‘Aloha Summer Time’
Typical Hawaiians
(TH Productions)
The term "hapa-haole music" is typically used as a label for a particular type of 20th-century music, but in literal terms any music that is part Hawaiian and part non-Hawaiian is hapa-haole music. "Aloha Summer Time," released last month as a download single and also as a DVD, is an excellent contribution to the genre.
Typical Hawaiians founder Thomson "Kikomon" Enos is joined by Caleb "Da Reddeye" Richards of Sudden Rush and expat Jamaican vocalist Anthony "Eco" Brown in describing an ideal Hawaii-style afternoon at the beach — enjoying the water, barbecuing, hanging out with ohana and playing music. The use of modern Hawaiian instruments and Enos’ bilingual lyrics — he sings in Hawaiian as well as English — anchors the video firmly in Hawaii.
The music video is ready-made for an imaginative ad campaign promoting Hawaii as a vacation destination for adults under age 40. Enos, Richards, Brown and several sidemen perform back-porch style on Waikiki Beach and in local beach parks. There are beautiful ocean vistas, Waikiki landmarks, young women in bikinis and Enos’ mom, Pikake Enos, dancing hula in contemporary aloha wear and her signature head lei. The visitor industry should develop a national advertising campaign around the song.
And, given Typical Hawaiians’ proven popularity as a club band and its status as Hoku Award winners, "Aloha Summer Time" is a front-runner for best music video/DVD at next year’s Hoku Awards.
Find the DVD at the band’s gigs and at www.typicalhawaiians.com.
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‘You Should Know by Now’
KUmZ
(Kauakoko Foundation)
KUmZ — aka kumu hula Karl Veto Baker and Michael Casupang — hit it big in 2011 when its fourth album, "On the Summit," won group-of-the-year honors at the Hoku Awards. The duo’s long-awaited follow-up album, released earlier this summer, builds on that solid foundation.
While most of the songs were written by KUmZ or co-written with friends, several were not: One comes from Keola Kamahele, another is a Hawaiian standard and a third was a minor pop hit for Paul Anka in the ’70s.
With Casupang playing piano and Horace Dudoit III and Louis "Moon" Kauakahi providing guitar, ukulele and bass, the musical arrangements are crisp, clean, acoustic and traditionalist. Members of the duo’s Halau i ka Wekiu serve KUmZ well as a backing chorus on several numbers.
Baker’s decision to sing "Pua Mae ‘Ole" in falsetto makes it an instant standout. Kamahele’s English-language composition "Lilt of Rain" is another, its poignant lyrics sweetened by the lush tones of a cello.
KUmZ reaches out to audiences from Japan, where hula is wildly popular, by singing a chorus of the Anka song "Do I Love You?" in Japanese.
Lyrics and background information are provided in a beautifully illustrated liner notes booklet. KUmZ plans to eventually post English translations of its Hawaiian lyrics at www.halauikawekiu.com.
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"Hanamaika’i"
