Kukahi
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Kukahi

Los Angeles, California, United States | Established. Jan 01, 2015 | INDIE | AFM

Los Angeles, California, United States | INDIE | AFM
Established on Jan, 2015
Band Alternative Pop

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"Na Hoku Hanohano award winner Kukahi Lee"

Kukahi Lee is still on cloud nine.

Lee is fresh off his recent victory at the Na Hoku Hanohano Awards where he captured the Hoku for Alternative Album of the Year.

The 17-year-old Lee joined us on Wake Up 2day to talk about his young career and his latest projects. He says he wrote his first song when he was 6 or 7 years old but it wasn’t until he was 15 that he started taking music seriously.

Lee says he can play just about any instrument, including guitar, keyboards, bass, drums and ukulele and recently started “fooling around with playing the harmonica, and the spoons.”

Lee says he’s self-taught and learned by listening and watching other artists perform. He hopes his music inspires people and sends a message of peace, love, hope, compassion, and unity to the world. He says his ultimate goal as an artist: is to spread positive messages that will bring people together. - KHON 2


"Kukahi Lee By KAPA Radio"

KAPA Hawaiian FM morning personalities Jaz and Ka’ea welcomed Kukahi Lee to the KAPA Cafe.

Kukahi is a 17-year old alternative musician from Waimea, Hawaii. He wrote his first song at the age of 6, and started composing music when he was 15. His first album, KUKAHI, won a Na Hoku Hanohano Award for “Alternative Album of the Year”. Kukahi’s newest album, Human, was released in may. - KAPA RAdio


"Kūkahi and the Love Machine"

By Ma‘ata Tukuafu

Kūkahi Allan Nu‘uanu Lee was only seven years old when he wrote his first song. Very interested in music at a young age, he was drawn to the piano and taught himself to play by ear at the age of six. His parents Shane and Monica (Maka) Lee recognized his musical talent and hired a piano tutor so he could learn to read sheet music.

Ten years later, Kūkahi was the youngest musician to receive the prestigious 2017 Nā Hōkū Hanohano award for his self-titled 2016 release Kūkahi, in the best alternative album category.

KOM Nov-Dec 2018 Cover 200pxW
Click the cover to see this story in our digital magazine.
After Kūkahi learned the basics of reading musical notes, he began to take up other instruments. He is mostly self-taught, having learned to play the keyboard, guitar, bass guitar, drums, percussion instruments, and the ‘ukulele.

“When I was really young, my parents got me Michael Jackson’s CD Number Ones. That was what made me want to become a musician in the first place,” Kūkahi said. “I’d listen to that record over and over again.” He also names Selena as one of his idols because of her family band, as well as Prince, Queen, and David Bowie.

His father Shane Lee, who is his producer, says Kūkahi wanted an electric guitar after learning to play chords on an acoustic guitar. He replied that if Kūkahi wanted an electric guitar, he would have to learn at least 10 songs note by note, to show he was serious about it. Kūkahi learned 10 songs and got his electric guitar.

Part of the magic of Kūkahi’s story is that he began creating his own melodies, spending a lot of time on his own putting songs together. He attended Parker School and at the age of 14, and took a songwriting class. His interest in songwriting was piqued and that is when he began composing and collecting material that went onto his first award-winning EP (extended play record, which contains more tracks than a single but is shorter in duration than an album).

The first song he ever wrote was “Raw,” a tribute to Freddie Mercury. His process is playing a guitar lick, adding a drum machine, bass and synthesizer, all on his computer. The lyrics to his songs develop after he has the song in place. His mother Maka is a musician herself, and has assisted Kūkahi with writing the lyrics to his songs.

Kūkahi playing his favorite electric guitar.
Kūkahi playing his favorite electric guitar.
A fascinating note (and nod to Kūkahi’s talent) is he wrote and recorded his first EP in his bedroom “recording closet,” all on his Mac’s Garage Band program. “It was like songwriting school for me,” says Kūkahi. “Now I know a lot more, but looking back, I did a lot of things in my music that was experimental.”

