Kalani Pe’a releases debut album to much fanfare

Kalani Pe‘a is a self-described “millennial Hawaiian.”

From his lauhala pattern bow-tie and designer threads perfectly paired with rubber slippers to the songs he writes, the Big Island native has a style all his own — reflected in Pe‘a’s debut album, “E Walea,” released earlier this month to much fanfare.

“A lot of people know my style,” says Pe‘a, who now resides on Maui. “I am not a traditional singer nor am I a R&B singer, I am a Hawaiian singer that can do the riffs and the R&B and the classical and musical balance if you want me to but it’s my style — I didn’t change for anyone.”

The 12-track album features seven original Hawaiian compositions and five soulful covers of pieces like Joe Cocker’s “You Are So Beautiful” and Luther Vandross’ rendition of Heatwave’s “Always and Forever.” As Pe‘a says, “it’s not an album that has just Hawaiian music, it really has my riffs and contemporary style of singing.”

Though hard to choose a favorite of the seven songs he composed for the album, Pe‘a points to one that is near and dear to his heart, Ku‘u Poli‘ahu, or the goddess of Mauna Kea. He created the piece for his mother as a teenager some 16 years ago while a high school student in a Hawaiian music composition class taught by kumu Larry Kimura, whom Pe‘a considers a mentor.

“I wrote this song to compare the beauty of the snow goddess to my mom and there’s so much hidden messages because my mother is my best friend, too, other than Allan,” Pe‘a said, referring to his manager and fiance, Allan B. Cool. “She cries every time I sing it — even when I sang it during the CD release party (Aug. 4) in Honolulu.”

Reads the first verse:

“Mauna Kea kilakila keu a ka u‘i — Majestic Mauna Kea, oh, you’re exquisite

Luhiehu ka Makua o ku‘u lani — The most appealing guardian, my heavenly one

Poli‘ahu ka wahine kapa hau anu — Covered in the blanket of the snow, you are Poli‘ahu

Pumehana ka wahine e ‘apo mai e, ‘apo mai e — This warmth of love, she embraces us”

“That song means a lot to me because it really is my lyrics and my music and melody. To me that is one of my favorites,” Pe‘a said.

“E Walea,” which means to come together like birds, be elated, exuberant and enjoy in Hawaiian, hit No. 1 on the iTunes World Music Charts on its Aug. 5 release date. By mid-month, the album climbed to No. 12 on the Billboard World Music Charts.

“I didn’t know we were going to be No. 1 on the release date, I was so overwhelmed with joy and happiness, I was totally walea — exuberant,” said Pe‘a, 33.

Pe‘a is planning a Big Island CD release party, as well as concerts in Hilo and Kona, this September. Exact dates and venues are yet to be announced.

Born and raised in Panaewa on the island’s eastern side, Pe‘a’s singing career started at the young age of 4 after he was diagnosed with a speech impediment.

“I introduced my son to singing and music helped him pronounce his words. Speech therapy in preschool didn’t work for him,” Pe‘a’s mother, Pua Leonard, said in a prepared release. “He started with his first song at age 4 singing ‘I Feel My Savior’s Love.’”

Leonard and Pe‘a’s father, Arthur (Ata) Pe‘a, who comes from a musical family, encouraged their son to take vocal lessons, choir, and entered him in numerous talent and karaoke competitions. He’s won an array of competitions since age 8, including Hawaii’s Brown Bags to Stardom, and first place in the National Association Teacher’s of Singing Competition in Colorado/Wyoming chapter, which he won as a college student, among others.

A 2001 graduate of Ke Kula ‘o Nawahiokalani‘opu‘u, the Hawaiian language immersion school in Kea‘au, Pe‘a attended college at Colorado Mesa University (Mesa State College) from 2001-07 before moving back to the Big Island in summer 2008.

“I stammered and stuttered so much as a child that whether speech therapy works for some, it doesn’t work for many, and it didn’t work me,” he said. “Singing and hearing the music, and being able to look over music theory and having peer training background over the last 28 years allowed me to not only be confident and build my self-esteem but it also allowed me to speak like this and then graduate with my bachelor’s degree in mass communication, publication relations, news editorial and education.”

He met his fiance and manager, Allan B. Cool, while teaching preschool in Kona and five years later, in late 2013, the pair moved to Maui when Cool was tasked with opening a new shop for a major retailer in Wailuku. Pe‘a, who repeatedly touted his love for Kona, is currently the Hawaiian resource coordinator at Kamehameha Schools — Kealakulia on Maui, in addition to a singer-songwriter.

“Allan became my manager because he believed that as a partner — as my lifetime partner and best friend — he believed in me and he believed in the success of this project and he believed that I would be able to share my music not only through Hawaiian language but with a modern perspective and an R&B contemporary feel,” he said.

Pe‘a looks up to artists like Luciano Pavarotti, the Temptations, Luther Vandross, Genoa Keawe, the Lim Family, and Helen Desha Beamer, among others, for inspiration for his modern take on Hawaiian music.

“Those are my idols,” he says. “I’m not trying to sing like everyone else. I’ve been singing the way I sing and whether there is augmented or diminished chords in Hawaiian music, which is not common, this is very playful to the ear of a musician — meaning a traditional Hawaiian singer would know, ‘wow, he used some diminished or augmented chords to make it modern.’

“I’m taking Hawaiian language to a whole new level. As a speaker, speaking it for 25 years, I am comfortable to compose it, comfortable to produce it, and comfortable to share it,” he said.

Coming up with the dozen songs and creating what became “E Walea” took about a year, Pe‘a said. He worked with Dave Tucciarone, a 13-time Na Hoku Hanohano Award-winning engineer and producer based in Honolulu, who made albums for big names like Napapalai, Fiji, Robi Kahakalau, Kuana Torres, and others.

Pe‘a also collaborated with North Kohala’s Nani Lim Yap, a Na Hoku Hanohano Lifetime Achievement awardee and award-winning kumu hula, on “He Wehi Aloha,” a love song comparing the misty rain of the uplands with a loved one.

Like “Kuu Poliahu” and “He Wehi Aloha,” each of Pe‘a’s originals contain hidden meanings or messages, that allow stories to be shared. “Eo Lononuiakea,” an oli or chant, was created years ago by Pe‘a for his students.

“That chant was sung by my students in Kona, and I know that that chant is always instilled in them because they know the meaning of that chant and how we need to embrace the beauty of every element from Hualalai mountain down to Kaupulehu Dry Forest down to Kona Kai Opua and acknowledge the elements of Kona and know that every element provides life,” said Pe‘a.

In a nutshell, that’s the goal: To perpetuate Hawaiian language and culture through his music.

“We want to ensure that our new leaders of today and tomorrow — who are Hawaiian ancestry or not — are able to tell stories through their own music and through their own poetry,” Pe‘a said.

Info: www.kalanipeamusic.com ■