Remastered Album To Be Released In January

Everybody knows that a plant starts with the seed. Well, it’s the end of the year, which means it’s time to reflect on what we’ve accomplished and set new goals for the coming year.

My goal this year was to start a record label. Looking back, I can say I’ve achieved my goal.

Earlier this spring, I called musician Mike Lundy, a talented guitarist, singer and songwriter born and raised in Nuuanu Valley, out of the blue.

Mike recorded an incredible album of funk music, The Rhythm Of Life, in late 1979. He released it in the Islands in 1980, but it never attained the success he had hoped for: All the money spent on production left him with nothing to promote or distribute the album.

I first met Mike in 2013 at a coffee shop in Manoa. My passion for documenting forgotten soul music of Hawaii on my blog, Aloha Got Soul, led me to arrange an interview with him. I wanted to ask him what Honolulu’s music scene was like back in the ‘60s, ‘70s and ‘80s, when he was growing up and actively gigging throughout Hawaii. I wanted to ask him about The Rhythm Of Life, an album that was now extremely difficult to find — an original copy can sell for more than $500 online. The music struck a chord within me. I needed to meet this guy in person.

Mike left a profound impact on me that day. The inspiration of our conversation slowly simmered in me as the days followed. But at that moment, I wasn’t ready to ask Mike if he’d be willing to re-release his music on a record label of my own, one that I didn’t even have yet, let alone have any idea how to start.

Roger holds up the test pressings of the first vinyl single on his new record label, Aloha Got Soul

I laid the groundwork to realizing my dream soon after, researching what it would take to properly license his music and to launch a label dedicated to pressing vinyl in an age where digital rules all.

I suppose the seed was planted during that interview back in 2013. It wasn’t until earlier this year when I called him that the seed finally sprouted.

We’ve since successfully remastered The Rhythm Of Life and have a vinyl single featuring two tracks from the album ready for January 2015. (The entire album will be ready later on.)

Looking back, I realize that Mike and I were bound to collaborate all along. At the end of our first interview on that April afternoon in 2013, I thanked Mike for the opportunity to share his story on my blog. He responded, prophetically: “This is just the beginning.”

He was right. The first release on Aloha Got Soul, the record label, will be available in January 2015.

For more from Roger, check out his blog at alohagotsoul.com.