Kauai: The Arch of Heaven

Legendary American bassist and producer Bill Laswell is certainly no stranger to cross-cultural world music projects. His formidable production and playing skills have graced uncountable African, Asian and Arabic releases, and there are few global traditions that he hasn’t previously sonically reinvented, remixed or expanded upon. But with the exception of his work on Australian indigenous band Yothu Yindi's 1993 album Freedom, I’m not aware of him having turned his audio attention to the Pacific until now. Working with several Hawaiian musicians based on the northern island of Kauai – foremost among them Polynesian drummer Caridyn Kapiolani Kaona and vocalist/actor Kepe Kruse – Laswell blends traditional rhythms and voices with 21st-century studio technology and his own subterranean basslines.

The opening title-track is a beat’n’bass-heavy romp that introduces the album's tropical-electronic mood. ‘Ka Manu’ starts gently with birdsong and a Maori-like chant, featuring the vocals of Devin Kamealoha Forrest, Kauanoe Taylor and students from the island's Kawaikini School, before it evolves into log-drum-fuelled tribal frenzy. ‘Eō Hawai’i’ is a mellower affair, with Kruse's lightly Vocodered voice meshing with Laswell's cruisey Jawaiian-dub guitar vibe. While the fusion elements of this project may be anathema to some Polynesian purists, open-minded Pacific music enthusiasts and dedicated Laswell fans certainly won’t be disappointed.