Wide-ranging ‘Bumbye’ another win for Kupaoa

‘Bumbye’

Kupaoa
(Hulu Kupuna Productions)

Kupaoa — the husband-and-wife duo of Kellen Paik and Kalikolihau Hannahs Paik — goes from triumph to triumph with its third album. Crisp acoustic arrangements, two strong lead voices, smooth harmonizing, a live string section on one song and steel guitar on others make this album an excellent introduction to contemporary Hawaiian music.

A majority of the songs are written by the couple or by Kellen working with other collaborators. Puakea Nogelmeier is the writer of four tunes, including the title track. Ku‘uipo Kumukahi guests on that one, and it is a zesty foot-tapper. A beautifully illustrated 22-page liner notes booklet provides lyrics and translations for all of them.

Kupaoa pays tribute to composers of previous generations with "Sweet By and By" (Dennis Kamakahi) and "Hawaiian Soul" (Jon Osorio). Jon & Randy sang "Hawaiian Soul" as a duo in 1980; Kupaoa redefines the requiem in imaginative style by having Kalikolihau sing it solo.

Hapa-haole remakes of two pop chart oldies display the duo’s wider musical horizons. "Beautiful Sunday" is accented with beautiful work by Paul Kim on steel guitar, while Kellen’s ukulele strumming gives "I Got You Babe" a touch of the islands.

www.kupaoa.com

"He Aloha Ka’upulehu"