official reissue of phase 7’s 1980 lp, “playtime”. regular pressing on black vinyl.

a rare look into the discotheque era of waikiki, al nobriga’s “my last disco song” tells of a time when nightclubs lined kalakaua avenue and practically every hotel hosted live entertainment. seven days a week, locals rubbed elbows with visitors in discos like the point after, cock’s roost, garden bar, infinity, duke kahanamoku’s, foxy lady too, valentino’s, hawaiian hut—the list goes on.

this anthology brings to light the music of robert Æolus myers, featuring recordings from 1982 to 2006 that were previously available only on cassette or cd.
the music within “a retrospective” tells the story of a man whose music elevates its listeners to a place of inspiration and enlightenment. often ethereal, Æolus’ music is driven by synthesizers, melodic flutes, sweeping patterns, and subtle rhythms to seed inspiration from deep within the listener.
one might assume that Æolus carved a new path for electronic music in hawaii, but the islands never quite fully embraced the burgeoning new age scene that Æolus found himself a part of during the 1980s and the early 1990s.
few artists in hawaii have produced a body of work, let alone embarked on a musical journey, such as the one that Æolus has created.
for aloha got soul, this release marks a new chapter of bringing rare and relatively unknown music of hawaii to the surface.

pressing on translucent purple 7 inch vinyl.

“fly with me” glides effortlessly through west coast aor in a unique hybrid japanese-hawaii fashion, uplifting the listener with inspiring sound and lyrics. “time machine” is high-energy cosmic disco jam that lends itself to japanese enka, yet maintains its playability through simple yet strong songwriting. whenever we listen, it’s as if aiko has invited us to join her as she soars through the after-life, flying “higher and higher as a bird”, traversing a space “where anything is possible”.

first pressing of 1000 copies. mike lundy, lemuria, aura. this trifecta of inimitable hawaiian acts descended upon honolulu’s state-of-the-art broad recording studio in late 1979 to create what have now become the most coveted hawaiian funk/soul/jazz albums of the era. but whereas lemuria functioned as a short-lived studio band and mike lundy saw little success from his album’s release, aura - comprised of eight siblings from the mendoza family - remained a key figure in the nightlife scene of hawaii of the 1970s and early 1980s. each tune on their 1979 lp showcases the band’s unmatched musical talent that continues to astonish listeners in the 21st century.

mike lundy was born and raised in nu‘unau, on the island of oahu in hawaii. from an early age, lundy s original compositions caught the coveted attention of herb ono, the legendary owner of honolulu s sounds of hawaii recording studio. in 1980, lundy recorded a solo lp entitled the rhythm of life. unfortunately, he spent so much money on production that nothing was left for promotion. it went nowhere upon release.

the equally strong -taste and see- on the flipside provides the only lyrical reference to hawai (-mangos and papayas got flavors of their own-) while remaining in line with mehl s smooth west coast vibe - he hired two of chuck mangione s colleagues for the recording, guitarist steve o conner and horn player john rekevics.