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 Leilani
Jaster
Debut
CD Brings Beauty and Soul - Lights Up The Pacific
Pop/R&B Market.
by
huimusic
As
per usual, I was trolling around MySpace on another
mission and I came across Leilani Jester, but not in your
typical way. I
was up late one night checking MySpace and she asked to be
a friend on another profile that I have and realized that
it was the girl that is on HuiMusic new releases section.
I
made quick contact and introduced myself.
Then went to her site on MySpace and checked out
her music and was blown away!
So after a few e-mails I asked to talk to her
personally and we chatted on the phone.
What a sweet girl!
So
she sent me her latest CD and her label (Ocean Stream
Records) sent a video and dropped them in a got on the
vibe quick! Later that day, I got on with speaking to her on the phone and soon realized that she’s really
more involved with her release than just sitting back and
waiting for the record company to do things.
What
I mean by that is that she working with
her label in promoting and marketing herself as an artist.
Usually the artist’s just lean on the label to do
all the tuff stuff but Leilani won’t have it.
She’s going full on and looking for opportunities
to promote and market constantly.
Her
CD is killer and has unreal arrangements both vocally and
musically. Leilani
has a soulful originality that is refreshing to hear.
The cross-over production that fuses R&B Soul
with Hip Hop has the staying power that it takes in order
to be respected in a market that is increasingly seeing a
rush of new artists.
The
production of the CD is all-time tight and engineered and
mixed with every detailed covered.
Nice and punchy yet warm and soulful is a task to
achieve within the style of music that is on this CD and
the production team nailed it.
As
for Leilani, she’s got such a mellow, soulful
personality with her vocals that you can’t help but put
your day’s headaches aside and get a dose of cool from
her voice. There’s
no way that you can manufacture the kind of performance
that Leilani has done on her debut CD.
She has got what it takes, and it will take her
places. I’m
putting one of her tracks on the LavaLounge this month as
well as her video, “After Nine”.
As
for Leilani participating with her label to promote/market
on all levels makes her a paramount asset to the label.
Listening to her promotion plans and how she’s
going about it is all that a label could hope for.
Her
CD is distributed in
Hawaii
and the
west coast. Her
label specializes in progressive Polynesian Pop artists
and is doing a tremendous job in getting the artists out
there with the best production.
Having
the opportunity to chat with Leilani was very cool.
I wished that I could have just taped it and
podcast it because her personality is so soothing, just
like her vocals. Leilani Jaster is yet another hidden
treasure of
Hawaii
’s Pop
artists.
Below
is some Q&A with Leilani:
- How old were you when you started to play/sing music?
I was 12 when I began to play.
- When was it that you first started to play a musical
instrument?
The Alto Sax was my first instrument that I started to
play in the 7th grade.
- Did you study in school?
I studied the sax throughout jr. high, high school,
and college. I wanted to be the female “Kenny G”.
I also picked up guitar and piano, French horn,
clarinet, and drums in high school as well.
- When did you turn your attention to singing?
It wasn’t until college that I began to sing and
find my voice. I didn’t sing before this in any
choirs. I had always been the type to sing along to
the radio like everyone else. Friends encouraged me to
sing more and here I am now.
- Who are your influences?
Because of musical background, I am influenced by so
many artists. I love Aretha Franklin, Tina Turner and
Etta James. I also love Lauryn Hill, Tracy Chapman,
Sheryl Crow, Sade, Brian McKnight, Bob Marley and
James Taylor. I listen to and can be influenced by any
genre. I enjoy listening to Jazz and Classical music
as well as contemporary music. I grew up listening to
everyone’s music in the house. My dad was the
Beatles, Beach Boys and Motown artists. My mom’s
music was traditional Samoan music like Five Stars and
she also listened to Elvis Presley, Michael Jackson
and other popular artists at that time. My older
brother exposed me to everything and everyone else
from R&B, Oldies, Rap, Reggae, and
Island
music.
- When was your first experience in the studio as a
singer?
My first studio experience was in 2001 and my first
song was “Brown Boy” from the Chord Brown CD.
- What was the name of your first CD?
I first appeared on a compilation cd titled “Chord
Brown: The Nu Brown Sound”
- How many have you released to date?
Two cds now….The compilation and now my own solo
work.
- What label are you signed with?
Independent recording label, OceanStream Records (OSR),
based in
Los
Angeles
.
This is the same label that put out “Pualena” by
Vika. Most people I talk to are familiar with that one
song but don’t know which label Vika is on.
- I hear that they specialize in Polynesian Pop artists.
Tell me about them.
