Tiki Traveling with Kahuna Kawantzmann by Kahuna Kawantzmann – The CD Review by Noel

Tiki? Like a lot of people of my generation who are from the North-East, in my case the steel town of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, I grew up seeing Tiki (even if I didn’t know exactly what it was) in the films I watched as a kid, for example From Here to Eternity, Donovan’s Reef and Big Jim McLain among many. Walt Disney was certainly a big promoter of Tiki when he opened The Enchanted Tiki Room attraction in his parks and The Polynesian Village resort in Walt Disney World. And of course, the set decoration of Gilligan’s Island had the huts, torches, lanterns, furniture and housewares which drew heavily from Tiki. So I liked Tiki but didn’t really know what it was. And, I eventually learned Tiki didn’t accurately portray Polynesia. Though these forms of exposure only provided a sense of the look of Tiki, they did not provide an accurate representation of the sound of Tiki, Still, Tiki remains a nostalgic part of my youth that I still enjoy reliving when I watch Donovan’s Reef every year at Christmas time.

Then I joined SG101, which led to discovering real Tiki artists and their music. But while I listened to some Tiki music online and enjoyed the art, I was too intent on pursuing my crash-course in surf music to get diverted. Until I was recently reminded that there are excellent Tiki artists among the SG101 membership. Like Kahuna Kawantzmann.

About this review: all I know about Tiki is summarized above. But I know when I like something, even if I can’t readily explain why. But I’ll try.

There are eight tunes on this CD. It was originally composed and recorded in 2005 for inclusion in the soundtrack to a film documentary by Jochen Hirschfeld. The DVD of Tiki - Vol. 1, Paradise Lost, The Rise and Fall of Backyard Polynesia, is currently available here. http://www.armchair-travelling.com/. I’m looking forward to seeing that as soon as possible.

I don’t know where in the documentary or how these tracks are used. But I can say they are excellently played and recorded, creating emotional responses of foreboding mystery or light-hearted fun in exotic places. This is very professionally produced and performed music. And I have to assume they are excellent examples of the genre. Nothing on it sounds, to me, like traditional or modern Polynesian music that I’ve ever heard, but there is a strong South-Seas feeling to everything that recalls island forests and palm tree-lined beaches. And the listener is there, in a dimly-lit open-walled club with sarong-wearing waitresses. And all the girls are slinky and all the drinks are strong.

What caught me by total surprise is that several tracks have guitar parts with a distinct spaghetti-like sound. More on this below.

Have Tiki, Will Travel opens the CD with a moody, mysterious and dark sound that creates emotions appropriate to a journey up a tree-dimmed river into the primeval past. This music won’t take you to The Enchanted Tiki Room but to a place like Skull Island where King Kong still terrorizes the natives. It’s a terrific way to begin.

Passage to Papeete is a complete change of mood. Instead of coming out of the darkness into a tribal ceremony fraught with mystery and a strong feeling of menace, it leads the listener to a bright and cheerful island paradise. It has the familiar traditional elements of Hawaiian steel guitar, vibes, bouncy percussion and a cheerful melody that goes with grass skirts, fruity drinks and good food at luau. I wanted to go there as soon as I heard it.

Tiki Traveling Theme is the first track with a guitar part that reminded me of spaghetti. My reaction was immediate and it holds up through successive hearings. The female singers who “Ah” the melody throughout also contribute to my reaction. The contrast of the guitar and vocals to the purely Tiki percussion, vibes and other elements is genuinely interesting. And it works.

Kava Village brings back the mood of a ceremonial gathering at night, with men doing a fire dance while everyone else sways hypnotically to the rhythm of the drums. This is all percussion and it’s terrific.

Fatu Hiva makes me want to dance around a fire on the beach at night with one of those slinky dark-haired girls I mentioned earlier.

West of Fiji is the most modern-sounding track on the record. It has elements of Hawaiian steel guitar, an almost disco-latin back beat, really cool keyboard work and … where’s that slinky girl again?

Three Taboos of Forgotten Island brings back the spaghetti-like guitar again, but as before, the rhythm, melody, keyboards, percussion and eventually the Hawaiian steel guitar root this interesting piece of music firmly in the imaginary South-Seas.

Tiki Traveling Twist starts off with more of that great spaghetti-like guitar, but the melody as before isn’t western and neither is the mood. The up-tempo beat and instrumentation are just plain fun. As the title implies, you may want to grab that girl again and catch one last dance. I did.

So, what’s my overall impression? Tiki is after all a fantasy, even if it’s based on impressions of someplace real, an illusion or mirage of a place that isn’t real. But it’s a mirage we’d like to be real, an illusion we can create with some set decoration, the right music and a few good drinks. Tiki Traveling with Kahuna Kawantzmann can take the listener on an imaginary journey there. It must be a very, very good record because after hearing it, I want to go. Well done. My only wish is that it was a lot longer, so I’m gonna got more of this music. I like it.

This is Noel. Reverb's at maximum an' I'm givin' 'er all she's got.

Last edited: Nov 30, 2012 10:18:38