Oliver Twist (Oliver Seguin) is probably one of the friendliest guys I've met in a long time. Super humble (to the point that he didn't even want me telling people about his "Vinyl Tap" feature in the Honolulu Weekly about tonight's Le Feelings show), a busy guy (we did this quick interview a long time ago on a whim while he was working), and a heavy hitter when it comes to digging.
Oliver's got a lot of history to his name that you can read about on Asiatic Majic. He's been around the Hawaii hip hop since since the turn of the century. OK, that makes it sound like a long, long time ago, but the history runs deep.
He's also got a lot of Hawaiian records.
Oliver Seguin. Photo by Jelly's.
Aloha Got Soul: Tell me a story about digging.
Oliver Twist: I went to the Philippines with my family some years ago and I had to find records. I wanted some funky Filipino stuff but I wasn't finding anything, so I asked around and this guy gave me a phone number to call. So I asked my auntie to call for me cause she can speak the language.
We met up with the guy and he had a huge wall full of records. It was me and my family at this guys house, so my family was hanging out and talking and I was digging, listening to stuff on my portable. I was finding some good stuff!
But after how many hours my family was like, What are we still doing here? So I started wrapping up and asked the guy how much he would charge.
That's when I found out he was charging premium prices. I could barely afford to buy more than a handful of records cause I was on a budget. Which was a bummer. But I still got some pretty good records, just wish I could've gotten it all.
You've got a deep collection. Let's talk about your top 5 records you constantly return to. What's at the top of your list?
1. These Trails
This is me and my girl's favorite album to listen to when we drive out to the country. Im into the folk sound of Hawaii, and this is one of the best albums.
2. Lil Albert
When I wanna get funky, I listen to this. Drink two shots of coffee and I'm ready to go.
3. Kali O Kai
Found a copy in 2002 and it blew me away. When I started digging heavily I came across this. The cover is kinda cheesy but it's from Hawaii so I picked it up. It's something else, it's real good.
Ever since I found this it opened my mind, I realized there's gotta be more Hawaiian music like this out there. Kali o Kai has one real funky number, "Manapua Man", but the rest of its has a sound that's hard to describe but it's the sound of a new Hawaii.
Oh, and then I found the Mike Lundy album soon after that and I knew that there was definitely more real good Hawaiian funk music out there. I went to Jelly's and asked Norm the owner about it and he was like "that album sucks! That and the Lemuria! We got rid of those albums a long time ago." Hahaha!
4. Golden Throat
I like that "Communication" track, and the instrumental on the other side, "African Sham".
5. Gordon Broad
"Righteous Morning" is my favorite track off this. It's obscure, one of a kind. I like pretty much anything Gordon-related, he's the man.
Check out Oliver Twist & Alston as Le Feelings
Saturday, February 16, 2013Mercury Bar, Honolulu10pm - 2amAll-Vinyl Funk & Soul Night$7Oliver Twist & Alston (Le Feelings), Aloha Got Soul, Shitzr, Katch One
Oliver Seguin. Photo by Jelly's.
Ever since I found this it opened my mind, I realized there's gotta be more Hawaiian music like this out there. Kali o Kai has one real funky number, "Manapua Man", but the rest of its has a sound that's hard to describe but it's the sound of a new Hawaii.
Oh, and then I found the Mike Lundy album soon after that and I knew that there was definitely more real good Hawaiian funk music out there. I went to Jelly's and asked Norm the owner about it and he was like "that album sucks! That and the Lemuria! We got rid of those albums a long time ago." Hahaha!