Kamuela Kahoano is a singer/songwriter, musician and music producer from Honolulu and if there is one thing about Kamuela’s music, you can pigeonhole his music to a certain genre. Because frankly, he’s an artist that is willing to do it all. May it be rock music, may it be Hawaiian music, may it be hip hop, may it be pop, may it be a guitar musician or a ukulele musician, he’s skilled and talented performer.
In 2011, Kamuela won “Rock Album of the Year” for “Stream Dreams” at the Na Hoku Hanohano Awards (Hawaii’s equivalent to the Grammy’s) and in October 2020, Kamuela won the best “EP (Extended Play) of the Year” for “Higher”.
And today I want to give out a high five to Kamuela for winning his second Na Hoku. He was nominated for three awards which included the “Best EP” but also for best “Contemporary Album of the Year” for “Wot?!” and best “Instrumental Composition of the Year” for “Sherwoods”.
So, let’s talk about the EP “Higher”, this is much different from the music that we typically get from Kamuela’s album, but it’s actually showcases Kamuela’s collaborations and also as a musician and composer.
The first track “Mama Loves You” was composed by Kamuela and co-produced by Imua Garza and Taz Vegas and features beautiful vocals from Lehua Kalima (for those who are familiar with the awesome music of Na Leo Pilimehana /Na Leo).
The song is a mother’s song of being proud of her child. As the child grows older and leaves home, being far away and just wanting their child to know that “mama loves you”.
The second track is with Karlie G, the talented singer/songwriter and ukulele player from Honolulu that jams with a looper and has released numerous awesome songs and the collaboration with Kamuela for “Glide” features a duet by both performers. A catchy and awesome collaboration between these two.
The third track “Plumeria and Jetfuel” and it’s a pretty awesome song as it is about the saying that when people get off the plane arriving in Hawaii, people can smell the plumeria and jet fuel. It’s something you hear about when you arrive at Daniel Inouye International Airport (Honolulu) and even Kahului Airport (Maui). I would have never imagined anyone would create a song about that smell after coming off the plane but Kamuela did an awesome job with this track!
The final track is “Sherwoods”, an awesome guitar instrumental and a song I want to know the chords for! It’s that awesome!
But overall, you get four solid tracks and it’s inexpensive, so buy the EP “Higher” and check out Kamuela Kahono’s other album releases and his new single “Love You Anyway”.
