--Courtesy photo
SATURDAY, AUG. 4
Beat artist ONRA will show his eclectic approach in a release party for his latest EP
ONRA, otherwise known as Arnaud Bernard, is a beat-maker who’s made a name for himself with an eclectic approach. His beats have a world-music flair, which isn’t surprising — he was born in Germany, raised in France and the Ivory Coast, and has Vietnamese ancestry.
ONRA’s “Chinoiseries” albums are an example. During a trip to Vietnam, he collected old Vietnamese and Chinese records from the ’60s and ’70s, eventually using them to create beats that not only play off the percussive aspects of Asian music, but also the tonal quality of Asian languages. Note: They are danceable, too.
“I don’t think you could really dance to the original songs,” said promoter Ken Selder, who’s bringing ONRA to Loft in Space on Saturday.
The event is a release party for ONRA’s latest EP, “Deep in the Night,” with performance and a DJ set.
Since “Chinoiseries,” ONRA’s work has gone in a “totally different” direction, Selder said. “It’s more of an ’80s sound.”
ONRA is one of the few beat artists who actually re-creates his tunes onstage, since he uses fairly simple, easy-to-transport electronic gear to produce his beats. “All the equipment he used to make the album is what he brings down, so what you hear on the album is what you’re going to hear live onstage,” Selder said.
Where: Loft in Space (Fresh Cafe), 831 Queen St.
When: 9 p.m. Saturday
Cost: $15; ages 18 and up
Info: freshcafehi.com
– Steven Mark
FRIDAY, AUG. 3
Maori heritage inspires Rika’s soulful songs
--Courtesy photo
Alluring New Zealand songstress Maisey Rika brings her stylish, Maori-inspired vocals back to Hawaii for a performance today at the Polynesian Cultural Center.
Rika, whose soulful, spiritual tunes interlace Maori and English verses, was a child prodigy, recording an album that went double platinum (30,000 in New Zealand) at age 13. With a soft Down Under accent and a voice so sweet it borders on piercing, she sounds like Corinne Bailey Rae singing gospel. She’s also been compared to Tracey Chapman and Sade.
Last year she visited the islands, performing with slack-key master George Kahumoku Jr., whom she praised for his talent and his “whaanau” (ohana)-oriented outlook on life. “(It) was so humbling having people that look just like us come up and greet us in their own native tongue,” she said in an email.
Her Maori heritage has always been central to her being, she said, attending Maori boarding school and going to “kohanga reo,” a cultural and language restoration movement in New Zealand.
“I am a true result of the efforts laid by my forefathers,” she said. “It doesn’t matter what language I sing in, Maori or Pakeha (the language of New Zealand’s white settlers). The world in which I grew up in shaped me, and so the Maori world will always shine through.”
Rika will perform with Ria Hall, who hit the spotlight with her performance at the Rugby World Cup last year. Rika described her as a singer with “a powerful voice that is so uplifting and inspiring” and “a beautiful woman that is creating waves in N.Z.’s music industry.”
Their performance will coincide with PCC’s Te Manahua Maori Performing Arts Competition, which begins Saturday at 9 a.m.
Where: Polynesian Cultural Center
When: 8 p.m. Friday
Cost: $15 ($10 for pass holders)
Info: 293-3333 or PCCKamaaina.com
SUNDAY, AUG. 5
Record Fair promotes the culture of collecting
--Courtesy photo
The value of vinyl will be on display at the first Hawaii Record Fair, coming to the McKinley High School cafeteria Sunday.
Co-organizer Dennie Chong, pictured at left, said the fair is intended to “promote the culture” of record collecting, which with the advent of digital recording has waxed and waned.
“Now it’s come back in a big way,” said Chong, who has collected records for himself for decades and for his store, Hungry Ear Records in Kailua, since taking it over with pal Ward Yamashita, pictured at right, in 2008. “A lot of collectors thought it was a great idea.”
Expect a lot of records — Chong said 20 tables, 70 inches each, had been reserved as of 10 days before the fair, and that he was fielding a few calls every day from potential sellers. Expect a lot of haggling as well, as every sale will be between buyer and seller.
For newcomers to record-collecting, Chong had some tips: Bring a flashlight to closely examine the quality of the vinyl, and check the spindle hole for wear.
Music lovers in general also will want to attend.
“It’s not just open to vinyl … because in Hawaii we still have a lot of people buying CDs,” he said, adding that he’s encouraging collectors to bring other music memorabilia. “I’m really hoping I see some cool Diamond Head Crater Festival posters that I haven’t seen in years.”
Where: McKinley High School Cafeteria, 1039 S. King St.
When: 11 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Sunday
Cost: $3, $5 for two people; $10 for 10 a.m. entry
Info: hawaiirecordfair.com
FRIDAY, AUG. 3-AUG. 12
Play about Wahiawa taps community for actors, stories
--Courtesy photo
For its first major venture, PlayBuilders of Hawai’i had veteran actors interview denizens of Chinatown and then retell their stories. The new theater group takes that approach a step further in its next production, “Wahiawa: Remember Wen,” premiering today at Dots Restaurant in Wahiawa.
“We went into Wahiawa and held auditions, and anybody who wanted to be in the play could be in the play, but we didn’t have a play to begin with,” explained Terri Madden, artistic director of PlayBuilders. “We gave tape recorders to the community-member actors and asked them to go out and interview someone. … From those interviews they then wrote monologues.”
The monologues were combined into a plot of sorts, in which the cast — pictured back row from left are Bettina Adragna, Gloria Andrada, Herman Kiili and Ingrid Greene; and front row from left are Robert Yokoyama, Jo Pruden, Norma Combs, Vic Padlan and Diane A. Scoville-Kingsley — portray patrons of a local restaurant talking about life in Wahiawa from the plantation era to the current day. The stories include a variety of characters, from an Army wife to a person with MS.
“We wanted to try to find someone who best represented the community,” Madden said, “but we were very, very flexible with what happened.”
After each performance, the audience will be asked to share their own stories in an “open mic” session.
Where: Dots restaurant, 130 Mango St., Wahiawa
When: 7 p.m. today, Saturday, Thursday and Aug. 10; noon Sunday and Aug. 11; 6 p.m. Aug. 12
Cost: $15 donation requested
Info: www.playbuilders.org or call 218-0103; reservations recommended