Kulāiwi

Performance: Ka Nani A‘o Maunakea (Guitars strumming) Aia i ka ‘iu Ka nani a‘o Maunakea E hulali mai nei He beauty maoli nō, nō Aia i ka ‘iu Ka nani a‘o Maunakea E hulali mai nei He beauty maoli nō Ohhh He mauna kilakila Kūha‘o i ka mālie E huli ana i ke ani A ke kēhau aloha ē He mauna kāhiko nō I ka ‘ōpua pili poli Ua lei kau po‘ohiwi Ka wehi a ko kino ē, ē Puana ‘ia ke aloha Ka nani a‘o Maunakea E hulali mai nei He beauty maoli nō E hulali mai nei He beauty maoli nō Ohhh Puana ‘ia ke aloha Ka nani a‘o Maunakea E hulali mai nei He beauty maoli nō E hulali mai nei He beauty maoli nō Ohhh Ohhh (Guitar strums) ------ Ha‘iha‘i Pua Lehua (Guitar instrumental) Shawn Kekoa Pimental: How did Kulāiwi get started?

Well, Lehua and I were playing music together for about 10, 12 years.

And along the way, we started writing songs and wanting to do more of our own music as a duo and we brought Kawika in to do some tracks in the studio and we just love the synergy of all playing together.

And it turned into, the conversation was, ‘How’s about we just put a band together?’ And so we said we needed a name for the group and Lehua right off the bat said, ‘What about Kulāiwi?’ Lehua Kalima Alvarez: Literally it just popped into my head and then I had to actually go look it up and see what it meant because I didn't even really know for sure.

And then I found out that it actually, literally meant the land where my ancestors’ bones are buried.

And I thought well that that's very fitting and it also stands for us because our ancestors DNA is within us also, you know as we carry this story, as we carry our songs forward.

Kawika Kahiapo: We've worked with so many other people over the years, but when the concept and the window and I guess the moment that was happening…to just seize what's happening.

What this thing has done is given us focus and purpose.

I'm just so honored to be with these guys, doing what we're doing.

Performance: Ha‘iha‘i Pua Lehua He aloha ‘oe e ku‘u ipo e Ku‘u lei lehua lā pili poli e Pili ‘ia maila me ke aloha e Ke aloha pumehana a mau loa e Ha‘iha‘i pua lehua i ka manawa e Ha‘iha‘i pua lehua i ka manawa e Pua ka lehua lā i ka luna e Uluwehiwehi lā i Kīlauea e Hea aku au iā ‘oe e ka ipo e I ke ahi ‘ena‘ena hā‘ena‘ena e Ha‘iha‘i pua lehua i ka manawa e Ha‘iha‘i pua lehua i ka manawa e Hā‘ena‘ena i ka li‘a auālipo e I ka lipo lipo lā o ka nahele e Hele na ka pu‘uwai hele hāikiki e Ki‘i e ka ipo lā i ka pali o Kē‘ē Ha‘iha‘i pua lehua i ka manawa e Ha‘iha‘i pua lehua i ka manawa e Ho‘i aku au iā ‘oe me ku‘u waimaka Ka wai ‘e‘elo i ku‘u papalina e Pau ka‘u hana lā i ka pono e Ua pono ho‘i au i ka ha‘ina e Ha‘iha‘i pua lehua i ka manawa e Ha‘iha‘i pua lehua i ka manawa e, e Ha‘iha‘i pua lehua i ka manawa e Ha‘iha‘i pua lehua i ka manawa e I ka manawa e I ka manawa e (Guitar strumming) --- Pe‘ahi o Makana (Guitar strumming) Shawn Kekoa Pimental: You know, we celebrate hula and that's why we consider Pono part of our group is because we feel that's the other half to the mele.

Know, it's not just an adornment or something that just accompanies what we do.

It really is, you know, a muse to our writing, to the way that we perform things.

Pono Fernandez: So Kekuhi Kanahele told me once that our ancestors thought in images.

