Stories

Leave it to the Japanese to have (and know) all the good stuff—here's a surprise that woke me up to the warm sounds of Summer's sophomore release. "Weekends In Malibu" is a classic AOR album that combines elements from mellow pop, disco, rock—and of course, sounds of the islands. Even if Ron Yuen and Tim Hurley were jamming 3,800 miles away from home.

"Brand New Day" by Ron Ka-IpoHow you begin your day is up to you, but I prefer to wake up to sounds of Hawaii, like this breezy, jazzy track: "Brand New Day" by Ron Ka-Ipo.Ron's music inspires his listeners to reach for the clouds, laugh with your friends, and spend more time with the ones you love.Even when some days can seem dark and difficult, Ron reminds us that there's always a brand new day to hope for.Learn more about Ron Ka-Ipo's LP here.

Thanks to the ohana over at coletivoACTION and Trip Magazine for translating my Top 10 article into Brasilian Portuguese and publishing it online here. Now, I present to you my Top 10 Hawaiian Black Music albums, in English. Enjoy! Roger Bong of Aloha Got Soul holds one of his favorite albums in front of a record wall at Hungry Ear Records in Kailua, Hawaii. Like Brazil, Hawaii is home to some of the most beautiful music in the world. When people think of Hawaiian music, their minds fill with the gentle sounds of ukulele, lap steel guitar, double bass and...

Before I get to work on the next 1x10x100 mixtape (can you say 45s?), diggers out there need to know who's behind the tracks on the first mixtape in the ongoing 1x10x100 series. After all, music like this deserves to be shared. Artists in pursuit of the purest sound of the soul deserve to be recognized, and keeping the complete tracklist from you does nobody good. At first, 1x10x100 was an outlet for me to share the 100 vinyl records I bought for just $10 at Harry's Music Store in February. The Honolulu landmark was closing and moving to a...

With this post, I happily share with you the full Paradise: 1x10x100 Revisited tracklist, including artist, label, and release year for each track. And if you don't already know, 1x10x100 Revisited is an oasis of smooth soul and jazz sounds that take the listener to a paradise within oneself.