Guitar Open-tuning, Baritone Ukulele & Kī hō‘alu sound waves sparked by ‘āina
Uakoko. Mele Koko.
Where does mele come from—
especially when music and story comes all one time?
Sounds and rhythms hapai—
carry the feeling—
energy—
Peaks and troughs.
Sets of waves that build and slack
crest and rest
in cycles.
Stories, timeless wa’a
navigate waves of light, and sound.
From generations of weavers, menders, speakers, seekers,
observers, recorders,
sailing on ions and eons
of hope and songs.
Songwriters share fragments
of inner and outer feelings
borne on the wind
and dreams
that awaken,
like each new day.
—from Keoki Apokolani Carter & Yvonne Yarber.
Others on the music of Apokolani
About Apokolani music and gatherings.
“Plenty flavors of crack seed kine stories, island style. Easy, take your time music. Like he says. just like life, some is sweet, some is sour. “
“So relaxing. My Honolulu crazy-traffic cd in the car. It mellows the ride. ” R.M.
“Missing Hawai‘i, it makes me feel closer. Kiss the Sky is so up lifting and timely. Mahalo, I love being able to share a hula to it.” Kumu hula, J.T.
“Like a Hawaiian Bob Dylan” Paul
“Eh brah. So good, I was just mellow, grooving with it in the truck. Then I listened again coming home and whoa, Auē Noho’i. Some heavy stuff to sweet mele. I like it. I like it. Itʻs for real.” Braddah John
“We had a most de”LIGHT”full evening. It was what we all needed. You both filled our umeke with so much aloha. The mahina was Lāʻau, good moons for relaxing, healing, and soothing. Good for everyone there that evening and beyond. You both raised the vibration through music, mele, and story, for our ʻāina, kānaka and akua mā. Piha ka mahalo! …We were indeed all transcended. Kehaulani
” From Jazz and Kae‘a on a KAPA radio interview with Keoki and Yvonne about the new album, “Auē Noho‘i’.
Ka‘ea: “I got a name for it, Conscious Music. Thatʻs what it is. Because thereʻs always a message, or something you can take away. From not only the lyrics, but the movement of the music.
Jazz: “Itʻs also partial folk music in a way, if you go back to the old albums liner notes, like Sons Of Hawaii, the Americans were calling it “folk music” as storytelling. And your music is very much that style. Your ukelele style is very much that Peter Moon, Ohta San—simple but very classy, clean playing. Not that bladahdaadaadaadaa all over the place kine—which fits the storytelling. It doesnʻt distract from the storytelling.“
Ka‘ea: “That makes sense to me—space…itʻs like my body understands and can feel it because itʻs not confused by what itʻs hearing.
…you folks have chosen a handful of musicians accentuating the mood, the intention, and you can hear the music. Like Jazz was saying, you can hear, the sax. Where the instrumentation is placed, youʻre actually allowed to enjoy it…This CD, you can put on and listen to all day long. Because it has this really calming groovy energy to it. So it just fills the house with such goodness.”
New—lucky-we-grew-up-hawai‘i song—December 2023!!!
“Hele Mai Le‘a Le‘a Kākou“
- Welcoming 2024 with a Single Release December 2023!!! Keoki Apokolani Carter, guitar, vocals & percussion: Braddah John Keolanui, congas and other percussion: Yvonne Yarber, ipu; Sonny Lim, bass. Lock Lynch, recording. Mahalo nui for making music connecting us to place! And most of all, mahalo to ‘āina where we can still be, and malama pono[…]
Link To Vlog Backstory — A Beach song is borne
Finalist 2023 Hoku Hanohano Award
Link to Kumau Vlog Recording backstory
When Things Boderate. 2017 multimedia video by Yvonne Yarber, mele by Keoki Apokolani Carter. Still image by Yvonne. Keoki playing three characters. Apokolani recorded song. Permanent installation at Hawai‘i State Art Museum. Mahalo to Kahilu Theatre juried show, “Climate Of Change” and multi-media curators Margo Ray and Scott Yoell.