Actually OSR produces Pacific Islander acts. One of my
label mates is Chamoru (
Guam
).
His name is
Joey
Quenga
,
also from the
Los
Angeles
area
(
Long
Beach
to
be exact). As far as I know, they are open to all
Pacific Islander acts: Polynesian, Micronesian,
Melanesian, etc. Shortly, you’ll also hear about Tunē
(Samoan - R&B), and “YC” (Samoan - Neo-Soul /
R&B). So they’re always looking for good
“Islander” acts. Matter of fact, I’m told
they’re working on their first HIP-HOP CD. I don’t
know the details but, I’m sure you’ll get their
material. You can visit http://www.oceanstreamrecords.com
for upcoming acts.
- Who produced your latest CD?
Chord Brown produced the whole CD.
Robert
Wendt
, Tim Carter, and
Lloyd Wendt
make-up the Chord Brown team. They’re local
producers: Robert & Lloyd are both Samoan and
brothers, while Tim is African-American. Many are
familiar with some of their previous work. They wrote
and produced “Pualena” by Vika. That song seemed
to set things off for the production team. It did well
on
Hawaii
,
New
Zealand
,
Australia
, and
Japan
radio.
- Who wrote the songs and did the arrangements?
All tracks on my album have been written and produced
by “Chord Brown”. They all have their own
production specialties and contribute to the overall
completion of each track. I really liked the direction
they took on this album.
I’m really looking forward to collaborating
with them on future albums.
- When did it release? June 2005
- Who distributing? Booklines distributes in
Hawaii
and
the mainland. And we have a
New Zealand
distributor for the South Pacific,
New Zealand
and
Australia
markets. Soon each track from the album will be
available for digital downloading. If anyone is
interested in digital downloading, they can sign up on
my email list and be notified by email when it’s
available.
- Have you started to do live shows with your latest CD?
Yes, I have. I do shows with either a live band or
with tracks. It really depends on the type of venue.
So far, the response has been really great! I think
our people are ready to hear “Islanders” on a more
urban sound. I’ve noticed other Islander artists
moving in that direction too. It’s exciting!
- Where can someone go to sample some of your music?
http://www.leilanijaster.com
or check me out on myspace…http://www.myspace.com/leilanijaster
- How are you assisting your company in marketing you new
CD?
Aside from local performances and “in-store”
performances, I utilize online tools such as
myspace.com. It’s a cool place to connect with
people and develop new fans. My friends and family
really support me and help spread the word about my
project. I also search out programs like
“HuiMusic” to get my music out on the net to
hopefully win over some “net-fans”. Podcasting is
becoming more popular these days. Along with my
label-mates, we are working with many Pacific Islander
organizations / businesses, performance groups, and
community service programs (Pacific Islander focused)
to provide entertainment. In short, we are looking to
the Pacific Islander community groups and businesses
to help promote our music. We have had to take
alternate routes outside of
Hawaii
radio. It seems the urban sound really hasn’t taken
off on
Hawaii
radio yet. But in due time…
- When did you shoot the video?
I believe it was around March of 2004.
- How long did the shoot take?
It took a total of 2 ½ days. We were busy because we
also had a photo shoot as well during the same
weekend. So I was literally either in front of a video
camera, or a still camera. I didn’t realize all the
hard work involved in shooting a video. I’m really
happy with the way it came out!
- What are your performance plans for the rest of 2005?
Well, 2006 is almost here and I’m slowing my
performances because events have been slowing down as
well. I believe there are
Las Vegas
,
San
Francisco
and
Orange
County
performances left on the calendar. It’s still in the
early stage, but we’re planning a trip to
New
Zealand
and
Hawaii
sometime in the first quarter of 2006.
New Zealand
has
probably the largest Pacific Islander festival in the
world. “Pasefika” is a 3-day festival held in
Auckland
,
New
Zealand
attracting over 120,000 people. OSR artists Vika and
Zhen performed there in March 2003.
- What are your hopes for the future?
Hopes? Best case scenario…my music hits mainstream.
Wouldn’t that be awesome! Otherwise, I’m looking
to build a good fan base. It’s hard work, but I am
up for the challenge. There’s a movement going on in
the Pacific Islander music scene. There are some
really hot groups and artists out there mixing the
“urban” or “R&B/Soul” sound with island
sounds or vibes mixed in with it. I hope to continue
to sing songs from the heart so it really hits home
for today’s island woman. I want to connect with my
“Island Sistah’s”. The only way to do that is to
just be me and to just “keep it real” with my
music. We have the same issues and experiences other
women have. And that’s what I want to share with
them on this album and I hope people identify with
that.
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