Shawn Kekoa Pimental discovered music almost as soon as he started kindergarten at Kamehameha Schools. Drums were his first instrument. But by the time he graduated with a music scholarship to the University of Hawaii at Manoa, he also was playing cello and guitar, had been a Kamehameha songleader and had participated in the school’s Concert Glee vocal program.
Shortly after high school, Pimental gained public recognition as a member of Na Waiho‘olu‘u o ke Anuenue during the early years of the Jawaiian music boom; the three women who fronted the quintet were friends of his from the glee club. He performed with many other artists in the years that followed but found producing music recordings more challenging and rewarding.
Pimental started his record label, Koops2 Entertainment, in 1999. He opened a recording studio, Studio Ala Moana, with his business partner, studio engineer Michael Grande, in 2005. Pimental and Grande expanded their creative capabilities into film and television production with the launch of the ‘Upena Production Network in February.
Pimental, 49, has four Na Hoku Hanohano Awards for his work as a record producer and one for his work as a studio engineer.
In October he released “Native Lands,” the debut album by Kulaiwi, a new Hawaiian trio that he formed with his longtime friends Lehua Kalima and Kawika Kahiapo. For more information, contact the group at kulaiwimusic@gmail.com.
Congratulations on the new project. How did Kulaiwi come together?
One night Lehua and I were playing in Kailua and Kawika was there with his guitar. Listening to the three of us together, my first thought was, “There’s some magic here.” Then when Lehua and I started working on an album of new stories (told within the songs) for our people, I knew that what Kawika was doing was coming from the same place. I knew that blend was going to be there, but we’re all surprised at how well it came out.
The songs on “Native Lands” are a beautiful balance of Hawaiian standards and newly written songs — including songs by Kalima and Kahiapo. How did you chose the songs?
I like to say that the songs chose us. I’ve played in Merrie Monarch for the last 20 years, every year, for different halaus, and some of the songs I played there kind of became our songs because we’d do them at gigs. Other ones are songs I heard in the studio, and I asked permission to record them.
Looking back, is there a project you are especially proud of — as a performer or as a producer?
They’re all special in their own way. They’re really a timeline of my life. Besides playing music, which I just love to do, I cherish the relationships that I’ve built along the way more than anything else in this world. More than the awards, more than any money I’ve made.
Are there things you enjoy doing that are not work-related?
I love being outdoors, I love doing anything physical, working out, going to the beach. And I love anything artsy, anything creative, and of course anything Hawaiian. One night I can go to a hip-hop concert, and the next night I want to go to the opera or a musical.
Is there someone living or dead that you would like to work with, or wish that you could have worked with?
There’s a ton of people (starting with) George Helm and Auntie Loyal Garner. She was really close to my family. … She was spectacular in so many ways. If she were here, I would definitely be on it. I’ve been so blessed with all the people I have been able to work with — from Robert Cazimero and Keali‘i Reichel to Amy & Willie and Nina Keali‘iwahamana, and so many more — and to have studied with “Uncle K” Lake. I’ve been blessed.
———
Reach John Berger at jberger@staradvertiser.com.
