Stories

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...

On this latest installment of his monthly NTS show, Aloha Got Soul label head Roger Bong digs deep into the Hawaiian CD collection at KTUH, University of Hawaii's college radio station to deliver rare archival oddities and uncovered gems direct from the islands. “For me, Home Grown is an opportunity to broaden my scope of digging to compliment the often experimental and leftfield sound of NTS. It’s a chance for me to listen more intently to every crack and crevice of Hawaii’s musical canon and share it with everyone.” Across his expansive 60-minute set, the Honolulu-based selector connects the dots...

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...