Stories

We are honored to bring Kalapana's second album, Kalapana II, back to vinyl for the first time in nearly four decades.  The vinyl release will be available on Sunday, June 26, 2022.  Whereas Kalapana's debut LP, Kalapana, was a masterfully crafted exercise in soulful rock pop, their sophomore album, Kalapana II, saw the band expanding and stretching itself toward a signature sound.     The LP kicks off with a powerful pair of tracks — "Love Em" and "Freedom" — gliding into the classic Malani ballad, "(For You) I'd Chase A Rainbow", followed by a string of bluesy, folksy, country tunes, "The Way That I Want It To Be" and "Dorothy Louise". Then comes the beloved pop hit penned by...

Kainani Kahaunaele joined us with her two daughters for a dig through the bins at AGS. The award-winning singer, songwriter, and ’Ōlelo Hawai’i language teacher shared her knowledge and mana’o about numerous songs, musicians, stories, and family memories while flipping through the records in our ‘used Hawaiian vinyl’ section.  Filmed and edited by Max High.  AGS is a record shop in Honolulu and the headquarters for Aloha Got Soul, a record label championing new music and rare reissues from the Hawaiian Islands. Pre-order Kainani's new vinyl record on Aloha Got Soul here.

When Kainani Kahaunaele releases a new album, the entire island chain of Hawai‘i pays attention.  Despite a year's worth of covid-related restictions and lockdowns, her 2020 release, Waipunalei, saw a massive outpouring of support and interest, most notably seen during the December 2020 live streaming release party event on Facebook. Comments flooded the stream with no end in sight, the entire Hawaiian music community awash with her adoring fans.  The following year, Waipunalei would earn her an unprecedented seven (7!) awards at the Nā Hōkū Hanohano ceremony. In short: she swept the place!   When we first heard her CD (Waipunalei was originally released in full...

Following an intimate in-store performance at AGS Honolulu, we asked modern R&B artist, Izik, to tell us more about Kalapana's influence on him and his music. (Scroll down for his acoustic cover of "Nightbird", recorded live at AGS Honolulu on Sunday, March 27, 2022.) 1. What is your all-time favorite Kalapana track? Why do you love it? My all-time favorite Kalapana song is “Nightbird”.  I grew up hearing that song so many times but it wasn’t until I started covering it at my gigs that I really fell in love with it. Seeing and singing the lyrics really made me aware of...

Based on the feedback we've received — and to ensure no one misses out — we've decided to reprint all our Official Kalapana merch via pre- order! Starting today, we're taking pre-orders on alohagotsoul.com and ags.earth.  The pre-order window closes April 14th. We expect to finish production and start shipping orders in late May / early June 2022.  *We've decided not to reprint the tote bags or "4k" shirts and hoodies this time around. But, everything else is available!