Hawaiian Music:
Free Hawaiian Music Download Samples
By Keali'l Reichel, 2004 Na Hoku Hanohano Awards Winner:
- Hawaiian Album of the Year
- Male Vocalist of the Year
- Song of the Year
See why Keali'l Reichel is the most popular Hawaiian music artist since Don Ho. Download your free samples now, and then order the CD...
Keali'i ReichelCOLLECTION ONEKamahiwaDISC ONE
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DISC TWO
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$19.00
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Keali'i ReichelmelelanaFeaturing Enhanced CD technology for PC/Windows® & Macintosh
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$16.00
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Keali'i ReichelKe'alaokamaileNominee 47th Grammy Awards, 2004 Album of the Year, Nã Hĩkũ Hanohano Awards
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$16.00
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Keali'i ReichelKawaipunahele
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$16.00
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Keali'i ReichelLei Hali'a
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$16.00
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Keali'i ReichelE Õ Mai
(mp3)
$16.00
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Keali'i ReichelPride of PunaheleEnhanced CD Windows® Compatible
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$16.00
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"From Grand Theft to Grammy Nominee"
The Biography of Keali'l Reichel
(Adapted from an article by Wayne Harada, Entertainment Ed., The Honolulu Advertiser)
Keali'i Reichel is one of modern Hawaii's best-known singers and composers. He is also a chanter, a kumu hula (the head of a hula halau, or school) and an educator. He is an unlikely success story with a dark past and a bright turnaround...
At 24, he was convicted of grand theft. Instead of a prison term, he was ordered to do community service, which, in his case, turned out to be a quick study on Hawaiian culture that was to pave his future path. "I learned Hawaiiana with a brand-new kind of fervor," he said. "It was the turning point of my life."
In the humble beginnings of his music career, Keali'i and his hula halau baked cookies and sold them to raise money to fund his first recording. At 33, he knocked Madonna off the pop charts in Hawaii record sales with his debut CD, Kawaipunahele. He since has completed a second, Lei Hali'a, a third, E O Mai and a fourth, Pride of Punahele.
He has also had the distinction of headlining bi-coastal shows- a full-on Hawaiiana evening at Carnegie Hall in New York in July 1997, and a stint with the Honolulu Symphony Orchestra at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles in August 1997.
Maui-born and raised, Keali'i Reichel's full name is Carleton Lewis Reichel with Keali'i, a shortened version of Keali' inaniaimokuokalani, which means "the handsome chief who rules over the heavenly lands." Of German-Hawaiian ancestry, Keali'i Reichel (pronounced, kay-ah-LEE-ee rye-SHELL) is a master chanter and founding director of Maui's Hawaiian Immersion language pre-school.
He lives the language he advocates through his music. "When I think of the fact that the (Hawaiian) language is on the verge of extinction, I find it a personal challenge to use the language on a daily basis," he said. He pointed out that his ancestors "chanted daily as a means of sharing knowledge and thoughts. It permeated their lives; it was as common as humming."
As a master chanter himself, Reichel often wears a malo (loincloth garment) or kihei (a cape fashioned from leaves), revealing a tattooed body. As a front-and-center singer these days, he'll usually forsake Hawaiian dress for a simple black T-shirt and jeans.
His voice and repertoire defy categorization. In one instance, he's very native Hawaiian, displaying a powerful chanting and singing voice, and delivering tunes and thoughts in his native tongue. In another moment, he's contemporary and pop, reinterpreting an Elton John or a Bette Midler or a Beatles' hit. His keen ear for something different has put him in the mainstream. One of his signature tunes, "Wanting Memories," was originally written and recorded by Sweet Honey in the Rock, the African-American woman's a capella ensemble, but the lyrics have a direct and special meaning to native Hawaiians on several levels.
His originally penned works, as well as that of many Hawaiian music lyricists, often include double-entendre meanings; hence, a love song like "Hanohano Lei Pikake" compares the love of two people to the grace and charms of the pikake blossom- a recurring tradition in Reichel's song bag.
Reichel recently signed a four-year distribution contract with Atlantic/Time Warner that could give Hawaiian music an unprecedented national and international boost, with potential marketing in Canada and Mexico. His additional contract with JVC Victor Entertainment in Japan opens up the Japan/Asia market as well.
Not since Don Ho signed with Reprise Records three decades ago has an Island performer been on the edge of stardom fueled by prolific Hawaiian-produced music. Ho's savior was the late composer, Kui Lee. Reichel writes some of his own music and records many tunes by Hawaiian language professor Puakea Nogelmeier.
Reichel has already made a name for himself and his ideals by producing the most popular selling albums in the history of Hawaiian music. With his diverse interests and talents, people in the Pacific, Japan, Europe and the United States' mainland are looking to him to bridge the gap between Hawaii and the world.
