Punahele Productions with Chant, Puakea Nogelmeier and Pure Heart
Special thanks to Fred Krauss of Punahele Productions for sharing with us the news that Kealii Reichel's new album Melelana is slated for official release on December 28, 1999. Their distributor, however, has made great efforts to attempt to ship the album early and you may be able to locate it as early as December 23, 1999.
With Melelana Kealii brings us an album filled with ballads - songs and chants of love and desire. Guest artists include Chant, Puakea Nogelmeier, and Pure Heart. Liner notes contain lyrics and translations.
Fred reports that "Melelana is also an 'enhanced compact disc, which means it will run fine in your stereo system, just like a regular CD, but when you place it in your computer (Mac or PC) it will run interviews of the composers, two music videos, clips from all other releases, and a scrapbook or pictures." These added features are due to the hard work of Ikaika Kimura at Danica Productions.
In addition, Fred reports that on December 22, KFVE (Honolulu) will be showing "Melelana: The Making of a Lullaby", produced by Scott and Annie Sorensen at CocoPalm Pictures, which chronicles the different stages of producing the album. A home video will be available early next year with additional concert footage of Kukahi '99 at the Hawai`i Theater.
Kealii's new website at www.kealiireichel.com should be up and running within the next week. This site is based on Maui and will allow for more frequent updates.
Finally, congratulations to Auntie Maria of The Hawaiian Music Island, who has opened up her own store in Capitola, California called IslandStyle. It is located at 831 Bay Avenue (at Highway One). It's open 7 days a week, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. In addition to Hawaiian music, she will sell books, videos, clothing, snacks, and lots of other items.
