Entertainment

Taimane, Naiwi Teruya turn musical chemistry into support for Maui

One of the standout moments at August's Maui Music & Food Experience fundraiser at the Hyatt Regency Maui Resort & Spa came when ukulele virtuoso Taimane and Maui's Naiwi Teruya joined forces for an electrifying onstage jam.

The performance made such an impression on Hua Momona Foundation founder Gary Grube that he invited the two musicians to play in Chicago for a benefit concert on Saturday. The event will support the foundation's efforts to distribute food to families on Maui's West Side. Maui musicians Wilmont Kamaunu Kahaiali'i and Kealii Lum will perform at the show.

Looking forward to reuniting onstage with Teruya, Taimane has just released "Liʻulā," her most sonically adventurous album yet, pushing the ukulele into uncharted musical territory and potentially earning Grammy Award consideration.

Renowned for her fiery virtuosity, Taimane transformed the ukulele into an almost mystical instrument on "Liʻulā." Blending Hawaiian tunings with atmospheric harmonics, she created an immersive, otherworldly soundscape rich with symbolism and mystery.

Remarkably, the four-time Nā Hōkū Hanohano Award winner compiled the project in a few weeks. "I was actually on tour, and I was just trying to get it done," Taimane explained. "Pressure really brings out a different side of you."

Fusing traditional Hawaiian and contemporary ambient influences, she opened the album with a medley of the famous sunrise chant "E Ala E," blended with the original instrumental "Jupiter."

"The theme (of the album) was the night," she said. "Hawaii at night. What happens in the dark. So I went towards that and twilight. Liʻulā is a Hawaiian word meaning dusk or twilight. Basically, what happens once the sun is down and things blend together in that magical time where the shadows start to come out and move on their own. So it's a bit more of a spookier vibe."

The night motif is prominent on the second track, the evocative "Kai Mahina," a gentle instrumental inspired by the moon. "It means moon over the ocean," she said. "The inspiration for that was sirens, and the original idea was Pisces, and the wateriness of that. I changed it into 'Kai Mahina,' so it's a very watery siren. It's one of my favorite songs on the album."

Unlike her live performances and some previous compositions, she adopted a more mellow, dreamy approach to playing on the album. "It's funny how that just happened," she said. "It's a lot softer than usual."

Two more night songs, "Night Marchers" and "Hilo Night," continue the theme. "Inspired by Hilo, it has coqui frogs, forest sounds and some rain happening," she noted. "It's more chill and turned into a sensual R&B instrumental. 'Night Marchers' is more of the intensity of Hawaii and what comes in the night."

Other highlights include a moody interpretation of "Waimanalo Blues," made popular by Country Comfort, where she "put it into minor to give it more of a ghostly sound," she said.

Taimane also reimagined Queen Liliʻuokalani's anthem "Aloha ʻOe," for which she received a grant from the Library of Congress to interpret the song. "They asked me to have a conversation with 'Aloha ʻOe.' It was a good process for me to try and create 'Aloha 'Oe' in my way and artistic vision, but also making sure that it's respectful and represents Hawaii and Queen Liliʻuokalani in the best way. I took that idea and created something called 'Until We Meet Again,' about two lovers who can’t be together and their love story of waiting for each other."

Taimane will head to Chicago after presenting a multimedia "Liʻulā" show at the Hawaii Theatre.

Jamming with Teruya in Kaanapali, she said, "We just like to shred together. It was the first time we had met each other. He's a great musician, and all just doing things on the fly."

"It was the performance of the weekend," said Teruya about their teaming.

Looking forward to collaborating again with Taimane, he's taking a brief break from cooking for the Hua Momona Foundation and running their Maui Music Youth Program, which instructs kids how to play instruments.

"It's really exciting," he said about the program. "The kids look forward to it. We have anywhere between eight and a dozen students, and it's going really well."

Teruya is also working on his debut album of original compositions and covers. "It's a busy life doing community stuff and then gigs on top of that, so I don't have a target date," he said.