Steve & Teresa - Catching A Wave (AGS-035) (single)

AGS-035 brings the classic "Catching A Wave" to 7-inch vinyl for the first time. The timeless acoustic tune is accompanied by a high energy Hawaiian favorite on the flipside, Alvin Isaac’s “Tahauala”.

The full album, Catching A Wave, originally released in 1983 by Steve Mai‘i and Teresa Bright, will be reissued on Aloha Got Soul in late summer 2020.

Talented songwriters keep your attention, but gifted songwriters capture your imagination.

When Steve and Teresa released their debut album in 1983, they gave us one of the greatest gifts of all time, an ode to the ancient Hawaiian sport of surfing: “Catching A Wave”.

Hailing from musical families of native Hawaiian lineage, Steve Mai‘i and Teresa Bright captivated the islands with their effortless style of acoustic guitar, bass and harmonies that blended jazz, Hawaiian, bossa nova, and hapa haole songs of yesteryear.

One evening, engineer Rick Keefer, who moved to Oahu from Seattle after finishing Heart’s third album, heard Steve and Teresa perform at Pat’s in Punalu’u, a favorite gathering place for musicians on the island. Their refreshing sound inspired Keefer to convince the duo to record an album.

In a matter of days, Steve and Teresa were at Sea-West Studio to cut their first record. In just three hours, the entire album was done. Everything was recorded live—acoustic guitar, electric bass, and the pair singing—with no more than two or three takes per song. Just like that, with Keefer’s help and vision, Steve and Teresa created what would soon become a timeless classic in Hawaii.

The song’s enchanted origins were shared on Psychemagik’s 2013 compilation, Magik Sunrise:

“I just got back from a surf session in Hanalei Bay and there was a melody in my head, the chorus. A progressive melody line, ‘Island tradewinds blow, I know where I’m going’. I wrote the song that day in the hotel.”