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Put your hands on the remote! browse music »Slack Key Guitar: The Artistry of Sonny Lim by Sonny Lim
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fave it Island | Gentle
11 tracks | 40 minutes
Released Dec 2005
on Palm Records
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- sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 03:04 Hoku 'ula lyrics BUY MP3 03:04 Hoku 'ula lyrics "GIFT MP3" 03:04 Hoku 'ula
- sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 03:04 Pau Hana Rag lyrics BUY MP3 03:04 Pau Hana Rag lyrics "GIFT MP3" 03:04 Pau Hana Rag
- sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 03:48 Malie lyrics BUY MP3 03:48 Malie lyrics "GIFT MP3" 03:48 Malie
- sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 03:31 How D'ya Do lyrics BUY MP3 03:31 How D'ya Do lyrics "GIFT MP3" 03:31 How D'ya Do
- sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 04:51 Lauele lyrics BUY MP3 04:51 Lauele lyrics "GIFT MP3" 04:51 Lauele
- sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 03:32 Punahoa Special lyrics BUY MP3 03:32 Punahoa Special lyrics "GIFT MP3" 03:32 Punahoa Special
- sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 04:06 Donna's Smile lyrics BUY MP3 04:06 Donna's Smile lyrics "GIFT MP3" 04:06 Donna's Smile
- sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 03:47 Pua A'ala lyrics BUY MP3 03:47 Pua A'ala lyrics "GIFT MP3" 03:47 Pua A'ala
- sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 05:12 Kohala Medley lyrics BUY MP3 05:12 Kohala Medley lyrics "GIFT MP3" 05:12 Kohala Medley
- sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 03:11 Mauna Loa Slack Key lyrics BUY MP3 03:11 Mauna Loa Slack Key lyrics "GIFT MP3" 03:11 Mauna Loa Slack Key
- sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 02:42 Mauna Kea Morning lyrics BUY MP3 02:42 Mauna Kea Morning lyrics "GIFT MP3" 02:42 Mauna Kea Morning
Acoustic Guitar - Slack Key Guitar, Traditional Hawaiian, acoustic guitar instrumentals
Editorial review
From the Lim family of players, Sonny Lim is one of the better-known musicians outside of the solely Hawaiian market. He's been involved in various collaborations and compilations heard further abroad than the usual Hawaii/Japan markets for the music. Here, he gets his first solo album and takes the opportunity to show off his chops as well as his composing abilities. His playing is quite nice, and there are hints of the masters that taught him inherent in the notes. What sets Lim's album apart from the variety of others though is his somewhat more modern invocation of slack key composition. The tunes still hold the islander's moods and lightly go through the paces of slack key tradition. At the same time though, Lim infuses the works with touches of folk and possibly even adult contemporary stylings. The result can at times get somewhat monotonous, but he keeps it fresh by tossing in a bouncing piece of old ki ho'alu when the tone gets too tired. Some of the other masters may be worth looking up first (the Pahinuis, among others), but Lim deserves a spot among them nonetheless. ~ Adam Greenberg, All Music Guide
Bio / Background
49TH GRAMMY Award Nominee for best Hawaiian Music Album!
"Grammy Award-winning record producer Charles Michael Brotman takes a significant step forward with this perfect showcase of Elmer "Sonny" Lim Jr. talents. Brotman captures Lim's musical magic with 11 exquisite solo recordings." John Berger, The Honolulu Star Bulletin 10/01/05
SONNY LIM, a member of Hawaii's famous musical Lim family, was born and raised in the heart of paniolo (cowboy) country on the Big Island. Sonny's parents taught their children to play a variety of musical instruments. His introduction to ki ho'alu (slack key guitar) came as a child, when he was inspired by Gabby Pahinui while watching him perform at a lu'au in Kohala. Sonny's biggest inspiration and influence came at age 12 from a well known slack key guitarist and family friend, Uncle Fred Punahoa. Punahoa took a keen interest in Sonny's playing, and spent several weeks living with the Lim family in Kohala in order to teach him.
↓ more ↓Sonny's professional career started as a teenager when he commuted to Oahu to perform with the Makaha Sons of Ni'ihau. Over the past two decades Sonny has performed with virtually every 'name' musician in Hawaii. He is a multiple Hoku award winner, performs regularly with his family in Hawaii and Japan, and has received recent acclaim for his performance on Hawaii's first GRAMMY CD, "Slack Key Guitar Volume 2" (Palm Records). This is Sonny's first solo CD.
Around the 1830s, King Kamehameha brought Mexican and Spanish cowboys to the Big Island to help the Hawaiians handle the growing population of cattle. These cowboys introduced the guitar to the Hawaiians, who adapted aspects of their own musical heritage to the instrument. They loosened or 'slacked' the guitar strings, which creates the variety of tunings that give slack key its unique and beautiful sound. Slack key guitar first developed as a thriving musical force in paniolo regions of Hawaii and now continues to evolve throughout the state.
Recorded at Lava Tracks Recording Studio in Sonny's home town - Kamuela - the ranching region where ki ho'alu originated. It was produced, mixed, mastered and engineered by GRAMMY Award winner Charles Michael Brotman. The guitars used on this recording are a Santa Cruz Studio Model H guitar and a 1976 Ramirez classical guitar.
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