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Slack key, flute and taiko drums combine for a unique sound
"Island Breeze" Jeff Peterson, Riley Lee & Kenny Endo (Peterson Productions)
Jeff Peterson and Riley Lee created an imaginative blend of Hawaiian and Japanese musical traditions with three albums that paired Peterson’s slack-key guitar with Lee’s shakuhachi (Japanese bamboo flute). With "Island Breeze," taiko drum master Kenny Endo joins the two, bringing his musical specialty into the picture. All three composed songs for the project and it’s a completely original work.
The immediate surprise for people who think of taiko in terms of huge drums pounded thunderously by muscular men in fundoshi (a traditional Japanese garment similar to the Hawaiian malo) is that there is no booming percussion here. Lee’s flute is prominent but Peterson and Endo get a fair share of solo time. The interplay between Peterson and Endo on "Spirit of Rice" makes it one of the most distinctive selections.
The title song is another memorable showcase for Endo. It also spotlights Endo and Peterson as a duo within the unique and talented trio.
Their imaginative collaboration should inspire other Hawaii musicians to explore new combinations of Hawaiian and non-Hawaiian instruments.
"Closed da Road Again" Frank De Lima (Pocholinga Productions)
The horrendous traffic tie-ups caused by road repair and construction projects are the inspiration for this topical song parody by Frank De Lima and lyricist Patrick Downes. Willie Nelson’s universally known musical signature, "On the Road Again," becomes a lament about blocked exits, circuitous detours and seemingly unending digging and filling projects.
"Closed da road again/I no believe they closed da road again," De Lima sings over a brisk country-lite arrangement. "I got to take deep breaths and slowly count to 10/No matter what they gonna close da road again."
De Lima and Downes close with a warning that things aren’t going to get better: "Just when they say that ‘almost pau’ and then/Here comes the rail to start ’em all again." "Closed da Road Again" is available for free as a download at www.frankdelima.com, but a payment of any amount supports his nonprofit Frank De Lima Student Enrichment Program. Nelson will appreciate the composer’s royalty as well.
"Shorts" The Horror Show (no label)
Download-only releases are the way many people buy music these days but the traditional hard-copy CD still gives an artist’s work an additional level of credibility. It also shows that someone has enough commitment to the project that they were willing to invest the money it costs for cover art and graphic design, and to manufacture and ship CDs.
The Horror Show — Decibel Grand and Jon Cozy — is making that commitment for the second time with "Shorts." The depth of the project musically and lyrically shows it was money well spent.
The duo addresses mainstream hip-hop topics — sex, the music business, dissing rivals, hard-core alcohol and substance consumption —in realistic terms. The vocabulary is generally too "realistic" to be quoted here but the sentiments expressed are universal. Some are delivered in tones of sullen rage. Others update the defiantly fatalistic "live fast, love hard, die young" ethos.
Whatever their mood and message, the duo’s insights and rhyming abilities are equal to their production skills.
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