And I think you know, when you think about mele Hawaiʻi, you think, ‘Oh, so pretty the mountains, so pretty the flower so, so beautiful the ocean.’ Yes, but it's because our ancestors had such a deep relationship with ʻāina that they could see those images, that they created those names, that they relied on those places for survival.

And for, for their, for life, for beyond survival to be thriving.

That relationship that they had with ʻāina allowed that to happen.

Performance: Pe‘ahi o Makana Ohhh, ohhhh Meha ke ahi lele o Makana Kū ana i ke ‘ala o ka pe‘ahi Me he ahi lā e lapa mai ana Ka ‘ikea o ka mea aloha Ka ‘ikea o ka mea aloha Ahh ‘Auhea ‘oe e ka makani Ko‘olau Ke hali maila i ke ahi a ka ipo ‘Apo ‘ia a pa‘a, ho‘opili i ka ‘ili Ke kukuni wela a ke aloha Ke kukuni wela a ke aloha Pō iho ke ao i Hā‘ena kai I ka nihi pā mai o ka ‘ehu He wai kolo, he wai lani E ola ai ko uka wao nahele E ola ai ko uka wao nahele Meha ke ahi lele o Makana ‘Auhea ‘oe e ka makani Ko‘olau Kū ana i ke ‘ala o ka pe‘ahi Ke hali maila i ke ahi a ka ipo Me he ahi lā e lapa mai ana ‘Apo ‘ia a pa‘a, ho‘opili i ka ‘ili Ka ‘ikea o ka mea aloha Ke kukuni wela a ke aloha Ka ‘ikea o ka mea aloha Ke kukuni wela a ke aloha Ke kukuni wela a ke aloha Ahhh Ohhhh, ohhhh (Guitar strums) -- Eō Kū Kia‘i Mauna (Guitar strums) Kawika Kahiapo: The word that comes to my mind is experience.

Like the song Eō Kū Kia‘i Mauna, I was just watching the events unfold on evening news every night.

I felt like the inspiration I guess, seeing the kupuna, seeing the series of events unfold, literally, the song kind of wrote itself.

I'm just grasping on to all the visuals and the audible stuff that was happening.

So I just gathered that and compiled it into what I feel is, I'm just expressing through the song, what we're seeing happening, real time.

So I think as far as the composition side, it's, it’s everyday life experiences.

Performance: Eō Kū Kia‘i Mauna (Guitar playing) Our people hear the call Come one and all As we unite on the mountain For the powers that be Manifest their greed And desecrate our motherland We stand in Kapu Aloha Hand in hand we make our stand Kūpuna warriors put their lives on the line Eō!

Eō Kū Kia‘i Mauna People from far and wide Join with our stride And stand with us in unity Solidarity for all the world to see Truth will prevail And set us free We stand in Kapu Aloha Hand in hand we make our stand Kūpuna warriors put their lives on the line Eō!

Eō Kū Kia‘i Mauna (Guitar instrumental) We stand in Kapu Aloha Hand in hand we make our stand Kūpuna warriors put their lives on the line Eō!

Eō Kū Kia‘i Mauna Our people hear the call Come one and all As we unite on the mountain For the powers that be Manifest their greed And desecrate our motherland We stand in Kapu Aloha Hand in hand we make our stand Kūpuna warriors put their lives on the line Eō!

Eō Kū Kia‘i Mauna Kūpuna warriors put their lives on the line Eō!

Eō Kū Kia‘i Mauna Eō!

Eō Kū Kia‘i Mauna Eō!

Eō Kū Kia‘i Mauna (guitar instrumental) Eō Kū Kia‘i Mauna (guitar instrumental) ---- Ē Lili‘u Ē (Guitar instrumental) Shawn Kekoa Pimental: Moʻolelo is our history is not just our stories.

It is to mark what events occurred so that we will never forget.

Ē Liliʻu Ē was written back in 2018.

