Check out these excellent albums by Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AA.NH/PI) musicians
The new album from Grammy winner Arooj Aftab is an ode to the night as her primary source of inspiration and a vivid reflection of the creative community she has fostered in her home of Brooklyn, New York. Featuring nine original compositions, three English-language tracks, and an array of guest artists, this is a perfumed, public garden of renewal, desire, shelter, and love guided by Aftab's voice, its reach and intensity complementing the sun's departure.
Anderson .Paak's album, Oxnard, is a nod to the Southern California city where Anderson grew up. It is the Grammy-nominated artist’s 3rd studio album and the first to be released on Dr. Dre’s label Aftermath Entertainment. Oxnard includes his the single, “Tints” featuring Kendrick Lamar along with album features from J. Cole, Pusha T and many more.
Red hot international DJ and producer Steve Aoki creates a utopian environment that showcases the relationship between humans and technology. It also features appearances from Fall Out Boy, Empire of the Sun, Will.i. Am, and more.
The third album from artist beabadoobee was recorded at Shangri-La in Malibu and set to release on her long-standing label, Dirty Hit. It captures beabadoobee's confidence and introspection, with themes of self-acceptance and personal growth woven throughout. It stands as a testament to her artistic evolution and resilience, marking a significant milestone in her career.
Gabriella Sarmiento Wilson, known professionally as H.E.R. (short for Having Everything Revealed) is a Filipina-American R&B singer. Her platinum selling self-titled album was nominated for five Grammy Awards, winning Best R&B Performance and Best R&B Album.
Filipina-American actress and singer Vanessa Anne Hudgens got her start in the High School Musical series. Identified is her second solo album. Its pop single "Sneakernight" hit 88 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Anchored in the idea that, despite all obstacles, the human experience casts a net of possibilities, Defiant Life - Vijay Iyer and Wadada Leo Smith's second duo recording for ECM - proves a profound meditation on the human condition and both the suffering and resilience it entails. Recorded within two days at Lugano's Auditorio Stelio Molo, Defiant Life was produced by Manfred Eicher. "This recording session was conditioned by our ongoing sorrow and outrage over the past year's cruelties, but also by our faith in human possibility." - Vijay Iyer
Ukulele virtuoso Jake Shimabukuro is a Hawaiian born, Japanese-American musician who first came to prominence when a video of his rendition of "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" went viral on YouTube. Here he is joined by bassist Nolan Verner and guitarist Dave Preston as they explore improvisational jams and cover songs by Pink Floyd, Fleetwood Mac, and others.
Other music by this artist is available streaming on Freegal Music+
After a decade making the most of improvised recording spaces set in warehouses, trailers and lofts, Japanese Breakfast's fourth album, For Melancholy Brunettes (& sad women), marks the band's first proper studio release. Produced by Grammy Award winner Blake Mills, the record sees front-woman and songwriter Michelle Zauner pull back from the bright extroversion that defined it's predecessor Jubilee to examine the darker waves that roil within, the moody, fecund field of melancholy, long held to be the psychic state of poets on the verge of inspiration. The result is an artistic statement of purpose: a mature, intricate, contemplative work that conjures the romantic thrill of a gothic novel.
Other music by this artist is available streaming on Freegal Music+
Jhené Aiko Efuru Chilombo is an American R&B and soul soprano of Japanese descent. Her album, Chilombo features freestyle lyrics, crystal singing bowls, and acoustic instrumentation which seeks to evoke the flowing volcanoes of Hawaii, where it was recorded.
Israel Kaʻanoʻi Kamakawiwoʻole (known as Iz for short) remains one of the most popular Hawaiian musicians and ukulele players. He was known for mixing contemporary music styles with traditional Hawaiian music. This album contains live versions of some of his more mellow songs.
Korean-American singer, songwriter, musician, and producer Karen Lee Orzolek is the lead singer of the rock group the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. She is also known for her musical collaborations, solo work, and her Grammy and Academy award nominated soundtracks. Crush Songs is a lo-fi, intimate, and largely acoustic collection of songs and her first full-length solo effort.
