is by far the best to date and is generally good work in its own right. Much of it consists of live recordings of his popular stand-up act, but there is some imaginative studio material here, too. "Locally Disturbed"
Augie Tulba
KDEA series of "Pigeon (sic) is easy" bits co-written with Edward "Eddie L" Lalau offers consistently funny tips on how to talk like "brown people." The only song parody, "Poking Squid," reworks The Toyes' "Smoke Two Joints" in great style.
Three skits derivative of Rap Reiplinger, however, aren't as clever, but the nadir of this album is the crank phone calls. Crank calls are to comedy as child porn is to art. Tulba shouldn't waste his time and talent doing this kind of sewage-grade stuff.
www.booklineshawaii.com
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Ho'okani is a male vocal trio, with one of them playing 'ukulele. But that's not much music power for a Jawaiian band, so they enlisted Roy Hamada and Anela Kahiamoe as backing musicians. The quintet uses almost every Jawaiian cliché in the book, as they address such Jawaiian-lite topics as partying, "cruizin' " and chasing women. One song plugs their favorite brand of beer. Ho'okani member Kaleo Van Titcomb's skills on the 'ukulele, however, gives the otherwise generic by-the-numbers arrangements an appealing edge. "Cruizin' Wit Da Boyz"
Ho'okani
Hot Mix HawaiiComposers' credits aren't included, possibly because the lyrics are in a stream-of-consciousness style that ignores rhythm, rhyme and meter, and doesn't mesh with the music. On the other hand, they are obviously earnest attempts at expressing local perspectives on life, love and music overall, and must certainly mirror the feelings of other local Jawaiian music fans.
Could these guys be the leaders in a new de-evolution of local music? As singers they're promising.
Write: Hot Mix Hawaii, 1750 Kalakaua Ave. Ste. 3124, Hon., HI 96823
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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. Contact John Berger at jberger@starbulletin.com.
