Dani Joy Music

This adorable song is one that Daniel Ho wrote in college. His original concept was inspired by an assignement to write a “television theme”. Later, his friend Amy Ku’uleialoha Stillman added the lyrics, which are Hawai’ian and sing about making breakfast, burning the toast and then drinking coffee to wake up & start all over again! (See english translation below)
This version is a little bit different. We were inspired to collaborate on this after Daniel heard the scratch recording of his original version that I had made for my Peewee Ukulele Orchestra (8 kids ages 8-14) who were performing the song with Daniel at the 2019 Auburn Ukulele Festival in northern California. I sent him my finger style version of the song, hoping greatly that he wouldn’t be offended by my audacity. He called me and said he loved it, especially the swing I’d added! I was over the moon! Throughout the next several months, we continued working on it and Daniel asked if I had written any music myself. And that’s how it all began.
The harmonies at the end are my favorite part to this recording. To me they sound like ribbons dancing under water. I came into the studio March 2020 and Daniel had a simple harmony idea in place, but the actual layering and added harmonies were done on the spot in about 20 minutes. It’s absolutely amazing to see him work.