Inside HILife: Best Island Music of ‘09

‘Net impacts local music

2009 was year of transition for the local recording industry. The number of physical CDs released was barely half that of a few years ago, while the Internet continued to grow in importance as the place to sell and buy music. As such, a small but significant number of the titles reviewed in “Island Mele” were download-only releases.

Daniel Ho and Tia Carrere made history when they won the Grammy for Best Hawaiian Music Album. It was the first time the award was won by recording artists instead of by the producers of a compilation album.Pali was the pace-setting act when the Hawai‘i Academy of Recording Arts presented the 32nd Annual Na Hoku Hanohano Awards in June, with the group’s double CD winning Album of the Year and Island Music Album of the Year and group leader/songwriter Pali T.W. Ka‘aihue winning Song of the Year for one of his compositions.

HARA also responded to changes in the industry by re-establishing the Single of the Year category in recognition of the “popularity and value of singles in online sales in addition to the continued release of physical CD singles.”

Although downloads and electronic distribution are the future of the music industry, physical copies of new albums are unequaled in presenting a complete package of music, album art and background information. This is particularly important for Hawaiian music — knowledge of the lyrics and their meaning is essential.

AND SO, although “Island Mele” covers all genres of locally recorded music — both digital downloads as well as actual CDs — this is a look back, in alphabetical order, at the best Hawaiian albums of the past year (review publication dates are in parentheses):

>> “Baba Alimoot,” Baba Alimoot (Hula)

Alimoot displays his talent as a singer, musician and arranger with this collection of 14 songs. He demonstrates his imagination with a fresh arrangement of “Ku‘u Home o Kahalu‘u” and also pays homage to tradition with his renditions of “Makee ‘Ailana” and “Hi‘ilawe.” (Dec. 4) 

>> “Cloud Warriors,” Keli‘i Tau‘a and David Kauahikaua (Tiki)

Call their music Hawaiian because of the lyrics, or hapa-haole because much of it is not Hawaiian in the traditional sense. Whatever you call it, Tau‘a and Kauahikaua are exploring new ideas in Hawaiian-language music. (Feb. 13)

>> “Hawaiian Man,” Brother Noland (Mountain Apple Co.)

Brother Noland revisits his own work with a new arrangement of “Pua Lane,” pays homage to several styles of traditional Hawaiian and hapa-haole music, and expresses his nationalist sentiments with a medley of “Hawai‘i Pono‘i”/“Hawai‘i Aloha” that he describes in the liner notes as “designed to trip you out.” (March 20)

Pick up a copy of HILife in Friday’s Honolulu Star-Bulletin to read the rest of this story.