For those of you not familiar, Kekui Kanahele is one of the most interesting singers out there now. Her music is very grounded in her reasearch in culture, history and language -- and just about every song opens some revelation for me, and a lot of people I know.
Anyway -- her latest "Danny Boy" is probably her best -- reaches some incredibly deep emotional spaces. I think her performance of Ka Ipo Lei Manu is worth the price of the CD. It starts with Kaipo (her husband) chanting Kalakaua's burial chant, a nose flute enters, then guitar, then Kekui singing the most "checken-skin" Ka Ipo I've ever heard. It's almost like hearing Kapiolani sing her last love song to Kalakaua in person.
(In fact, there's only one song on the CD I edited out when I made my "playing copy" and that is the title song.
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Posted - 08/24/2002 : 2:09:31 PM
