Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 19, Number 8, 1 ʻAukake 2002 — Kekuhi: role model, mother, wife, educator, performer, tita [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Kekuhi: role model, mother, wife, educator, performer, tita

For Kekuhi Kanahele, the Pana'ewa-based singer, chanter, dancer, composer, the production of "Honeyboy" was the easiestyet. "We wanted this one too

be a lot lighter than the F other two," said Kanahele referring to two prior projects, " Hahani Maf and "iPeieuhi." "There was no real heavy selection process for the songs. 'Kauhale O Kamapua'a' was one of the hulas I remember my grandma teaching when I was sm.aH," she said recalling her tūtū Edith

Kanaka'ole. " Ka Uluwehi o ke Kai ," Kanaka'ole's own composition, hails such delicacies of the sea as limu kohu, lipoa and lipalu. "The whole caloha kakahiaka' thing in the

introduction made it a good fit for the opening. by Hariy Swinton says (in Hawaiian), "I wrongly assumed that I was the only one who knew the latitude of this area,

but it appeam that many a pilot are familiar in this harbor." With such loaded lyrics hinting at a rocky relationship, Kanahele remarked, "I like the 'love-hate thing.' That's the breaks!" Kaipo Frias is Kekuhi's husband, himself an outstanding composer. His " Ulu Niu Te 'ete 'e o Kaipalaoa " seems to speak of a crooked coconut tree at Hilo Bayfront. Simple, yet

loaded with double entendre, the pieee is performed in a rare, provocative style that invokes a spirit of a bygone era. "//e Mele no Manono," a traditional pieee recalling Manono

who fought to the death at the battle of Kuamo'o along side her husband, Kekuaokalani, to preserve their own religion in the aftermath of the "ainoa, is also performed by friends and family in chant form. llHoneyboyT also by Frias, is performed in Blues style demonstrating vocal versatility. Although not a typical selection when compared to Kekuhi's preceding recordings, is performed with style and feel. She ean. Shego. "We picked that because it was the most unlikely song to be the title track," she laughed. " Kāne'ohe " and "ifa īpo Lei Manu " are two standards, and are performed with often un-sung veises. "We tried to find all the veises we could. You do the stoiy and the composer a dissendce by not including the whole thing. It doesn't take mueh time to research." Mlountain Apple Producer Jon de Mlello lefthis See "HONEYBOY" on page 14

'Ah.ana

\a/ vy vmv

HONEYBOY from page 9 mark on Frias' " Pālehua o ka 'īu Kualono " with fantasy-like synthesized sounds woven through ihe eloquent composition. "When we first cutof it, I thought, 'oh my God, people can't hear this'3" she said reacting to ihe contemporaiy spin. "But we though, it's our own contemporary composition, and it's noa (unrestricted), so we said, let him do something wilh our mele." The result: a beautiful blend of old and new. "Honeyboy" will not be heavily promoted by the artist who is busy at home raising her family. To order this contemporary Hawaiian music for ihe 21 st century, visit online at www.mountainapplecompany.com. ■