Stories — Releases

We're honored and happy to present "Hibiscus" on vinyl for the first time, with the instrumental versions on the B side (currently not available anywhere else). Hibiscus is a much-loved EP from producer Pana, with six songs featuring five singers in a laid back, lovers rock, local style session. Originally released it in 2020, this EP is full of joy and light — and has already made its mark throughout the islands (we hear "Your Lovin' Is Enough" on the radio all the time). We hope this vinyl release can help "Hibiscus" gain even more fans in Hawaii and across the...

Aloha Got Soul is pleased to announce Bitta Attack, the newest release from Jah Gumby. Based in Palolo Valley, Honolulu, the producer and multi-instrumentalist brings shimmering musical diversity and crate-digging sensibility to his four-track EP.   Two high-energy, progressive reggae tunes, “Dine An’ Dash” and “Influencers.m.h.", draw a link to his 2018 release Humility: The Vibes of Jah G (AGS-LP005), a double LP that presented Jah Gumby’s masterful ability to create rich arrangements with overwhelming instrumental density. The 2LP remains a crowning achievement in the vast universe of reggae music, in which Jah Gumby has created a galaxy all his...

I wasn’t alive when Brother Noland released Speaking Brown. The year was 1980, and the influences of artists like The Sunday Manoa, Gabby Pahinui, Olomana, and Keola and Kapono Beamer resonated throughout the islands as they heralded a new sound of and for modern indigenous peoples, part of the cultural revolution known as the Hawaiian Renaissance. On the other side of 1970s island life, bands like Kalapana, Country Comfort, and Cecilio & Kapono were shaping a contemporary sonic identity for locals — indigenous and otherwise — blending rock, soul, country, and jazz into a pleasant pop blend that continues to...

Procured from two reels belonging to Mike Kahikina, these songs were part of the sessions that Kahikina and his band Ka‘ala recorded some 40+ years ago. In 1983, two of the songs here released on Protea Records as a 7-inch single: "Ocean Rider" and "Show Me". When we restored the tapes with the help of audio engineer Jessica Thompson, we found three different versions of "Ocean Rider". There were also two versions of "I Am A Native", both of which could easily serve as long-lost anthems, speaking just as powerfully today as they did when Kahikina and Ka‘ala first committed...

Few if any copies of The New World, Volume 1 have surfaced since I first became aware of the LP thanks to Oliver Seguin. Before the label took shape in 2015, I'd seen (heard, rather) Oliver play the cuts "Soul Catchers" and "Such A Lovely Garden" only a handful of times (they're not necessarily DJ-friendly tracks, but rather for deeper listening sessions, so it wasn't often that he'd bring his copy to a gig).  Looking through my notes and old emails, I had first reached out to one of the members of East Of Midnight, Liz Hahn (formerly Haberman), in 2014 —...