V/A: Aloha Got Soul - Soul, AOR & Disco in Hawai'i 1979-1985 (2LP) [STRUT]

Why you'll love it

This 2LP set comes in a gatefold sleeve with Roger Bong's notes, rare photos and original artwork. It gathers Lemuria, Aura, Nohelani Cypriano, Mike Lundy and Tender Leaf, the first proper survey of the islands' late-70s soul scene.

This edition

• 2LP set
• Gatefold jacket

About the album

Hawai'i's musical reputation tends to arrive wearing a lei and carrying a slack-key guitar. Roger Bong, the Honolulu record hunter behind the Aloha Got Soul blog and label, spent years proving there was another side: local bands soaking up mainland soul, jazz-funk and smooth West Coast pop, and pressing it in small runs for the island crowd.

Tender Leaf's "Countryside Beauty" opens with a sunny glide, Lemuria's "Get That Happy Feeling" is a feel-good classic, and Aura's "Yesterday's Love" and Hal Bradbury's "Call Me" bring the late-night polish. Mike Lundy's "Love One Another" floats, Nova's "I Feel Like Getting Down" heads straight for the dance floor, and Nohelani Cypriano's "O'kailua" and Brother Noland's "Kawaihae" carry island place names into the grooves.

Bong teamed up with London's Strut to bring it to the world,, and the set helped kick off a wider revival of Hawaiian soul. Aloha Got Soul has since grown into a Honolulu label of its own, digging up more island records every year. Strongly recommended for February in Toronto, when Honolulu feels exactly as far away as it is.

Also at Kops: more Aloha Got Soul on vinyl · browse 70s Soul On Up

Tracklist

Listen

On Strut (cat# STRUT133LP), the 2016 compilation.