Stories

It's Cool Sound! Interview with Toshi Nakada

Interviews

(I've come to think that my blogging is like a jet plane. I started off with new posts every 3-5 days, taking flight into the world of Hawaiian music. Now the plane's cruising with the clouds, flying at a steady pace. In other words, I'm now focusing on quality over quantity, an idea I picked up from reading this blog about rare soul music.) After my interview with singer/guitarist Murray Compoc of Tender Leaf, I got in touch with Toshi Nakada, owner of the Japanese record label Cool Sound. I heard that Cool Sound wasn't able to contact any of...

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"Tender Leaf has arrived" - an interview with Murray Compoc Spencer

Interviews

"Tender Leaf has arrived" - an interview with Murray Compoc Spencer

(This post has been updated since its original version first appeared) Today marks an important moment in Aloha Got Soul's existence, as well as the history of Hawaiian music (in my opinion, at least). I've been lucky enough to interview—let alone track down—Murray Compoc Spencer, the lead singer from Tender Leaf. Tender Leaf was a band from the 1980s whose sound could be described as easy-going soul with essences of psychedelic music. Its two founding members, Murray Compoc and Darryl Valdez, first met while working as drivers of the city bus (aka The Bus). They discussed music and jammed together,...

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Phase VII & Dolly Parton

Bands / Artists

Phase VII & Dolly Parton

With two gigs nightly, 7 days a week aboard the Rella Mae cruise ship, Phase VII must have met many people during their tenure. So I was happy to find this photo in my inbox the other day, courtesy of saxophonist Edd English (far right): Edd gave me a bit of background on Dolly Parton's appearance aboard the Rella Mae: That year she took her family to Hawaii for X-mas—I mean everyone because she was able to rent the top deck of the Rella Mae, the boat Phase Seven played on. This photo is on the Top deck, as after...

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"Summer" by Audy Kimura

Track

Audy (Audwin) Kimura's "Summer" is simply beautiful, despite its aural complexity. Even with the strings, keys, percussion and guitars floating around, the song remains melodic and unpretentious from start to finish. I especially love when the electric piano or the guitar riffs at just the right moment, jumping out at you. It adds to the melody and accents Audy's soothing voice. (By the way, "Audwin" is such a cool name!) Almost incomparable in its mellowness, "Summer" could very well be the epitome of the laid-back vibes of Hawaii. I can close my eyes and imagine a handful of examples. Cruising...

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About page updated

Updates

Hey everybody, you can find out how/why Aloha Got Soul got its start by visiting the new About section. Plus, I update the Downloads page from time to time. Honolulu City Lights is up there now.

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