Often encapsulated as the “Sound of Maui” or the “Soundtrack of Hawaii,” the music and sound of the group HAPA evokes a place that many people have referred to as heavenly. The sound? Expect to hear hypnotic, liquid guitar runs woven around clear, tenor Hawaiian vocals and immaculate harmonies driven by poetic lyrics exulting the rapture of the Hawaiian landscape, History and Mythology. Just add to this a dose of American Folk-Rock, you have what has been described, as “the most exciting and beautiful contemporary Hawaiian music the world knows” (Maui Times). The overriding quality of their music is one of passion, beauty and serenity, found in the majestic tones of the oli (chant), mele (song) and the exhilarating innovative sounds of virtuoso Guitar performances. “Masterful” is how Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Stephen Stills describes the group’s guitar skills.
The group’s recordings have infused fearless and brilliant production while weaving unique, inventive elements of sound and textures into their intricate South Pacific tapestry. Over the years, this has included adding such diverse instruments on their recordings as the Irish Uilleann Pipes, Hawaiian Pahu Drum and the Electric Sitar. Guest appearances have included a friend and Folk Rock icon Kenny Loggins singing in the Hawaiian Language; Internationally recognized Slam-Poet and Storyteller Kealoha; to the final recorded vocal performance by the “King of Hawaiian Entertainment” Don Ho. “Complex, sophisticated and flawlessly conceived and engineered, HAPA concerts and recordings are as elaborate and visceral as today’s Hawaii” (Kauai Times). These disparate ingredients blended together musically in the Pacific emote the unique favor of what Hawaii and HAPA music is: “Beautiful, fragile, spiritual, powerful” (Los Angeles Times). The New York Times called HAPA “the most successful group in Hawaii in recent history.”
HAPA’s self-titled debut CD released in 1993 became the biggest selling CD by a group or duo in the history of recorded Hawaiian music. The group’s debut CD changed the tide and thus terminology of music from Hawaii, since it was the first CD to establish itself outside of the musical category “Hawaiian Music” and be referred to as “World Music” by Billboard Magazine in 1993. Follow up CDs (“In the Name of Love,” “Namahana,” and “Maui”) debuted in the Top Ten of the Billboard Magazine World Music Chart. The group’s groundbreaking music has established them as the most recognized name in Hawaiian Music internationally since their debut release, and they are continuing their 30-year touring tradition of selling out intimate supper clubs, showrooms, festivals and performing arts centers from Tokyo to Sydney to New York. As Don Ho predicted in 1993, “what HAPA means and what their message is will touch and inspire generations.”
Today’s HAPA consists of Barry Flanagan and Kenneth Makuakane, both multiple awards-winning singer- songwriters. Flanagan, a founding member, has composed some of Hawaii’s most popular songs of the last four decades. Makuakane, a multiple Nā Hōkū Hanohano Awards-winning singer-songwriter and producer, is a recipient of the prestigious Hawai’i Academy of Recording Arts Lifetime Achievement Award.