Kishi Bashi is the solo recording project of singer-songwriter, producer, arranger, and multi-instrumentalist Kaoru Ishibashi. This surprisingly playful, sweet-sounding album is a companion piece to his documentary, Omoiyari: a Songfilm, where he explores contemporary anti-immigrant rhetoric and performs music in locations relevant to the WWII-era incarceration of Japanese-Americans. Himself, the son of Japanese immigrants. “Omoiyari'' means acting with consideration, empathy, and compassion towards others.
The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We is Japanese-American musician Mitsuki Miyawaki’s seventh full-length album. It is sonically Mitski's most expansive, epic, and wise, the songs seem to be introducing wounds and then actively healing them. It plays like a tiny epic. Produced by Patrick Hyland, with accompanying musicians, choir and orchestra accompaniment.
Kalani Peʻa is a Hawaiian singer-songwriter known for his contemporary Hawaiian music. He's won multiple Grammy Awards for his albums featuring his soulful vocals and modern take on Hawaiian classics.
Sasami Ashworth is a Korean-American singer-songwriter and a classically trained French horn player. She’s scored orchestral arrangements for films, commercials, and studio albums, taught music in L.A., been a session musician, and played synths for the rock band Cherry Glazerr. On this third album, Sasami fully embraces the power of pop music.
Thao Nguyen blends pop, rock, hip-hop, and other styles on her latest album. Temple is informed by her first visit to Vietnam in 2017, accompanied by her mother, who hadn’t been back since fleeing the Vietnam War. On Temple, Nguyen explores the sometimes conflicting cultures and attitudes that shaped her family, her music, and herself.
Grammy-nominated artist, producer and label-head Tokimonsta has teamed up with long-time collaborator Anderson.Paak and rising neo-soul singer and rapper Rae Khalil to deliver her latest single, "On Sum" along with an accompanying music video. The new song comes as the third release from TOKi's studio album, Eternal Reverie and follows the irresistibly catchy samba-inspired dance floor anthem, "Corazon/Death By Disco Pt. 2."
Other music by this artist is available streaming on Freegal Music+
Toro y Moi is Filipino-American electronic musician, producer, and artist Chaz Bear's main musical project. Hole Erth, the eighth full-length studio record as Toro y Moi, is the genre shapeshifter’s most unexpected and bold move to date, with Bear diving headlong into rap-rock, Soundcloud rap and Y2K emo. The album blitzes anthemic pop-punk next to autotuned, melancholic rap – two genres that inform one another now more than ever before — and packs in the most features ever on a Toro y Moi album.
The Crazy Rich Asians: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack album features several new recordings made for the film, including Miguel's song "Vote," recorded for the end title sequence; and covers of the classics "Money (That's What I Want)" by Cheryl K feat. Awkwafina, "Yellow" by Katherine Ho (from The Voice 2016), "Can't Help Falling In Love" by Kina Grannis, and more. Also highlighted on the soundtrack is the inclusion of several songs performed in Mandarin Chinese.
The Descendants is the first mainstream American movie scored exclusively with Hawaiian music, most of it created by acknowledged masters of the genre, both modern and classical Gabby Pahinui, Ray Kane, Keola Beamer, Lena Machado, Sonny Chillingworth, Jeff Peterson, and Rev. Dennis Kamakahi, among others. The filmmakers sought to make a movie with a distinctly Hawaiian flavor, and the music was a crucial component. As well as echoing the experience of watching the film, The Descendants soundtrack will reveal to listeners the soulful and emotional spectrum of Hawaiian music over the decades and serve as an eye-opening introduction to some of Hawaiian music s greatest and most essential artists.
With A Hammer was composed across a two-year period in New York, Seoul, and London, begun shortly after the release of What We Drew and during the lockdowns of the Coronavirus pandemic. It is a diaristic ode to self-exploration; the feeling of confronting one’s own emotions, and the transformation that is possible when we’re brave enough to do so.