Taimane Gardner, known simply as Taimane, is an ʻukulele virtouso who started her career entertaining tourists on the streets of Waikīkī. Today, she is known for her bold performances which meld together classical music, flamenco, metal and rock in ways that are sometimes meditative and other times sultry. Her instruments are the ʻukulele and her ethereal voice. And now, the Nā Hōkū Hanohano-award-winning musician — whose name means “diamond” in Samoan — is releasing new music.
“I'm coming out with a new song called ʻPīkake Princess,’ coming out October 10, and this song was inspired by Princess Kaʻiulani and our similarities,” she told Aloha State Daily.
On Thursday, Oct. 16, Gardner will perform the song, which was commissioned by Outrigger Waikīkī Paradise Hotel, as part of a celebration of Princess Kaʻiulani’s 150th birthday, honoring the place she called home, ‘Āinahau, in Waikīkī. The event starts at 5 p.m. and features a lei draping ceremony, performances from Irie Love, flowers by Ocean Dreamer Floral Artistry Hawaiʻi and a market featuring local vendors from Art + Flea.
Gardner has won multiple Nā Hōkū Hanohano Awards, including ones for entertainer of the year, instrumental composition of the year and instrumental album of the year. She also performed for National Public Radio’s series Tiny Desk Concert, and the video has 1.7 million views. Recently, she was an artist-in-residence at Shangri La Museum of Islamic Art, Culture & Design.
She can play classical favorites such as “Carmen” with the Hawaiʻi Symphony Orchestra at Hawaiʻi Theatre and the national anthem at a men’s volleyball game at the University of Hawaiʻi. Sometimes, she even combines genres in a single song.
“What inspires my mash-up medleys with the classical music and the metal and the classic rock is I love listening to those types of music,” she said. “The ʻukulele would just so happen to be the instrument that I use to express myself, which makes it even more cool and unique.”
After getting the request to write a song for Princess Kaʻiulani, Gardner “immediately went into research mode,” she wrote on social media.
“They asked me to create a song for her, but if she were Gen Z, if she were Millennial,” Gardner said. “I thought that concept was so cool, so I created the song ʻPīkake Princess.’ But I also wanted it to be about the similarities between us, because I didn't want to try and pretend to be her, because I'm not her. I found similarities that were true about both of us. And that's how the song ʻPikake Princess’ came about.”
Gardner went to the Bishop Museum, which features some of Princess Kaʻiulani’s things, to get inspiration.
“I really wanted to get a feel for her and her story,” she said. “And then as I was writing and researching, I realized how many similarities that we had. She was a world traveler. She spent a lot of time in Europe. She played music. And she also was half caucasian, half Polynesian, and so I really connected with that. And I think the most important thing that was important to both of us, is really just to make Hawaiʻi proud. We're just local girls. There’s one little lyric that I love. It's: ʻWe're women of the world, but we're also coconut girls.’ ’’
Gardner recently returned from an approximately month-long tour in Europe, where she completed 12 concerts in six countries: Italy, Czech Republic, Poland, Germany, Netherlands and the United Kingdom.
“The thing that I love about performing live in different areas of the world is their reactions are very different,” she said. “For example, in America, they love covers. They love music that they already know, and they can hear it in a fresh way. Europe loves originals. They love to hear the artist's heart, which is a really refreshing and great feeling too.”
Gardner also wrote the music for the independent movie “Chaperone,” which was filmed in Hilo and named the best breakout feature at the Slamdance Film Festival in 2024. In September, that movie screened in theaters on Oʻahu, Hawaiʻi Island and Maui. To write the soundtrack, she watched the visuals and created the score to go with it, she said.
“I perform live which is very extroverted, but then I also do music for films, as well, which is very introverted,” she said. “Being in the recording studio, it's very intimate, quiet, sterile, compared to a loud event.”
Gardner got her start performing on the streets of Waikīkī, which taught her how to respond to crowds. She was mentored by Don Ho and took ʻukulele lessons from Jake Shimabukuro.
“I think I was around 12 years old, back in the day, and that was a really good way for me to hone my skills — to see what people liked,” she said. “Because you got to remember, these people are walking. They're going somewhere. So what captures their attention? It's a great way to practice.”
While she may appear extroverted on stage, Gardner is not.
“Secretly, I'm an introvert,” she said. “There's an aspect of performing, which I love, but I definitely feel like I need to reset my batteries after. It's a lot of energy out, and I am an introvert, so my way to refresh my batteries is actually I take a bath, and it’s kind of weird, but I turn the lights off, and I just like to be in my little bathtub.”
Her love of music came early.
“My dad gave me my very first ʻukulele when I was five, and I pretended to be a rock star, just playing in front of the mirror until I broke a string,” Gardner said. “My dad got me into some classes, and from then on, I just loved performing.”
Follow Gardner on Instagram, Spotify or YouTube and find upcoming shows on her website.
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Katie Helland can be reached at katie@alohastatedaily.com.
