Photo courtesy of Raiatea Helm
Molokai singer Raiatea Helm took home seven awards last week at the annual Na Hoku Hanohano Awards, including Album of the Year, Female Vocalist of the Year and Hawaiian Voice Performance.
Helm’s album, her seventh studio project, is titled “A Legacy of Hawaiian String and Song, Volume One” and focuses on more traditional aspects of Hawaiian music.
“It was quite a surprise,” Helm said of the abundance of awards. “I am so grateful for the support of my colleagues.”
For Helm, Hawaiian music, history and identity are intertwined. This latest album “really shines a light on a chapter of (Hawaiian) history that I never really knew about,” she said. In this way, her album can help people learn more about Hawaiian history, especially if they didn’t go to school where it was so emphasized.
This album specifically explores the influence of Hawaiian music on American genres such as bluegrass, country, and jazz. Helm has won several Na Hoku Hanohano Awards since 2003 and has been nominated for a Grammy twice, but this year’s award was special.
Winning awards like Female Vocalist of the Year “solidifies my kuleana, my role in the industry,” she explained, and allows her to pass on classic Hawaiian songs and styles to the younger generation.
Helm explained that growing up on Molokai in a large family full of musicians, like her father Zachary Helm and her uncle George Helm, helped her be open to a career in music.
Her father, Zachary Helm, explained that Raiatea was a normal teenager growing up on Molokai and was primarily interested in sports such as basketball and paddle boarding.
Raiatea “taught herself,” said Zachary Helm. The elder Helm explained that he taught his daughter chords on the ukulele, but from there she took the initiative.
Zachary Helm likes all the songs on “A Legacy of Hawaiian String and Song, Volume One,” but one song on the album called “Old Plantation” particularly appeals to him, and “especially her voice,” he explained. “It’s a gift she has.”
In addition to her music career, Raiatea Helm is a program coordinator at the Liliuokalani Trust, where she creates music and art programs for young people. Now she hopes to continue to educate younger generations through classical forms of Hawaiian music.
“A lot of traditional Hawaiian music isn’t really part of the playlists of the younger generation,” she explained. “The hope is that the kids will embrace it and delve deeper.”
Residents can listen to Helm’s music on all major streaming platforms.
“Molokai,” said Helm, “they know where I am.”
