Hawaiian soul holy grail reissued for first time! Thank the heavens for those like minded individuals that love great music and keep the modern DJs / diggers in mind. While reissues still might be frowned upon in some circles the facts remain, some things just need to be unleashed again for the world to enjoy it as it might not have been appreciated at the time and the audience is finally ready for it. The fine folks of Be With Records, whom also reissued Ned Doheny's uber classics, have teamed up with Aloha Got Soul to release maybe THE holy grail in Hawaiian Soul music. Nohelani Cypriano's debut album is a hodge podge of styles under the umbrella of sun soaked soul. My personal favorite stand out cut is a mid tempo number 'Lihue' that has been sampled by Beautiful Swimmers' Max D in the past and is just perfection. Don't let the odd Martha Reeves cover throw you off, other tracks like Moon Of Manakoora, Island Boy, and South Sea Island Magic are all heavy in island vibery. Remastered by Claremont 56's Simon Francis and pressed on heavyweight 180g vinyl.

• music label: Be With Records 2015

reviewed by Poi George 8/2015