HE'EIA is Cyril Lani Pahinui's third solo album for Dancing Cat Records, following 6 & 12 String Slack Key, and Night Moon (Po Mahina.) Cyril has won numerous Hawaiian music awards and two Grammys(R) and has traveled the world performing ki ho'alu, Slack Key guitar. Like all great Slack Key guitarists, he has developed a distinctive style that is instantly recognizable. His soulful baritone voice is also unique and brings a deeply personal emotion to everything he sings.
Traditional artists tend to be much more aware of the past and much more concerned with honoring the sources of their art: "Dad always said, 'Stick to your Hawaiian music, you can play other music, too, but stick with playing Hawaiian music.' I followed his advice, and I am more and more thankful every year, that I did," says Cyril. "The things my dad did for me opened doors. He paved the road for me, and that road even brought me to Carnegie Hall two times."
Cyril grew up in the small town of Waimanalo at the foot of the Ko'olau Mountains on O'ahu's Windward coast. His father, Philip "Gabby" Pahinui was Hawai'i's best known and most influential Slack Key guitarist, famous for his beautiful and innovative guitar playing, his soulful vocals, and his charismatic personality. Cyril played in several bands with family members, including the all-star group affectionately known as The Gabby Band (comprised of Cyril and his father, brothers Bla, Phillip, and Martin, as well as Joe Gang Kupahu, Leland "Atta" Isaacs and Sonny Chillingworth) and The Peter Moon Band, which featured his brother Martin as well.
Hawaiian Slack Key
In 1992, joined his brothers Bla and Martin for a long-awaited Pahinui Brothers album and also began recording for Dancing Cat as a solo performer. His debut release on Dancing Cat, 6 & 12 String Slack Key, won the 1994 Na Hoku Hanohano Award for Instrumental Album of the Year.
True to his giving spirit, Cyril is increasingly offering workshops and school programs for students of all kinds - not only musicians. In addition to doing more workshops, Cyril looks forward to doing many more concerts in his beloved Hawaiian Islands, as well as in Mainland America, and around the world. As he says, "I'm ready to go and travel more, do concerts, share my music with people, and do workshops, and do everything I can to honor my dad. When people come up to talk to me after my shows, I always greet them and thank them. They are so wonderful to me. I tell them, 'Now that I've met you, you are part of my 'ohana (family)'."