It was actually when there was a hurricane coming, and we're all locked down and didn't have anything to do.

Woke up the next morning and had a thought, a dream about, for some reason it was about the Queen.

And we always talk about how we feel, you know, going through the overthrow, and what our people still struggle with today and the generational trauma that many of us suffer from.

But to think about what she must have been feeling at that time, you know, when she was imprisoned in the palace and the visualization of that.

So I thought, if I could write a letter to her to tell her that we still love her and support her.

And so started writing a letter to her and just visualizing what we would say to her through this letter.

Performance: Ē Lili‘u Ē (Guitar instrumental) Majesty the Queen, I humbly sing to thee In honor of your sacrifice no nā ‘ōiwi o Hawai‘i The sake of our nation bound in your last days We sing you praise, ē Lili‘u ē Uwē, e ola no Hawai‘i Uwē, hō‘ola ka lāhui Uwē, uwē, no nā pua ‘āina ē Ke aloha nui, ē Lili‘u ē If Her Majesty could kindly hear the voice I lift to thee Her people stand hand in hand no ka wahine he pōlani We offer you this song of love to guide you through your days We sing you praise, ē Lili‘u ē Uwē, e ola no Hawai‘i Uwē, hō‘ola ka lāhui Uwē, uwē, no nā pua ‘āina ē Ke aloha nui, ē Lili‘u ē For Her Majesty our Queen, e kū‘ē mau ē The pillar of our nation we still stand with you today Kū‘auhau we hear you cry as strong as yesterday We sing you praise, ē Lili‘u ē Uwē, e ola no Hawai‘i Uwē, hō‘ola ka lāhui Uwē, uwē, no nā pua ‘āina ē Ke aloha nui, ē Lili‘u ē Ke aloha nui, ē Lili‘u ē Ke aloha nui, ē Lili‘u ē Ooh ooh ooh ooh ---- Kuʻu Pili Lehua Kalima Alvarez: I think the, the history that we all have.

The 100 plus years, if you put us all together of music that we've, we've shared.

It just, yeah, the maturity of it.

You know, everybody knows what they supposed to do.

And we do it and we do it with joy.

And we do it with purpose.

And you know, and we do it because we love it.

And not because we have to.

Shawn Kekoa Pimental: And it really is us, raw.

You know, in our raw elements.

Like all our songs, everything that we say on stage, everything that we sing, everything that we dance, that we say in interviews, it really is us, you know, it's not rehearsed.

We live our culture, we live our ʻōlelo, we live our hula, we live our music, you know, and we really want to continue to inspire others to do that as well.

Pono Fernandez: I feel like music is almost like a map.

You can map your memories onto music, you hear a song and it takes you someplace you hear a song and you have this memory of a person or someplace that you've been.

And it's the same thing with our culture, mele are maps of our culture.

And if we don't write new music today, then our children's, children's, children, seven generations down the road, they're not going to know what our experience was.

And so, you know, we're really stepping into our kuleana here, as storytellers through our music through our hula through our moʻolelo so that there will always be aloha aina generations to come.

Kawika Kahiapo: And I think this is just the beginning.

So we feel like there's more kuleana for us to stay focused and stay busy, inspiring, and writing and being a voice in sharing it with our lāhui and Hawaiians, non-Hawaiians and visitors alike.

They're grasping onto the music, they're loving it and we have work cut out for us.

