It has been almost five years since Thongs In The Key Of Life, Vol. II and a surprising seven years since the release of the original Thongs In the Key Of Life compilation. Has it really been that long? It doesn't seem like it . Many of the outstanding songwriters featured on those two collections remain my personal favorites. In recent years, I also have been privileged to have heard many of those artists perform their songs live. I never get tired of hearing them play. Despite my appreciation for the music, and even the amount of time since the last Thongs project, I must admit that I was somewhat hesitant about once-again trotting down the path to the musical beach. Well-received or not, I didn't want to put together another project that was more of the same -- same writers, same rhythm, same tempo, same anything. If anything, I wanted the closest resemblance to be similarly different.

Beach music. Tropical destinations for the imagination.



  Mohala Hou - Music of the Hawaiian Renaissance
  by Keola Beamer
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Keola Beamer is one of Hawai'i's premier singer/songwriters, arrangers, composers, and slack key guitarists. His well of talent springs from five generations of the Island's most illustrious musical lineages. The Beamer family traces their roots to the 15th century descendants of King Kamehemeha and Queen Ahiakumai.

Keola established himself early as a leader of the wave of contemporary Hawaiian music when he wrote the classic Honolulu City Lights - which is one of the absolute all-time best selling recordings in the history of Hawaiian Music. He has received numerous No Hoku awards (equivalent of Hawaiian Grammys) for his compositions and recordings. His first book, The Shimmering, ranked third on Hawai'is best seller list and is required reading for Kamehameha Schools. Read less...

Eloquent, raphsodic intepretations of classic Hawaiian hits of the 1970s by master slack key guitar master with hallmark band



  Ric Manrique Jr. sings Ilocano Songs
  by Ric Manrique Jr.
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Between sea and a sierra of mountains, between the blue belt of the China sea and the green undulations of the Cordillera mountain series, between this sea-coast with one of the country’s magnificent white-foamed beaches clustered with giant ancient boulders and this range of mountains lush with legends,flora and fauna – is this land. A hard land of farmers and warriors as history accounts it for us. The land is Ilocandia – a region of about 8 provincial divisions unified by a single language. The Ilocano, one of the 7 principal Philippine dialects.

A Collection of of folk songs from the Ilocos region in the Philippines recorded by the kundiman master Ric Manrique Jr. under the direction of Leopoldo Silos Jr.



  On in 5
  by KES
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Kees Dieffenthaller began performing in the late 90's, fronting a cover band that specialized in Billboard chart-toppers, and popular soca and reggae tracks. Due to his vocal range, stage presence, good looks, and uncanny ability to mimic popular artists, Kees quickly created a buzz and attracted a large, loyal following. On the crest of all this success and momentum, Kees exited the cover band circuit in 2005 and formed his own band, KES, with the dream to pursue great original music. Featuring his brothers Hans (drums), Jon (lead guitar), and best friend Riad Boochoon (bass), along with the support of a DJ (Richard Balgobin), and versatile keyboardists (Keithson Cruickshank and Mario Callendar); Kees was now able to work with similarly focused members on creating original music that could have international appeal.

Soulful vocals and calypso-inspired melodies, over a fusion of rock riffs and island beats, hints of soca and reggae, but can best be described as Caribbean Pop.



  Densidades
  by Alberto Rodríguez Ortiz
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This second CD by guitarist Alberto Rodriguez brings forth a musical production rich in compositional styles. Its diversity is astonishing; yet it all befits the sign of what the guitarist himself, rather enigmatically, terms “densities.” Unlike his first release, here all compositions are his own. These recordings attest to the coming of age of a magnificent guitarist and composer.

Rodríguez Ortiz´s compositions for one, two and three guitars preformed by the composer with guest guitarists Nicholas Goluses and Pedro J. Rodrigues. Special appeareance by David Ortiz Angleró.