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Island Mele
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"Aloha With Style... Relax"
Various artists(Aloha With Style)
Whoever these guys are, they do good work. The arrangements are well-crafted and utilize varying combinations of instruments. Each album contains 10 songs and is being sold separately, but they look and sound like a single body of work. Seven of the 30 "favorite Hawaiian instruments" are compositions by Daniel Ho. Most of the others are Hawaiian and hapa-haole standards.
Piano is a featured instrument as "Aloha With Style ... Relax" opens with a tranquil rendition of "Pupu A'o Ewa." Slack key guitar and synthesizers are the instruments of choice on "Hawai'i Aloha." An unnamed solo pianist does a beautiful job on "Kahala Nights."
"Honolulu City Lights" starts off with the familiar exchange between piano and guitar. However, with ukulele in place of a vocalist, that tune too has a fresh feel.
On "Renew," the soothing instrumental magic of the "Aloha With Style" series continues as the second album opens with a sprightly treatment of "Ka Uluwehi O Ke Kai," followed by a rich interpretation of "Lahainaluna" by a solo slack key guitarist. There's a slight hint of the blues in the guitarist's work that adds a fresh ambience to the familiar melody.
"Pua Mana" is another stand-out. The arranger steps outside the basic melody and creates variations that bring hints of jazz to the Hawaiian classic. Guitar and ukulele share the spotlight on this one.
The organic warmth of slack key is effectively complimented by synth tracks in "Kanaka Wai Wai." The mystery arranger's imagination is also found in a memorable version of "Wahine 'Ilikea" in which traditional ukulele and acoustic guitar is blended with a light reggae beat.
Although "romance" is the designated theme on the third album, the contents have exactly the same "New Age" tranquility as the other two. Not that that's bad, but with no information on these songs in the liner notes, who's to know what makes "He Aloha Mele" or "E Malia Mai" romantic?
"He Aloha Mele," written, by the way, by Iva Kinimaka for his daughter, becomes a beautiful showcase by the unidentified ukulele player while a guitarist provides delicate embellishments.
Synth tracks and piano give "I'll Remember You" a particularly dreamlike ambience. Of all the beautiful music on the three albums, "I'll Remember You" is the ultimate antidote to the stress of rush hour gridlock or a bad day at the office.
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"Aloha With Style... Renew"
Various artists(Aloha With Style)
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"Aloha With Style... Romance"
Various artists(Aloha With Style)
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