Island Mele
Mauala King and Ferdinand Cabug debut as the Sole Bruddahs with this self-produced album of original songs. King wrote or co-wrote all of them and, when placed in chronological order, they trace his odyssey from Samoa to Hawaii and then to California, where he and Cabug recorded this album. "Home"
Sole Bruddahs
SoleThe duo insert steel drum sounds and a smattering of faux-Caribbean accents into a song or two, but their style overall is closer to that of John Cruz than to Jawaiian. The first song, "Take Me Back," is a basic longing-for-home song that will connect across ethnic lines, and "Lady of Lahaina" suggests the influence of Buddy Fo & The Invitations. King combines Samoan and English lyrics in some of the other songs as he shares his tales of life, love and loss.
More info: makimusic@aol.com
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"Take Me Back"
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Winston Tan is Hawaii's most visible exponent of the 8-string acoustic guitar played in the European classical tradition. He's also a man of broad musical horizons and, with this album, he explores the music of Hawaii. All but one of the songs are Hawaiian or hapa-haole standards, most from the last century. But with "Hawai'i Aloha" and "Hawai'i Pono'i," Tan includes the great music of the Monarchy era. "Ho'omana (Worshipping) Hawaii"
Winston Tan
Golden BellThe deeper tones provided by those two additional strings give the arrangements a distinctive and soothing ambience. The fact that Tan is playing familiar local melodies makes his imaginative approach and craftsmanship particularly easy to appreciate. The one new song is presented in two arrangements; in the second version, Tan is joined by a singer named June Simon. No explanation is given for Tan's decision to depart from his proven solo format, but why mess with success?
More info: www.goldenbellhouse.com
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This compilation album introduces four new singers and the producer/songwriter team of Tim Carter and Lloyd and Robert Wendt. The label is based in Los Angeles, but the singers appear to be of Polynesian descent, and at least one song has been added to the playlist of "island music" KCCN/FM100. So the producers' self-styled "nu brown sound" merits consideration here. "Chord Brown"
Various artists
Ocean StreamMost of the "nu brown" songs are urban ballads that range from mellow to enervated. The singers -- Vika and Zhen are male, and Alyse and Leilani, female -- are plugged in interchangeably over the backing tracks, although Alyse contributes a distinctive chant in an unidentified language on one of her three numbers. No information is provided on the singers, so "Chord Brown" is primarily a calling card for the production team. Local teens, however, looking for romantic "slow jams" will unquestionably enjoy the music at face value.
More info: www.oceanstreamrecords.com
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See Record Reviews for some past reviews.
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.
