hularider's Full Review: Ikena * by Daniel Ho/Tia Carrere
`Ikena, the 2009 Hawaiian Grammy winning CD by Daniel Ho, Tia Carrere, and Amy Stillman, is both a delightful romp and a lucid exploration in Hawaiian music and poetry. The CD is the product of three island-born artists. Their love of their “birth sands,” to use the poetic Hawaiian expression, is certainly evident in this collection.
Stillman, a recognized authority in Hawaiian music, lends her expertise in haku mele (traditional Hawaiian song craft) to provide a solid cultural foundation on which the poetry and music of this original collection can rest.
Ho, already familiar with the Grammy podium through the instrumental albums he has produced, demonstrates his musical versatility in providing more than competent vocals on this album. His voice ranges from playful through tender.
Carrere’s vocals, warm, tender, and velvet, have matured beautifully from delightful to elegant. She is especially lovely in Pule no Malia, where the breathiness of her voice adds a tender reverence to the simple prayer.
The only thing my ear deemed lacking was a bit more diversity between vocalists. While they are definitely different voices, to my ear Carrere and Ho have just enough similarities in vocal style and quality that there might be a teensy bit too much of a good thing. Both voices are warm, breathy, and tender, and both have enough range that there is a fair amount of overlap. But that is a matter of taste, rather than quality. Papa Hanau Moku, however, is perfect, the kâhea, mele, and inoa beautifully balanced and harmonized.
In the liner notes, Stillman writes with both her innate humor and her years of experience studying Hawaiian music. Her lucid style has me eagerly anticipating her next book. Her first book, Sacred Hula: The Historical Hula `Ala`apapa, is a familiar resource to students of Hawaiian traditional dance, poetry, and oral tradition.
Due in no small part to Stillman’s composition and editing, this collection of songs has its roots firmly planted in the soil of Hawaiian poetic tradition, yet grows in unexpected, and sometimes whimsical, directions. The music is fresh and new, but never edgy or harsh.
The Spam Song combines traditions of both mele wahi pana and the local delight in food. Another delight mentioned in the song, watching the submarine races, takes the listener straight back to evening with a special someone.
Modern Hawai`i is sometimes called a melting pot. I think a more accurate description would be Hawaiian Stew – lots of really ono ingredients simmered in a delicious gravy which lets them happily bubble around together in one pot without getting burned.
In Welo, a Japanese ingredient adds flavor. Haiku, a traditional Japanese poetic form, is used to express a very Hawaiian experience. The elegant construction is very zen, yet also very Hawaiian, exploring the tradition of creating a minimalist structure, then summarizing.
Ku`u Ipo My Darling is one of the most traditional of the compositions. Direct yet tender, this mele ho`oipo is not about falling in love, but a beautiful expression of a mature love which has deepened with the years.
As a kumu hula myself, I find Hula in Seven just plain fun, and have plans to choreograph this using seven-beat mele. The vocals come across playfully, and the listener’s feet just want to dance!
Keanuhea, an instrumental lullaby, allows the listener to focus in on Ho’s lyrical instrumentation.
While several of the songs began with the words, The Breakfast Song / PineappleMango started with a melody of the same name. Starting with an already popular melody of Ho, Stillman added many other island breakfast favorites to this instrumental buffet.
In `O Ia Uka, a tribute to St. Louis High School, English and Hawaiian metaphors blend to wonderful effect as the listener is invited to drink the waters of the spring at this special place of learning. Far from the usual school song, this is an ideal vehicle for Carrere’s voice, which breathes melody like the tropical breezes which bring the fine rain of Wa`ahila.
As the CD nears its close, it returns to the wahi pana theme in a celebration of the beauties of the islands where each of the members of this musical team was born, the loveliness of the deep sea, and the beauties of the vast American continent. It expresses a deep kaona as well, but I will leave you to buy the CD and see what Stillman, herself, has to say about that.
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