Various - Aloha Got Soul: Soul, AOR and Disco in Hawaii 1979-1985

  by Dave Goodwin

published: 27 / 4 / 2016

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Review

Well, here's a new one for me. In all my exploits DJ'ing Northern and 60's R&B and collecting records of the same genre, I have never bumped into the soulful sounds generated by the island chain of Hawaii. Where have I been? Roger Bong, blogger, DJ and record collector, is the main man behind 'Aloha Got Soul' Since hearing DJ Muro’s Hawaiian Breaks mixmin in 2010, Roger has spent much of his time searching for rare and relatively unknown Hawaiian soul, funk and rare groove music from the 1970s and 1980s. Sounds like my kind of fella then! Once found he shares these rarities on his blog-turned-record label, and also interviews the artists and retells their stories through his blog posts and mixtapes. His dedication to digging up obscurities from Hawaii’s contemporary musical past has caught the attention of DJs and record collectors around the world: from London, Tokyo, Amsterdam, Paris and even Rio De Janeiro. He seems to have overlooked the East Midlands though because as I said this little gem has eluded me so far. Well, I tell a lie. I have heard somewhere the Mike Lundy track 'Love One Another', but that's it. Lundy's is a sublime chunk of Hawaiian Soul that I think I heard a couple of years ago out and about at one of the soul nights in the Midlands. There are some obscure tracks on here for sure and I'm pretty certain that the avid soul hunter, which this disc will be a must for, will not have heard the majority of them. The super blue-eyed soul sound of Tender Leaf on the opener 'Countryside Beauty' won't go amiss on the modern floors, while Aura's funky soul number 'Yesterday's Love', which comes in at number two on the track list, is another of the diverse soul vibes that can be found on this outing. The classic soul sound of the 60s, 70s and 80s and its main themes of love and loss are all present on 'Aloha Got Soul', but there are some interesting retrospective moments on tracks like Nohelani Cypriano’s 'O’Kailua', Brother Noland’s 'Kawaihae', and Marvin Franklin with Kimo and the Guys’ 'Kona Winds'. None of these, however, actually sound like music indigenous from the islands. You have to wait for 'Papa’A Tita' a track by Chucky Boy Chock and Mike Kaawa with Brown Co three tracks from the end for that. Even then it is slightly overpowered by a funk vibe, but you soon get down to some grass skirt business. One of the other highlights on this excellent album is the super funky live sound of Nova's 'I Feel Like Getting Down'. Awesome!

Track Listing:-

1 Countryside Beauty
2 Yesterday's Love
3 Your Light
4 Get That Happy Feeling
5 Just Don't Come Back
6 Lady Of My Heart
7 Call Me
8 Love One Another
9 I Feel Like Getting Down
10 O'Kailua
11 Kawaihae
12 Kona Winds
13 Sparkle
14 Papa'A Tita
15 Kaho'Olawe Song
16 Coast To Coast

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