Raiatea Helm revealed the stories behind each of the 13 songs on her new CD. Here are excerpts:

' 'AHULILI'

"It's pretty much a standard. I chose it because I really loved playing it when I was touring with The Makaha Sons for two years back in 2003 and 2004. We used to do that song all the time. When I hear it, I can hear Uncle Boogs (Jerome Koko) singing that last verse (and changing the words). ... It was so naughty. It was so bad. And Uncle Boogs would always sing it and try to make me laugh with that last verse. It always makes me think of those times with them.

"Puakea Nogelmeier is so down to Earth ... so smart. You can feel the stories in his music ... feel his emotions. He writes music like a novel. At his house, he has a big- screen Macintosh desktop with all of these lyrics and songs. I was, like, 'Oh, wow!' ... He threw five songs at me. As soon as I heard the melody (of "Poi 'Awa'awa"), I fell in love with it. ... It's about a sour relationship, because 'poi 'awa'awa' means 'sour poi.' I found it funny how he could use food to portray a person. And poi makes sense. ... It was about a sour relationship he had. I had a great time with him."

"When Tony (Conjugacion) came up with the idea of putting these two songs together, I liked that people would know that (I sang it) and think it was neat. The phrasing was very difficult, and it took me a while to get a hang of it. I think it took, like, 10 takes (when arranging it with Conjugacion at his house) for me to get the right sound just so I could practice it. It's funny. We're good friends. So when he sings high and I sing high, we always tease each other — like, 'Oooh! You witch ... trying to sing so high!' "

"Traveling with The Makaha Sons for two years, I was still learning my Hawaiian language. Having (songwriter Louis "Moon" Kauakahi) around was very inspiring. He's such a humble man. ... On the road, we would always 'wala'au' and just talk about anything. ... I've always wanted him to write a song for me. ... He wrote the song in, like, half an hour. He was, like, 'OK, here you go!' "

"(Tony Conjugacion) already had this song written. When we met up, I'd pick (from) songs that he had. And for some reason, this song caught my ear. I really loved the melody. ... And once I heard the first verse, I told Uncle Tony, 'I want that song!' I didn't even ask him. I was, like, 'I want that song!' And he said OK. What was funny was when he was recording his own album, he asked, 'Uh, baby, are you still going to do 'Na Beauty O Kaua'i?' ... He wanted to record it."

"My dad had always wanted me to do this song, because he liked the sound of it. So I called (songwriter O'Brien Eselu) up and asked, 'Oh Uncle, is it OK if I record one of your songs?' ... I met up with him, and we went to Halawa Valley and spent the day there. ... We went up to 'Aiea Heights, where he grew up, and he shared stories of growing up, his hula days and who he hung around with. I brought my 'ukulele. We sang (the song) with each other. ... It was really special to have that moment with him. He's such a wonderful soul."

"I picked ("Manowaiopuna") because I like the way my uncle Jarrett ("George") Helm ... did it on his "True Hawaiian" album. ... It's breathtaking ... beautiful. I never met my uncle. But (this is) a way to show people the way I know my uncle, which is through his music. ... To have Robert (Cazimero) accompany me was a bonus. It took him 20 minutes to do the track. Unbelievable! ... He was, like, 'Hi!' went into the studio, and was, like, 'Bye!' "

"This is the song that started my whole career. ... I was watching the Kamehameha Schools Song Contest (on television) ... when I was 16. During the (intermission) ... Auntie Nina Kealiiwahamana ... sang this song. I didn't know anything about Hawaiian music at that time. But I heard this lady sing 'Pua Tubarose,' and that was it. It was so beautiful! ... I had wanted to put this song — one of the first songs that I learned — on one of my albums ... to show where I started (and) why I wanted to sing Hawaiian music."

" 'Ei Nei' came up at the last minute. I've always committed myself to doing a Lena Machado song for each CD. It's pretty much as a tribute, because she inspired me with her music. ... 'Ei Nei' is a standard, but hasn't been recorded in (a while). It was time to do it again."

" 'E Ku'u Tutu' was recorded by Auntie Leinaala Haili. ... Auntie Lena Machado and Auntie Leinaala Haili were inspirations to me because my dad got the recordings for me so that I could learn. ... These old recordings had that xylophone sound ... which is why I wanted to do this one. The way Auntie Leinaala recorded it was slower. I'm more upbeat. It's my favorite song on the album because it's just so different and was the hardest to work with. ... And thanks to (vocalist) Hoku (Zuttermeister), it sounds way better with his voice."

"I used to go to Kaua'i every summer because my mother is from there. I would always hear this song with my family on my mother's side. I was 5 years old, and my auntie would always sing it to me. My tutu (Olga Holi) was in the hospital when I was recording this song. I had started recording it before she went into the hospital, and I was having the hardest time recording it because I wasn't feeling it. ... I went (to Kaua'i) and spent time with her for three or four days and then came home and (finished) it. Sometimes you have to go to certain places so you can get that feel for what you're doing. For me, I had to go back to Kaua'i to grasp that piece of my childhood."

"When I listen to the song, I think about when the military were coming here in the '40s. Lena Machado recorded it, and I loved the way she controlled her voice. I'm glad we put a clarinet on it ... because a lot of people will connect it to that era. ... (I haven't) heard clarinet in a Hawaiian song before. Dave (Tucciarone) is just crazy and comes up with all of these ideas. He was thinking about a song (by) the Beatles that has a clarinet ("When I'm Sixty-Four"). It has that same feel."

"That's my jazz track! My dad wanted me to record that song. He'd heard this young girl, Renee Olmstead, sing the song. She was 14 years old. And my dad was, like, 'Oh man! You should do that song!' Frank Sinatra has recorded it. Rod Stewart did it on his (standards) album. ... The song suits my voice and style of jazz. It just came natural (and) I fell in love with it. Some songs just fit. And this one just felt right. ... DeShannon (Higa) plays trumpet on it. He's so great."