Stories — Releases

We're celebrating the music of Hawaii’s favorite contemporary music group, Kalapana, with an official vinyl reissue of the band’s self-titled debut album, Kalapana. The vinyl reissue will be available on Friday, March 25th.  In 1975, four young musicians forever changed Hawaii with their unique sound. Together as Kalapana, singers Mackey Feary and Malani Bilyeu, guitarist David John Pratt, and keyboardist Kirk Thompson fused rock, pop, R&B, jazz, and soul to create their classic long-playing album, Kalapana. The music was a cross between electric and acoustic, and it provided the perfect soundtrack to a modern 1970s Hawaii.  Over the years, the band...

It’s official: our 70th release is the vinyl reissue of Kalapana. Much like Mackey Feary Band’s debut, Kalapana’s first record (eponymously titled Kalapana and sometimes referred to as Kalapana I) has always left an indelible impression on us. From start to finish, this LP is a masterpiece. Kalapana’s breakout debut in 1975 forever shaped the sound of Hawaii. Comprised of four founding members — Mackey Feary, Malani Bilyeu, David John Pratt, Kirk Thompson — the band led the way for a new, contemporary sound of Hawaii with the highest caliber of songwriting. Tunes like “Nightbird”, “The Hurt”, and “Naturally” confirmed Kalapana’s place as legends in...

Somewhere in this here blog I once wrote that I always knew that when launching Aloha Got Soul — first as a blog, and later as a label — that R&B, soul and funk would not serve as the sole genres we'd focus on. Initially, I was worried that we'd "run out of music" in those categories, especially if AGS were to only focus on the 1970s and 1980s, although I now know that that's not the case. There's still tons of music to dig up from that era, from those styles.  This sentiment has been with me from the...

The 2021 vinyl repress of Aura's self-titled album returns to the original track listing and original front cover art. The album's closing track, "Can't Waste No Time", makes it back onto wax, and an updated back cover offers renewed liner notes and credits not found on the 2016 reissue. A few quick takeaways about this 2021 edition:  we're using the original album cover (except for the font 😉) "Can't Waste No Time" is included on this vinyl pressing Updated back cover art with renewed liner notes and credits Updated label art, just for kicks! Aura — comprised of eight siblings from the Mendoza family —...

AGS-044 is the 7" we've been wanting to reissue since, well, forever. If you ask Vince Mendoza, he'll tell you the same thing. Ever since I linked up with Vince in 2015 to license and reissue his family's eponymous debut album, Aura (AGS-LP002), he's been encouraging me to reissue "When The Feeling's Right".  It was their biggest hit and their most requested song on the radio. Listening to their LP today would have you believe that the band was playing their original songs — like "Magic Lover" and "Let Me Say Dis About Dat" and "Yesterday's Love" — left and right at live venues, but the group was mostly...