"There is a light in this world, a healing spirit more powerful than any darkness we may encounter."
"Doctors can heal the body, but it is music that uplifts the spirit." -Mother Teresa
Breathtaking view of Hanalei Bay on Kauai's north shore.
Photo: Art Umezu
MUSIC OF KAUAI Est. 1981
Island songs longing to be heard
Music of Kauai is a record label and music production company established in 1981 by island musician, composer and producer, Art Umezu who arrived on Kauai in 1975 by way of Honolulu and Tokyo. He has written more than 80 songs which were recorded on CD and cassette albums by many Kauai musicians including Mandy Thronas; late Robbie Kaholokula, Doric Yaris, Bob Meyer; Michael Young and Boogie Bugarin; Maila Gibson; Stacie Taniguchi; Bobby Rumion; Hank Curtis; Nani Marston; Abra and Koki Cummings; Leahi; Island Son; Kirby Keough; The New Generation; Rose Alayvilla; Daphne Sanchez; Christine Valenzuela; Norman Kaawa Solomon; Kirby Keough; Chico Edralin; Connie Kissinger; Kalani Dabin; Loke Tabian; Cindy Jackson; Mike Lingaton; Jack Viohl; Nick Castillo; Kahanu and Kamika Smith; Marielle Yano; Sean Finney; Jack Viohl; Jonathan Obiano; Laverne Corpuz; Tanja Dee; Sheila Nakayama; Preeta Carlson; A Pua Ting featuring ukulele virtuoso, Aldrine Guerrero; Rhoda Libre; Mele Glovasa; Micah Viluan; Kealoha Takahashi; Rising Generation; Kauai late Bob Meyer; Kauai Chorale; Kapaa High School choir; Waimea High School singers as well as former Kauai mayors, Maryanne Kusaka and Bernard P. Carvalho Jr. and more.
In 1986, he produced a cassette album, “This Is Kauai’ for Japan’s top Hawaiian pop group, Danny Iida and Paradise King, known as backup band for singer, Kyu Sakamoto of ‘Sukiyaki’ fame. The song is the opening number for Smith’s Tropical Paradise Luau and Show in Wailua. In 1989, he was commissioned to write, “The Caring Touch” for Wilcox Memorial Hospital’s 60th anniversary celebration. In 1992, he composed, “Aloha To The World”, a post-Hurricane Iniki anthem which was recorded by 11 Kauai singers and 40+ high school choir members and raised $38,000 for 6 non-profit organizations helping with hurricane recovery efforts. His song, “Color The World With Love” was featured in Sanrio’s ‘Adventures in Paradise’ show starring Hello Kitty at Hawaii Theater in Honolulu in 1998. "Color The World With Love" was adopted by Wilox Elementary School for its May Day Program in 2000 and 2014.
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Since 1981, Music of Kauai is committed to record and preserve Kauai’s special musical talents for future generations to listen and enjoy.
Music of Kauai PO Box 3763 Lihue, HI. 96766 musicofkauai@gmail.com
Kauai, Hawaii’s Garden Isle is a tropical paradise well-known as location for many Hollywood films and TV movies since 1950s including ‘Bird of Paradise’; ‘South Pacific’ with Mitzi Gaynor; Elvis Presley’s ‘Blue Hawaii’; ‘Donovan’s Reef’ starring John Wayne; Steven Spielberg and George Lucas’ ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’; ‘Thorn Birds’; ‘Jurassic Park’ 1, 2, 3; ‘Jurassic World’; ‘Outbreak’; Roger Corman’s ‘Supergator’; Ben Stiller’s ‘Tropic Thunder’; ‘Avatar’; ‘Just Go With It’ starring Jennifer Aniston; ‘Soul Surfer’, biopic about Kauai surfer, Bethany Hamilton; ‘The Descendants’ with George Clooney; ‘Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides starring Johnny Depp; Japanese movie, ‘Hanalei Bay’, written by Haruki Murakami, starring actress, Yoh Yoshida.
Famous scenic sites:
Fern Grotto
Mount Waialeale
Waimea Canyon
Spouting Horn
Kalapaki Bay
Nawiliwli Harbor
Hanalei Bay
Poipu Beach
Polihale State Park
Old Koloa town
Lydgate Park
Salt Pond Park
Kalalau Valley
Kilauea Lighthouse
Haena State Park