Ry Cooder, who’s featured on most of the songs here, said: “I first met Shoukichi Kina in 1979. David Lindley and I were on tour in Japan, and were getting well worn out. Kina and a translator met up with us in Osaka and we all sat down in the lobby of this giant tourist hotel, which Kina hated. He just sat there, staring straight ahead, saying nothing for an hour. One year later, a round-trip plane ticket to Hawaii came in the mail, with a note that read: “ALA MOANA HOTEL, COMMERCIAL RECORDING STUDIO, PLEASE. KINA.”