Raiatea Helm has been awarded the first ever Fellowship in Music honor by the Native Arts & Cultures Foundation! This honor acknowledges those who promote the revitalization, appreciation, and perpetuation of Native arts and cultures in all sectors of society through philanthropy and partnership.

The NACF has recognized her body of work of traditional Hawaiian music as a cultural art form worthy of their support and acknowledgment!

Hear for yourself why Raiatea was chosen for this honor amongst an extremely competitive group of talented music artists from all over the country.

REVIEW BY JOHN BERGER / jberger@staradvertiser.com

Raiatea Helm has had a remarkable career since the release of her debut album, “Faraway Heaven,” in 2002. She’s received several Na Hoku Hanohano Awards, been a Hawaiian music album finalist twice at the Grammys, and enjoys international popularity as a concert performer and recording act.

She’s established herself as the most visible female Hawaiian falsetto singer of her generation and has occasionally revealed glimpses of her potential as a mainstream pop vocalist. Her new album contains no surprises but is a beautiful addition to her discography. read more

Raiatea Helm holds the keys to a time machine of sorts with her new album, “Sea of Love.”

While she performs with an all-star team of modern Hawaii musicians, the “new traditionalist of Hawaiian music” also takes listeners on a journey back some 50 years, with 11 tracks made popular during the period following Hawaii’s transition into the 50th state in 1959. It’s the music that her parents and her uncle, George Jarrett Helm, grew up with in the cocktail lounges of Waikiki and she describes as the “Hawaiian Club” sound.

The old-school vibe continues with the recording process for the album, which took place not in a traditional recording studio, but within the confines of Mamiya Theatre in Kaimuki. Unlike the vast majority of albums recorded today, Helm decided to gather a group of studio musicians and record “Sea of Love” in a live setting.

read more

Hoku bound: Sea Of Love, the new CD by Raiatea Helm. From cover artwork to the music inside, it’s a winner. The lass from Molokai just keeps getting better …

read more

From its alluring, retro cover to the last strains of steel guitar on the closing song, Raiatea Helm’s latest CD embraces us in a sea of nostalgia.

Following her brilliant collaboration with Keola Beamer, Molokai’s young female falsetto star has set her sights on a bygone era, evoking the romance and magic of a simpler time.

“At the beginning of my musical journey when I was 15, my dad had given me two CDs, one by Lena Machada and by Leinaala Heine,” she explains the project’s inspiration. “And I fell in love with Leinaala’s sound because she had these cool arrangements with the (percussive) brushes and vibes and piano and cool jazz guitar. She had one song ‘Namolokama,’ and I fell in love with it. So from then on to now it was all about planning and preparing and being able to do justice to that sound.”