The request was unusual, but Dondi Bastone, a music supervisor with 50 films on his résumé, jumped at the chance anyway.
After all, it was Oscar-winning filmmaker Alexander Payne on the line.
Payne wanted Bastone to work on his new film, "The Descendants," and score it entirely with existing Hawaiian music. There would be no composer.
"He said, ‘How would you like to get to know Hawaiian music with me?’" Bastone said. "I was really excited for the opportunity to be paid to have a crash course in Hawaiian music."
The course lasted 15 months.
Payne told Bastone to listen to everything he could find but that he had also fallen in love with the gentle strumming and earthy voice of Hawaiian slack-key legend Gabby Pahinui.
"He had heard Gabby when he was scouting locations," Bastone said. "He wanted Gabby to be the voice in the film. It just resonated with him in a big way."
There are 40 songs included in the film — works by Sonny Chillingworth, Solomon Ho‘opi‘i, Ray Kane, Jeff Peterson, Keola Beamer and others — but the late Pahinui is a constant, as is the use of slack-key guitar. There is very little ukulele and steel guitar, Bastone said.
Pahinui’s contributions are "Ka Makani Ka‘ili Aloha," "Kaua‘i Beauty," "Leahi," "Wai o ke Aniani," "He‘eia" and "Hi‘ilawe."
Two other versions of "Hi‘ilawe," done by different performers, were also used in the film.
Selecting the music was challenging because of the film’s serious subject matter: love, betrayal, forgiveness. Hawaiian music is usually upbeat and buoyant, not dramatic, Bastone said.
"In this film it was a little more delicate," he said. "You had to tread carefully, and it was tricky finding music that would underscore those elements."
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The soundtrack for "The Descendants," distributed by Sony Classics, is available for downloading and on CD for $11.98.
