While the world was in lockdown from the COVID-19 pandemic, an album fusing Hawaiian mele and Filipino folk songs was being made.
The newest “Kāwili” album features a collection of 19 songs, translated into three Filipino languages — Tagalog, Ilocano and Bisaya.
Maui attorney Lance Collins, who produced the album, said the project is a cultural exchange between Hawaiʻi and the Philippines.
“The first album was primarily Philippine folk songs that have been interpreted and presented as Hawaiian Mele,” he said. “And the second album is sort of the reverse of that. It’s taking well loved Hawaiian mele, mostly from the 19th century and 'Filipinized' them.”
The first album took about six months to make while the second album took two years, he said.
There are more than 100 languages spoken in the Philippines. The second album, which was released in August, was going to feature eight Filipino languages, but Collins said the pandemic restricted it to three.
Marie Jocelyn Marfil, an associate professor at the University of the Philippines, was also a part of the album. She helped find artists to record in the Philippines.
She said it was challenging to find translators and singers during the pandemic, but called the finished album 'a blessing.'
“It’s an achievement,” she said. “I’m so thankful to Lance for giving us this opportunity. It helps because during the pandemic a lot of people lost their jobs.”
The second album incorporates mostly love songs from several artists from Hawaiʻi and the Philippines. Hawaiʻi's Malie Lyman
and Kamaha’o Haumea-Thronas are featured in the album.
The rondalla was performed by folks from the University of the Philippines. Some Filipino singers include Eugene Tunac Marquez and Anya Evangelista.
The second “Kāwili” album is now available in Hawaiʻi and North America. It’s sold on digital platforms like Spotify, YouTube, Amazon and Apple. The physical CD is available for purchase.
Money from the sales will go to the University of Hawaiʻi’s Ilocano Literature Language program and the William S. Richardson School of Law’s refugee and immigrant clinic.