Performance Ku‘u Pili (Guitar instrumental) ‘Auhea wale ‘oe E ku‘u ipo nohea He pua o ka makani Kaiāulu E hō‘olu mai I ku‘u nui kino ē He aloha pili hemo ‘ole Eō mai, e ku‘u pili e Ku‘u hoa ke‘ālani Eō mai, e ku‘u pili e Aia i ka malu O ku‘u aloha nui e Ku‘u hoa alo pali Onaona i ka i‘u Māpu mai ke ‘ala anuhea E kāhiko mai I ku‘u alo e He aloha pili hemo ‘ole Eō mai, e ku‘u pili e Ku‘u hoa ke‘ālani Eō mai, e ku‘u pili e Aia i ka malu O ku‘u aloha nui e Eō mai, e ku‘u pili e Aia i ka malu O ku‘u aloha nui e Aia i ka malu O ku‘u aloha ē Oooh, oooh (Guitar strums) ----- Windward Side (Guitar instrumental) Shawn Pimental For me, I know, I've joked about this for so many years because all the entities I've worked with and played with, my parents never come and watch because they don't like that kind of music.

So I went out - and my dad's a huge fan of Lehua's and a huge fan of Kawika's - so I was like, ʻOkay, I'm gonna put a band together.’ And now he comes to my gigs.

Performance: Windward Side Meet me on the Windward side my love Where the mountain meets the sea is where I'll be Meet me on the Windward side my love Where the stars are dancing hula for you and me The trade winds always kissing me hello Salt air breeze always makes me whole Waterfalls along the Ko‘olau Reminds me of this place that I call home Meet me on the Windward side my love Where the mountain meets the sea is where I'll be Meet me on the Windward side my love Where the stars are dancing hula for you and me Valley tells of stories long ago Māhealani shines her light i ka pō mālie Manu sings a song that we both know Ke aloha in this place that fills my soul (Guitar instrumental) Been to many cities far from home So many more to see, I don't know Carry her with me along the road My heart will always lead me right back home Meet me on the Windward side my love Where the mountain meets the sea is where I'll be Meet me on the Windward side my love Where the stars are dancing hula for you and me Where the stars are dancing hula for you and me Where the stars are dancing hula for you and me (Guitar instrumental) ---- Kaulana Nā Pua Kawika Kahiapo We’ve performed and sang with multiple groups in Hawaii creating the harmony, figuring out where you fit, but the texture of what we do is... Lehua Kalima Alvarez Right because you have like the voice of God over here, right?

You know (vocalizing).

And then Shawn, he can play like anything, whatever, you know.

And I don't know what I do... Shawn Kekoa Pimental She writes all the greatest songs.

Kawika Kahiapo But you know the texture of her voice is like…I mean like Lehua's one of the most gifted female vocalists, I think in the history of our islands.

But when I talk about the texture it's something like I can be singing with others singing the same song with all the same different parts, but the depth and texture of...I've sung with male bands and this is the harmony here and she's sung with Na Leo amazing, but now the three of us it's like the range just goes like this, from baritone to like falsetto.

It's really incredible.

Performance: Kaulana Nā Pua Kaulana nā pua o Hawai‘i Kūpa‘a ma hope o ka ‘āina Hiki mai ka ‘elele a ka loko ‘ino Palapala ‘anunu me ka pākaha Pane mai Hawai‘i moku o Keawe Kōkua nā Hono a‘o Pi‘ilani Kāko‘o mai Kaua‘i o Mano Pau pū me ke one o Kākuhihewa (Guitar instrumental) ‘A‘ole a‘e kau i ka pūlima Ma luna o ka pepa o ka ‘enemi Ho‘ohui ‘āina kū‘ai hewa I ka pono siwila a‘o ke kanaka ‘A‘ole mākou a‘e minamina I ka pu‘u kālā o ke aupuni Ua lawa mākou i ka pōhaku I ka ‘ai kamaha‘o o ka ‘āina (Guitar instrumental) Ma hope mākou o Lili‘ulani A loa‘a ka pono o ka ‘āina Ha‘ina ‘ia mai ana ka puana Ka po‘e i aloha i ka ‘āina Ma hope mākou o Lili‘ulani A loa‘a ka pono o ka ‘āina Ha‘ina ‘ia mai ana ka puana Ka po‘e i aloha i ka ‘āina Ka po‘e i aloha i ka ‘āina Oooh, oooh Oooh, oooh Oooh, oooh Oooh, oooh, oooh