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When Lehua Kalima graduated from Kamehameha Schools in 1984, she was already a local hit-maker. Her group, Na Leo Pilimehana, was that year’s winner of the “Brown Bags to Stardom” talent contest, which was run by radio station KIKI/I-94. The grand prize was recording a 45-rpm single that the station would play often on the air. In 1985, the single “Local Boys” won the group what would be the first of more than a dozen Na Hoku Hanohano Awards.
Shawn Pimental stepped into the local spotlight as a member of the Jawaiian pioneers Na Waiho‘olu‘u o ke Anuenue in the early 1990s. Pimental then turned his attention to producing and engineering recordings; he received his first Hoku Award for his work producing albums for Na Palapalai in 2003.
In 2011, Kalima recorded a solo album of songs that didn’t fit Na Leo’s repertoire. She needed a musician to partner with for live performances. Pimental stepped forward and they became a duo.
On tour, Kalima and Pimental found themselves crossing paths with Kawika Kahiapo, a Hoku winner with credits going back to the mid-1990s. Conversations about music and Hawaiian culture brought them together, and Kulaiwi was born. Chanter/hula dancer Pono Fernandez made the group a quartet.
Last month, Kulaiwi’s debut album, “Native Lands,” won album of the year, group of the year and Hawaiian music of the year at the 2022 Na Hoku Hanohano Awards. The award for album of the year goes to the producer or producers of the album as well as to the artist, and since Kahiapo, Kalima and Pimental produced their album, the win earned them each two awards — one as the recording artist, one as the producer. Pimental earned another Hoku for his work co-engineering the album with Michael Grande.
For more on the band, visit kulaiwimusic.com.
Kalima was at her home in Las Vegas, and Pimental on tour in Japan with Napua Greig, when the five-way conference call took place. The conversation has been edited for space and clarity.
Congratulations on the Hoku Awards. You’ve all been there before. What stood out for you this time?
Kawika Kahiapo: When you’re a (finalist) you try to rehearse something, but I always want to make too many points. I’ve been playing music 43 years and (Kulaiwi) is the most synergistic and effortless group I’ve been in. When we play, it doesn’t seem like we’re working. There was a whole lot more I wanted to say but Lehua said something and then I did, and before Pono could say anything they cut her off.
How do you make it work when one member of the group lives in another state?
Lehua Kalima: I’m not sure exactly how we make it work. If one of us can’t make (a date) we don’t do it, but usually we make the time to do it because we love playing together. It’s “good synergy,” like Kawika always says, and fills up your mana tank every time we do this.
Pono, how did you become part of Kulaiwi?
Pono Fernandez: I started dancing for Shawn and Lehua about 2015. I was on the journey with them. Shawn and I had all kinds of conversations about aloha aina, what aloha aina looks like in education, and what our roles are. All of those conversations that we were having kind of bled into the music, and the fact that Lehua and Kawika absolutely aligned with all of those ideas started to be the conversation for all four of us.
Shawn Pimental: What we really want to highlight — and this is something that we share all the time on stage — is that we don’t just look at the hula as an adornment or something that complements our music. It really is the other half of the mele. The mana that she brings to the song is just as important as the singing.
What’s next for Kulaiwi?
Shawn Pimental: We are going to go to (Lake) Tahoe in September for educational tours and demonstrations for a bunch of schools, from elementary school all the way up to high schools — and some public performances as well. We’re also going to talk about Indigenous rights and our culture with Native Americans and other Indigenous groups that are in that community. And we’re all writing and really inspired to create more music together. There is so much more to come.
Kawika Kahiapo: For us, I think the purpose and the cause is the educational aspect of it. It’s culture-based. A foundation for different ways of educating people, like on Mauna Kea or at the Waikiki Shell with Jack Johnson. I think that’s the sweet spot as far as all the elements coming together, our intent to compose, and handling all the things that make it pertinent.
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