“"Today, our lives were joined...became entwined. I wish that you could know how much I love you!"”
— My Sweet Lady, Ahumanuʻs Kahi Aloha Album
Ahumanu
ABOUT AHUMANU'S MUSIC
Excerpt from Kahi Aloha, In This Place of Love - By Dr. Hōkūlani Holt
Ahumanu is a complex composite of three lives. A collection of shared experiences, an assemblage of remarkable talent, and a gathering together of musical passion. They are multifaceted yet combine into a sound that is only Ahumanu. Each facet brings together their love for a variety of music genre; R&B, rock and roll, and a little bit of country. This offers a bold statement of who they are and what they love to do. And, like finely polished gold, their beautiful Hawaiian mele gleam with a brillance that declares their love for our ʻōlelo makuahine and its intracacies and nuances, which can only be expressed fully in the language of our homeland, the sands of our birth.
LIZ MORALES
"One of the best things in life is to be doing what you love to do, and being able to make a living from it."
This can certainly describe the life of Ahumanu's permanent member, Liz Morales. She took a chance and left the Maui radio station KPOA and the security of her established career as Maui radio talent, Kopaʻa Tita. Liz embarked on a journey to follow her childhood dream of becoming a full-time Hawaiian musician. "The 'stable' nine-to-five job did not make me happy. What I wanted was to become a musican for a Polynesian review or a backup singer for any popular singer in the business. It made me happy to think about doing that." And she did it very successfully for many years.
Liz is the founding member of the wahine trio, Ahumanu, and lead guitar. She is a singer-songwriter who has performed alongside some of Hawaii's notables; Amy Hanaialiʻi, Raiatea Helm, Owana Salazar, Noelani Mahoe, and Palani Vaughn just to name a few. Over the years, Liz has maintained that her favorite part of being a musician is making the audience smile. She has an extensive knowledge of Hawaiian, Country, Rock and Roll, and R&B music. Listen to the music of Liz Morales, enjoy, and let her make you smile!
MARJA LEHUA APISALOMA
"Iʻm a singer, a songwriter, a musician, a healer...and above all, I am kind. Aloha ā nui!"
KEKAI ROBINSON
"Let our music bind us to all those with love and respect for the elements that sustain us, the lands that feed us, and the culture that uplifts us."
A true Maui keiki o ka ʻāina, Kekai was born and raised in the moku of Wailuku, where she continues to reside in one home with three generations of her family. Her love of Hawaiian music is deeply rooted in familial attachments to the sounds and poetry of Hawaiʻi. Her lifelong journey of artistic expression manifests itself as a musician and haku mele (composer), a mea oli (chanter), and a mea hana noʻeau (artisan of traditional Hawaiian crafts). She has a passion for breathing life back into the ancient stories, messages and prayers of her Hawaiian ancestors through oli and mele and a growing love for contemporary music.
Dedicated to the people and places around her, she serves on several non-profit organizations as a Hawaiian culture/Hawaiian language educator, a documentation specialist, and as an advocate for community resiliency and environmental sustainability. She has a Bachelorʻs degree in Human Relations from the University of Hawaii. Recently, she has been traveling as a backup singer for her friend and mentor, the notable Kumu Hula Kealiʻi Reichel.
Uniting with Ahumanu in 2015 as a singer/songwriter and upright bass player brought her genuine joy in sharing Hawaiian music to the prestigious wahine trio. Kekai contributes her smooth vocals, good-fun kanikapila style, and her classic Hawaiian bass to Ahumanu.
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