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"‘Io"
Nathan Aweau (Aloha Sounds)
Soft-spoken recording artists are easily overlooked in an industry often driven by hyperbole and hype. Nathan Aweau’s new album is a timely reminder of his unusually diverse repertoire as a singer, musician and songwriter.
The title song, written in English and performed as soft acoustic pop, honors his grandmother and describes her continuing place in his life. Several Hawaiian songs demonstrate his commitment to Hawaii’s indigenous language and use the lyric tradition of kaona (hidden meanings) in memorable ways.
Two other English-language songs, "All This Time" and "Everyday," remind us that Aweau is also strong as a mainstream pop music artist. Three instrumental selections bring other genres into the package.
Aweau’s versatility will come as no surprise if you remember he won a Na Hoku Hanohano Award for a hapa-haole album, a second for a jazz album and a third for an album he recorded as a member of Hapa — all in the same year.
Alx Kawakami — the "A" in ManoaDNA — continues to make his mark as the trio’s resident songwriter on this limited-edition CD. Kawakami, his brother, Nick Kawakami, and father, Lloyd "Dad" Kawakami, maintain the trio’s basic acoustic pop sound with support from Seann Carroll (drums) and Mark Tanouye (bass). Nick is also the graphic designer of the project, and family matriarch Carla "Mom" Kawakami wrote the liner notes that put the songs in context.
For instance, who would guess from the lyrics alone that the title song was inspired by the trio’s visit to Japan after the March 2011 earthquake-tsunami tragedy?
Others are more transparent. Childlike rhymes and a simple Jawaiian rhythm capture the giddiness of new love in "What I Need." Darker melodic tones set the mood in "Saying Goodbye," the lyrics suggesting that the end of a romance can be the start of a better one.
The final song, "Live Aloha," awaits discovery by some local government agency as the theme for an upcoming public service campaign.
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