When he first began writing music, it was an emotional outlet, Kūkahi explains. He struggled with social anxiety, yet the more he wrote and performed, he became more outgoing and confident. He believes in spreading positive messages and his songs are about daily life, getting out of heartbreak or dealing with anxiety or depression. His goal is to empower others, and he tries to impart his encouraging messages through his performances.

Kūkahi says his first EP was released when he was 16, and his music got radio play in Europe, mostly France and Russia. Some of his songs drifted to US college stations. His parents submitted the album on the ballots for the Nā Hōkū Hanohano awards. He was 17 when he went to Honolulu to attend the award ceremony.

“To be honest, I didn’t know what it was about,” Kūkahi says. “When I got there, it was a huge room with thousands of people. It was fancy and glamorous and much bigger than I thought. The world opened up a lot for me, with new opportunities.”

His first album features songs that range from hard rock, dance, slow songs, old school rap, to punk inspired. His style crosses multiple genres, and the music he creates reflects his talent.

Kūkahi gave out business cards and happened to pass his information to a radio DJ from Japan. This is how he got to perform in Japan after he won his award. He has now performed in Hawai‘i, the US mainland, Canada, and Japan.

Kūkahi (center) surrounded by his band the Love Machine. From left to right, Mom Maka (background vocals) sister Mālie (rhythm guitar), sister Alana (drummer), brother Keli‘i (keyboards), and sister Monica (bass guitar).
Kūkahi (center) surrounded by his band the Love Machine. From left to right, Mom Maka (background vocals) sister Mālie (rhythm guitar), sister Alana (drummer), brother Keli‘i (keyboards), and sister Monica (bass guitar).
Kūkahi has since released a CD entitled Human, which showcases songs about love, angst, encouragement, compassion, and anger. “Because no matter what differences people may have, we are all human,” Kūkahi says.

Shane and Maka are producing a family band. All five of their children have musical talent, Kūkahi being the eldest. Sister Monica, who is 15 years old, plays bass guitar. Thirteen-year-old brother Keli‘i plays both keyboard and synthesizer. His sister, 11-year-old Alana, keeps rhythm on the drums, and youngest sister, 10-year-old Mālie, accompanies with acoustic/rhythm guitar.

Kūkahi performing music from Jam, his newest album.
Kūkahi performing music from Jam, his newest album.
Shane says each of his children are talented, and with Kūkahi showing them the ropes, all of the siblings are now part of the Kūkahi and the Love Machine band.

s“We are fortunate as a family,” says Shane. “We homeschool our children, and it opens up their brains. We’re trying to take it to the next level and will submit our information to America’s Got Talent. Instead of solo Kūkahi, we are submitting our talent as a family band.”

Shane says people have compared the band to the Partridge Family. In Japan, he says, people have commented they are comparable to the Jackson Five. Though Kūkahi’s siblings play their various instruments and are eager to be on stage, they have yet to join in the vocals. For now, Maka helps with back-up vocals while on stage and the goal of the siblings is to eventually play each other’s instruments.

Though his brothers and sisters love being in the family band, they are jittery until they get on stage, says Kūkahi. They feel more confident when people respond to their music by getting up and dancing, and adds that with the encouragement of their parents, they are becoming more courageous on stage.

With three CDs out and working on more original music, Kūkahi enjoys composing the music that comes to him. Maka co-writes the lyrics, and Kūkahi says he feels he has accomplished a lot already. He uses Facebook, Snapchat and Instagram to put his music and information out into the world, and now they are working to play at various music festivals.

Kūkahi serenading his audience with his original alternative rock-pop music.
Kūkahi serenading his audience with his original alternative rock-pop music.
The family practices together almost every day. Before a show, Kūkahi says they rehearse at least six hours at a minimum. They get along well together and when the family plays music, there is a camaraderie among them that shows.

