Stories

The Do-Over is coming to Honolulu in 2011! What's that? Hosted by Aloe Blacc & friends, the infamous LA-bred Do-Over parties feature world-class DJs throwing down seriously good tunes. To name a few appearances: Kon & Amir, J. Rocc, Osunlade, Prince Paul, Flying Lotus...and many more. Quantic, aka William Holland, even did a cumbia mash-up set... Which makes me wonder what'll happen when Lei-Over's mystery DJs spin that Hawaiian heat. Quantic at the Do-Over, September 2010: (mp3 & video) Here's the poster: Rockin' the sunny jams and the classic tunes you grew up with, plus any other madness that comes...

What is soul? It's hard to pinpoint, even when so many artists past and present have given Soul an everlasting place in music. "Soul can mean anything, depending on who you're talking to". True. But can a single song be so soulful that it demands further interpretation from artists across the music spectrum? I believe it. Jackson 5's "All I Do Is Think Of You" laments with such generous amounts of bittersweet compassion that any listener should feel chills when hearing this song. It's not just Michael Jackson's wailing, heartfelt voice, or the swaying orchestration, or the synthesizers that sound...

Kuiokalani Lee was by no means a jazz or funk musician, but his music poured directly from the soul. A singer/songwriter whose compositions helped launch the career of Don Ho, as well as bridge the gap between traditional Hawaiian and pop music, Lee gave us what are his only recorded performances on The Extraordinary Kui Lee. The album was released just days before he died at age 34. "I'll Remember You", Lee's biggest hit, boasts a long list of covers (the most well-known performed by—well, just google it.) One of the grooviest renditions? Gotta be Aura's. In a clever twist,...

Since my interview with Toshi, whose label Cool Sound reissued an album by Aura, I've been meaning to post my own videos of Aura's music... but why wait if someone else has one up? Here's an outstanding track about love lost, called "Yesterday's Love". It gives me chills to listen to! Her voice is so innocent, longing, and sad. Maybe it's the lyrics that add that extra touch of sorrow? (BTW, I understand songs better when I write out the lyrics. Some lines might be wrong, though). Dig the funky bass lines, breakdown with hand claps, massive horns, and a...

(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...