Strut To Release Comp Of 70s – 80s Hawaiian Soul, Rnb & Funk

The dilligent diggers of Strut Records have readied a new comp of obscure global soul. Compiled by the collector and DJ Roger Bong, Aloha Got Soul gathers together funk, disco, jazz and soft rock recorded in Hawaii in the period 1979 – 1985. The ever informative Strut press release has the following to say on a scene that we're going to confess to knowing little about… 

The influence of Western music in Hawaii dates back as far as the ragtime era with the creation of hapa haole music (“half Hawaiian, half Caucasian”), but from the early 1960s with the island’s new American statehood status and the influx of rock’n’roll, a proliferation of new bands, night clubs and influential radio DJs like Tom Moffatt ushered in a boom in hybrid sounds. By the late ‘70s, the influence of bands like Earth Wind & Fire and Tower of Power had sparked a rich, close-knit soul scene on the islands led by jazz-funk innovators Seawind (CTI Records). Artists like Aura, Nohelani Cypriano and Mike Lundy shone brightly but relatively briefly through to the mid’-80s.

They've kicked off with a teaser track from Aura, a piece of soft sunshine soul with a cheeky break at the end – check it below

Aloha Got Soul is released March 18th, full tracklisting is as follows:

1. Tender Leaf – Countryside Beauty
2. Aura – Yesterday’s Love
3. ‘Āina – Your Light
4. Lemuria – Get That Happy Feeling
5. Roy & Roe – Just Don’t Come Back
6. Hawaii – Lady Of My Heart
7. Hal Bradbury – Call Me
8. Mike Lundy – Love One Another
9. Nova – I Feel Like Getting Down
10. Nohelani Cypriano – O’Kailua
11. Brother Noland – Kawaihae
12. Marvin Franklin With Kimo And The Guys – Kona Winds
13. Greenwood – Sparkle
14. Chucky Boy Chock & Mike Kaawa With Brown Co. – Papa’a Tita
15. Steve & Teresa – Kaho’olawe Song
16. Rockwell Fukino – Coast To Coast