A first-ever collaboration between a Hawai'i-based Hawaiian music band and a Japan-based Hawaiian music band!
"As Kūpaoa, we have been blessed with the opportunity to create, record and perform music around the world. During our travels, we found kindred spirits in the Japanese Hawaiian music group, Kaulana. In the two short years that we have known each other, our relationship has blossomed and flourished.
Nā Pua Mōhala is a collection of 12 new Hawaiian songs written for both Japan and Hawaiʻi. Many of these are joint compositions by members of Kūpaoa and Kaulana. The title track Nā Pua Mōhala is a translation of a Japanese song called Hana Wa Saku, a song of hope and support for the people of Japan, written after the tragic tsunami of 2011.
This album was recorded at our home on Kauaʻi where we, and the members of Kaulana lived together for the duration of the project. Songs were written and arranged while sitting around a table in the garage, and one at a time, we went into the house to record. While we tracked each song, everyone else tried their best to be quiet but if you listen closely, you might hear Ichi making the morning coffee, or Kosuke cooking a delicious lunch, or Kanayama strumming a tune on his ʻukulele, or even Līhau washing a load of laundry! Listen closely, and you’ll be surprised at what you hear…
Track List
- Aia I Lanipō
- Nani Noe ʻAilana
- He Lā Maikaʻi Nō
- Hemolele Ke Ola
- Ke Aloha O Ke Hoa
- E Nani ʻAilana
- Ka Heihei Leʻaleʻa
- Nā Pua Mōhala
- Ka Nani O Molokaʻi
- Sukiyaki
- Pua Mokihana
- Tōhoku
