“Whenmill”

Ryan Choi

(Off ODGD49)

Ryan Choi’s debut release, an EP titled “Three Dancers,” established him earlier this year as a unique talent on the local music scene. The press materials said he was playing a baritone ukulele, an instrument significantly larger than those played by most musicians, and the sound of the three original instrumental compositions he’d recorded with it was far removed from mainstream ukulele music — so far removed that it was natural to wonder on first listen whether he was playing an ukulele at all. That said, experimentation is a good thing, and Choi’s experiments were unlike anything else that has come out here this year.

Choi’s second project, a four-song EP, is more melodic, This time there are no electronic sounds or acoustic percussion effects. The immediate impression is that he’s kicking back somewhere, exploring what the big instrument is capable of. The results are just as unconventional and every bit as interesting.

The minimal liner notes reveal that he composed these pieces over several years. The experiences that inspired them, and the tuning or tunings he uses to play them, is information that should have been included in the annotation but was not. Why is this important? Choi’s imaginative work will certainly inspire other adventurous souls to take up the big baritone ukulele and use it to explore haole (non-Hawaiian) musical traditions. The more information he provides about this work, the better.

Visit ryanckchoi.com Opens in a new tab.

“The World Is Mine”

Justice Moon & Mahealani

(no label)

Mahealani Sims-Tulba made combating bullying her personal platform when she successfully ran for Miss JR Teen Hawaii United States 2015. She spent her reign taking that message to the people of Hawaii. Sims-Tulba knew firsthand what it’s like to be bullied by jealous jerks, and she founded a nonprofit organization, B.R.A.V.E. Hawaii (Be Respectful and Value Everyone), to continue the battle against bullying after her reign ended. She wrote and illustrated a book, “It’s Okay to Be Different,” as a fundraiser. She’s now teamed up with island hip-hop veteran Justice Moon to set the message to music.

Moon is the featured voice in an inspirational song that blends elements of traditional hip-hop and contemporary pop in delivering a simple, empowering message: We’re each unique and each of us is special, we each have dreams and we each have potential. Sims-Tulba and students from the Performing Arts Center of Kapolei join in on the vocals. The music video version, free to watch on YouTube, shows examples of kids resisting peer pressure to spray graffiti on walls or steal money from an open cash register. It’s a good, positive, easy-to-sing-along song from start to finish.

Sims-Tulba’s famous father — comedian Augie T — has two nonsinging roles in the video. He’s seen first as a teacher and later as a comic dancer. Right on, Augie!

Visit justicemoon.com Opens in a new tab.