Life lessons, love for islands guide Kolohe Kai’s latest album
Singer Roman De Peralta aims to uplift fans with music
Recorded during the pandemic, Kolohe Kai’s Roman De Peralta hopes his new album “Hazel Eyes,” is a source of uplift and inspiration for fans. In particular, his song “I Think You’re Beautiful,” especially expresses a heartening message.
“It’s a self-help song with a real specific purpose to help encourage people,” De Peralta explained. “It’s my favorite song. It’s almost a love song for all of my fans that are depressed. I feel my purpose in life is to try and help encourage people. I need fans to know that they are beautiful no matter how they are thinking about themselves. I’m happy that I have an opportunity and platform to bring that joy for people to love themselves. Life is about making a positive impact on people throughout our day, whether it’s walking into Times and smiling at the clerk, or making a song that helps people.”
Earlier in the year, in partnership with the Department of Health, De Peralta released a music video for “I Think You’re Beautiful,” with an anti-bullying message as part of the National Children’s Mental Health Acceptance Month.
Touring in support of “Hazel Eyes,” the popular island reggae band Kolohe Kai will play the Maui Arts & Cultural Center on Sunday.
De Peralta dedicated the album’s romantic title song to his wife and released a beautiful accompanying video that included him proposing to her.
“The music video is all about our wedding,” he said. “It’s very meaningful for me and my wife.”
Rich with reggae-flavored upbeat songs, the album captures his love for the ocean and surfing (“Gravity”), his faith (“Always by My Side”), the importance of collective support (“When the Rain Falls”) and his affection for Hawaii with the exuberant “Feel The Sunshine,” sung with reggae artist HIRIE.
“That’s a fun reggae one, the most rootsy one on the album,” he said. “We had a blast recording that.”
With “Always by My Side” he recounts the grueling journey he faced after a terrible car accident and how faith kept him going.
“It’s a song I wrote for God when I went through a horrible car accident that left me with a lot of pain,” he recalled. “I dealt with a lot of chronic pain for six years. So I went through this time where, if you listen to the words, in the middle of the night where I’m feeling down, he was always there for me. People who have faith in a higher power that they rely on in times of need, I feel that’s my love song for him.”
Another memorable song, “Circus Slave,” depicts the traps of stardom.
“I think a lot of people don’t understand the struggle of having the spotlight on you,” he explained. “Everybody sees the fluff on Instagram and TikTok, and music is really about bringing joy to people. You can get caught up with the wrong people, and people can manipulate you. I was taken advantage of when I was younger. I remember ‘dance monkey dance’ was basically how I felt. Things are a lot better nowadays. Being a slave to the pursuit of riches isn’t going to leave you happy.”
Growing up in a musical family on Oahu, he formed a band with some friends at Castle High School and won the Brown Bags To Stardom contest.
“I’m the only songwriter and pretty much the only singer,” he said. “There are four people from the original group that are still with me.”
Influenced by the music of Ekolu and Fiji, the group’s debut album, “This is the Life,” was released in 2009, featuring local hits like “Ehu Girl” and “Cool Down.” Other favorites followed from “First True Love” and “Paradise” to “Heartstrings” and “He‘e Roa.”
The band’s popularity spurred major record labels to try to sign them, but De Peralta declined the offers.
“When I was 18, there was an offer from Universal and when I was 21, Atlantic Records called. I turned them down. All I wanted to do was live a simple life, make my music, and enjoy.”
He took a brief break from his music career in 2012 to travel to Israel to teach refugees.
“I fulfilled my two-album contract and after that I really wanted to pursue teaching people about the Bible,” he explained. “I did that for a while and my first trip led me to Costa Rica, and then Israel was a game changer in my life. There were a lot of African refugees from wartorn areas of Africa. I just shared encouraging scriptures that they needed to hear, something that helped them to see better hope. It was the best trip I ever took in my life.”
De Peralta is looking forward to returning to the MACC.
“We had a blast the last time we came out there right after the pandemic,” he said. “It was just raging. We’re inviting everyone to come out and celebrate the album with us.”
Kolohe Kai performs at 6:30 p.m. Sunday at the MACC’s Alexander & Baldwin Amphitheater, with Mana‘o Company and the Opihi Pickers opening. Tickets are $49.50 and $79.50 for VIP, plus applicable fees. Prices increase day of show. All tickets are general admission with no seating provided. VIP tickets offer front-of-stage viewing and access to the Yokouchi Pavilion bars and restrooms.