Kalapana - S/T [LITA]

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Once ex-punkers and funkers' attentions turned to smooth sounds, you know that Hawaii would deliver.

Kalapana is all about execution and style. Check out the cover. These fellows know mellow.

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The debut from Hawaii’s most influential group of the 1970s, Kalapana, fronted by a young Mackey Feary. With its 1975 release, the band shaped the sound of Hawaii for decades to come.

Kalapana is a source of pride for Hawaii. Ever since its 1975 debut, Kalapana’s sound has been difficult to define. Originally produced by Barry Alan Fasman (Jose Feliciano, Diana Ross, Dusty Springfield), their debut LP presented a style uniquely its own: the sound of a contemporary Hawaii. Is it rock? Pop? R&B? And yet there’s jazz, soul, and groove embedded into these eleven songs: a sound that remains relevant to Hawaii and its people to this day.

Fronted by songwriters Mackey Feary and Malani Bilyeu, with guitarist DJ Pratt and keyboardist Kirk Thompson (the producer behind Lemuria), Kalapana propelled to fame at a time when Hawaii was defining its modern identity.

While their popularity is primarily concentrated in Hawaii, the Philippines, and Japan, Kalapana is poised to recapture the imaginations of listeners today, as both a rediscovery process for young listeners whose parents played their OG copies to pieces, and as a new musical discovery for people around the world who’ve yet to hear Kalapana’s songs.

The perfect slice of pop paradise from Hawaii. Reissued on vinyl for the first time in 45 years.