“Hawaiki”
Taimane
Diamond Entertainment LCC
If Enya, the Irish singer-songwriter best known for her 1988 international hit, “Orinoco Flow,” had ever decided to explore Polynesian music, the results might have been something like what is heard in “Hawaiki,” the opening track and title song of the newest album by mononymous recording artist Taimane.
Taimane explains in a narrative passage within the song that Hawaiki is the spirit land Polynesians came from and where gods and goddesses live, that it exists just above the horizon and inside the green flash, and that the song is the story of a woman named Maluhia who must pass through Hawaiki to find her mana (power).
Taimane, who dedicated the album to her late mother, mentions in the liner notes that her mother was Samoan. With that knowledge, listeners can be prepared for lyrics that refer to Samoa rather than Hawaii. She underscores the cultural connection with the song’s final words, “fa‘a Samoa” (the Samoan term for traditional Samoan customs and lifestyle).
In the contemplative song “Mahulia,” the musician sings about her experience of “sitting here for 1,000 years” and being ready “to receive maluhia.” Here, the word refers to the Samoan term for peace. (In Hawaiian, it means peace, quiet or security.)
The eight other tracks are instrumentals, several of which reaffirm Taimane’s affinity for intense rapid-fire picking and strumming. Polynesian percussion in one song emphasizes Taimane’s Samoan roots. Cellist Jacob Staron adds darker and more introspective shadings elsewhere.
Taimane is front and center throughout. She plays ukulele, acoustic guitar, steel tongue drum and the Tahitian ukulele (aka ‘ukarere or Tahitian banjo). She composed all the songs and produced all the tracks; multi-Na Hoku Hanohano Award winner Pierre Grill is assistant producer.
Musicians working with Taimane, in addition to Staron, are Rachel Look (electric guitar, acoustic guitar and supporting vocals), Alex Morrison (upright bass), Jonathan Heraux (drums and percussion), and Polynesian drummers Tino and Malie Moe.
Several songs are notable for the use of multilayered vocal tracks that seem to comprise melodies without lyrics. Are lyrics buried somewhere within them? Maybe, maybe not, but either way the vocal tracks add a deeper sense of spirituality.
Where the instrumentals fit in telling the story of a woman named Maluhia seeking her mana in Hawaiki is not explained in the lyrics or in the liner notes, but Taimane’s fans will not be disappointed by the music.
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Note: Taimane will perform at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday at Blue Note Hawaii (bluenotehawaii.com).