“Recent visits to O‘ahu, the island of our birth, stirred powerful emotions, images and concern—feelings of loss, incongruity, compassion, abiding love, rich memories and worry. Worry, that no amount of triage can repair the damage caused by decades of society valuing economic wealth above community and earthʻs wellbeing”. Using imagery, original sounds and music, together we acknowledge a collective responsibility, and the hope that our hearts are not lost, or gone missing.
https://apokolani.com/when-things-boderate/ vlog
Yvonne & Keoki Sharing Some Thoughts…(vlogs in the making).
Uakoko. —from Keoki
“I play all kinds of music. Each instrument makes something different happen. Totally. But Slack-key stirs the blood. You know the kind. To me, itʻs Hawaiian-blood-music. Kihoalu …vibrates with the spirit of place–the land, ocean waves, wind in the trees, ‘ohana seen and unseen, akua in so many forms. All the variation, improvising. Surprise. Call and response, passion of living. Thatʻs why I call it “blood music”. Born with it.
“Pops”, my faddah, “Ula” (Red) Carter from Keaukaha. And his faddah Robert Lewers (Lewis) Carter, from Waimea and Waipio, kihoalu was in their blood. And my tutu wahine from Waipio—Maraea Ulii Paahao Asing Carter. Thatʻs how we lived. Music, generation after generation. Blood music. With, the trees. The waves. The breezes. (Keoki Apokolani Carter)
Melekoko. Red-rainbow hued, earth clinging sounds. It feels like Uakoko. Rainbow sparkling rain. The full range of color in life—life giving ua—tears, joy. Uakoko. Rainbow sparkling rain. Like my koko, colors from around the world.” (Yvonne inspired by Keoki)
The Zone.
For real? I gotta pick a “genre” for what I write? No more genre. Itʻs more like the music writes me. Especially songs that come all one time, like out of the heavens. Gifts. They help make sense of the waves, so thereʻs form to ride. The zone. Like feelings, thoughts. Carried in the wind—the breath— in and out. What kind genre is that?
Written by Yvonne inspired by conversations with Keoki who loves to ride ocean waves—especially “the zone” . You donʻt create the zone, you just try to join it, become part of it. Thatʻs how much of his music seems to happen.
“I donʻt speak Hawaiian, but talk it. Walk it. Feel it. Hear and see it, through Hawaiian time and place. Mom and Pops were born with olelo Hawai‘i & spoke their Hawaiian language with plenty love. But they decided our survival meant listening to the teachers back then. Oki. But they never let us forget ‘āina and people that gave us life. They filled our spirits and souls with kanaka maoli. Cannot help but breathe Hawaiian.” Itʻs good, times changed, now some can do both—speak with heart and live it. Others still yet, gotta learn the heart. Only noise if no more heart. (Keoki Apokolani Carter)
Tree Time. Trees donʻt forget. ‘Āina doesnʻt forget. People forget. Forest, not going forget. Thatʻs why I say, voice your name. Say it sweetly to the trees and pohaku.. Years later, you donʻt know why you feel a place so strong. Must be you gave good energy to place, or your ancestors before you. So no make anykind when youʻre at a forestsʻ home. Trees, kumu lā‘au, their roots are deep and connected. Kumu. Teacher. Trees need ‘ohana, they help ‘ohana. People forget. The mana from a rare living native tree is not from chopping it down, taking itʻs life to hang on a wall. Our po‘okela taught us the mana is in sitting in the shade of itʻs wisdom—like an ancient lama—tree of light.
No, act. Humbleness, Respect and Aloha. We were taught that. Now I teach that in the forest and when I was in the classroom. But it doesnʻt mean let people step all over and slap the other cheek. No act. Humbleness, Respect and Aloha arenʻt just words. Got to come from the na‘au, deep, honest kine. Yeah, no act. No sass. And, no lie. …maybe like a song in the making…