Even with three CDs released, Kūkahi still lays tracks in his recording closet. He puts a big blanket over the door and his siblings record one at a time, playing their tracks separately on his new songs.

For Kūkahi, his goal is to be where Bruno Mars was in his early twenties. For Shane, it is to support his kids as they blossom in the musical world and create a niche by being a family band. The recording industry may peg musicians to play only one type of music, Shane says, but for Kūkahi as a songwriter, it doesn’t matter what he writes, whether it is in the genre of rap, dance or pop, it’s hard for a multi-talented musician to stick with one type of genre. He hopes to find a label that supports the idea that a multi-talented musician can play many types of music.

“This is cliché but true: if I can do it, you can do it, and that is the biggest advice I could give to any aspiring artist,” says Kūkahi. “It’s hard work, but worth it, and if you are going to take this kind of lifestyle seriously, you have to be dedicated.” ❖ - Ke Ola Magazine


Discography

KUKAHI 2016 (2017 Na Hoku Hanohano Award Winning Album)

https://music.apple.com/us/album/kukahi/1253252764

1. Raw

2. Hero

3. Love Song

4. Tonight With You

5. Ghost Story

6. War

7. Edge of the World

8. Trouble

9. That Girl

10. Carpe Diem


HUMAN (Released May 2017)

https://music.apple.com/us/album/human/1227825274

1. Throw Out The Bong

2. I am The Earth

3. Live Out Your Dreams

4. Girl On mY Mind

5. I'll Be Here

6. We Got Each Other

7. Love In vain

8. Waiting For You

9. I Don't Like You

10. Hey


King MC Single (Rleased June 2017)

https://music.apple.com/us/album/king-mc-single/1253231795


Nothing Compares EP (Released December 2017)

https://music.apple.com/us/album/nothing-compares-single/1330274881


1. Wild and Free

2. Just Another One

3. Nothing Compares To You


Heaven On Earth (Released December 2017) Collaboration with Henry Kapono

https://music.apple.com/us/album/heaven-on-earth-feat-henry-kapono-single/1330223324


Jam (Released April 2018)

https://music.apple.com/us/album/jam/1356589532

1. Jam

2. Last Time

3. Alive

4. Love on The Dance Floor

5. Wasting My Time

6. Turn It Up

7. Moving On

8. Crazy

9.Beautiful

10. Love of My Life


Hawai'i, My Home single (Released July 2019) Collaboration With Sonny Lim

https://music.apple.com/us/album/hawaii-my-home-feat-sonny-lim-maka-single/1471817775


Photos

Bio

Kūkahi is the man, and The L.O.V.E Machine is his band. Coming from deep roots in the Big Island of Hawai’i and now residing in Los Angeles, the five centennials are proud to identify themselves as the first Hawaiian all sibling pop group.

Multi-instrumentalist/frontman Kūkahi composed his first song at the age of seven but became serious about his musical career at the age of fourteen, when he began writing his first album. The singer/songwriter released his self-titled debut album when he was sixteen, and at age seventeen became the youngest solo artist to win a prestigious Nā Hōkū Hanohano Award (Hawai’i’s version of the Grammy’s.) 

He followed this LP by churning out a poppy “coffee shop” album (Human) and a dance album (Jam). His fourth album, inspired by XXXTentation, Daft Punk, Stevie Wonder, Grimes, and Die Antwoord is due to be released this summer. 

Bands Queen, Jackson 5, Selena Y Los Dinos, Prince and the Revolution, and Israel Kamakawiwo’ole heavily influence this mostly self-taught Gen Z pop group, this is no ordinary band, and as they say, “This is one to watch!”.

Lead Vocals & Guitar/ Kūkahi (19)

Rhythm Guitar / Mālie (10)

Drums / Alana (12)

Bass / Monica (15)

Keys / Keli’i (14)

Background Vocals / Maka (Mom)

Band Members