Possessed of a forbidding baritone, Hawaiian singer Keali’I Reichel brought traditional Hawaiian chanting and Hawaiian dance into the cultural mainstream in the mid ‘90s with his albums KAWAIPANAHELE and LEI HALI’A. Reichel took up chanting in his late teens, and his debut was a self-produced effort with an emphasis on traditional Hawaiian tunes. His popularity spread through word of mouth before Atlantic records signed him in early 1995. Though his subsequent recordings have incorporated some Western pop influences, Reichel has largely remained true to his stated goal of preserving and popularizing authentic Hawaiian folk arts.