Da Makani is the second Shakatak Laserdisc in my collection, and they only released 4 albums and 3 singles on Laserdisc and CDV respectively, out of over 50+ albums and counting! I've talked about another disc of theirs elsewhere, Twilight Sensation, which is excellent, make sure you get it if you can. Da Makani though, to me, is something very special and just a little bit different to your typical band Laserdisc.
The unstoppable, awesome and quite frankly LEGENDARY band Shakatak were asked by Kenwood (the electronics brand famous for many a pair of 6x9 holes cut in to the back of many a Ford Escort XR3i parcel shelf back in the day) to produced the official album and video for the 1988 Kenwood Cup International Yacht Race. Said race was run annually in Hawaii until just a few years ago. The band came up with the album Da Makani and an accompanying Laserdisc of the same name.
What you get with this disc isn't your typical fare of a concert or a collection of music videos. Da Makani runs for 45 minutes across 1 side of a Laserdisc and comprises the audio of the Da Makani album along with some wonderfully shot scenery of Hawaii. If that sounds dull to you then think again, and here's why.
Da Makani is absolutely exquisitely produced. For starters the audio, which is really what you are here for, is laid down absolutely perfectly. I waited until everyone was out of the house, slipped on this disc and cranked the volume up on my pokey little setup and it absolutely sang it's heart out. Keys sounds note perfect, bass guitars sllip and slide up and down the scales with eloquent rumbles and drums sound crisp and 'thuddy' in equal measures throughout. Note that this particular disc was released in 1990 and features both analogue and digital audio. The 1988 first pressing is analogue only as far as I am aware.
Visually, Da Makani excels yet again. I'll admit when I first slipped on the disc and the opening sequence began, I thought my DVDO processor was having HDMI handshake issues. It was in fact a swiftly edited sequence with a strobe effect, so be warned if you are averse to flashing images as they do appear at the start of the disc.
Da Makani opens with the 'Da Makani Suite' on chapter 1 which comprises 4 parts a) from sun to sea, b) wind jammin, c) from sea to sun and d) cliffhanger. It sets the tone perfectly. The film opens aboard a helicopter looking down on the sea and mountains over Hawaii before moving to a hot afternoon by the sea and the harbour, watching the world go by, to sunset by the beach and to a close. The accompanying music from the album is just sublime. Silky, aquatic synth pads and watery piano tinkles that give the mind the impression of the big blue. Gorgeous, tropical, subtle synth swells that just put you right in the mood.
'Bermuda Rig' on chapter 6 is another nice track. Just the sound of an acoustic guitar and waves rolling on to the shore. You can sit back, listen and view and think 'this is the life'. It's good stuff, and again the audio is king here.
A few of the images take a more artsy approach. You can really tell this is a product of 1988! Overhead shots of expertly arranged sunloungers by a pool, a closeup of a pool step ladder and the gentle lapping of breezy pool water. One shot in particular of a bottle of Perrier next to a swimming pool not only looks tremendously 80's, but is also pin sharp in detail. Some moments reminded me of the beautiful (and now very expensive) 7" artwork on the brilliant 1985 single 'Faces' by Italian pop starlet Clio. The same can be said for the whole of this disc, picture quality is absolutely bang on. It looks excellent.
Da Makani is one all-round superbly produced disc. I can only imagine what an R7G, HLD-X9 or X0 could do with it.
A couple of the chapters do appear to show some yacht racing foortage, though it is unclear if this is from the actual 1988 race. I would imagine if the disc was a promotional tool, and it was released in November of 1988, then it was probably just a marketing product. The race footage could have been from the 1987 race prior? I'm sure that any sailing enthusiasts watching the disc would know, and they would have to, because no matter how hard I tried I couldn't find a single thing about the 1988 Kenwood Cup on the Internet.
The disc closes with my favourite track on the whole album, 'Endurance', which is just an absolutely whopper instrumental track that a) sounds totally 80's and b) has some incredible guitar playing on it. The video almost succeeds the audio with some great shots of yachts and surfing followed by an extreme close up of some waves gently kissing the sandy shore in some of the most detailed footage I've ever seen on a Laserdisc (for my setup). The video closes with a beautiful sunset as it's parting shot while reminding me of an old Taboo/Mirage advert from the telly years ago.
Make no mistake, Da Makani, in my opinion, is one of the best sounding and best looking Laserdiscs I have ever seen. Even if you don't dig the Shakatak sound I would still recommend it. This is not a Laserdisc. This is an experience. Turn it up and get it on!
FUN FACT OF THE DAY: Da Makani means The Wind in Hawaiian. (taken from the sleeve notes)
With zeta on your posts/reviews & the little caveats in them like below make me smile, a few have creased me up!
teddanson wrote:
The unstoppable, awesome and quite frankly LEGENDARY band Shakatak were asked by Kenwood (the electronics brand famous for many a pair of 6x9 holes cut in to the back of many a Ford Escort XR3i parcel shelf back in the day)
No worries, happy to put this drivel together. If it can help someone looking for information or impressions on something they most likely wouldn't find then that's great.
I'll reiterate though, this disc is really well put together and while it doesn't command a high price, it isn't exactly very common.
Da Makani is on Tidal etc too by the way. Have fun!
I should add by the way that I did actually contact Shakatak a few weeks back and put forward a few questions about the album and the Laserdisc to them for my blog.
I think it was Roger Odell who did get back to me to let me know that my questions had been forwarded on to Bill Sharpe who it was felt would be better placed to answer them.
I've.not heard anything back yet but I.do hold out hope! I sent on a link to this review too so even if the band prefer to keep schtum, they can hopefully read the thoughts of one of their albums from a fan.
If I do hear back from anyone I will be sure to post back here if possible.
Good news! I received an email from Roger! I have some answers to the questions I sent. Short and sweet, but, kind of a World Exclusive of sorts? Actual official comments from Shakatak on Da Makani!
I'll put my blog post together later and post the link here.
Good news! I received an email from Roger! I have some answers to the questions I sent. Short and sweet, but, kind of a World Exclusive of sorts? Actual official comments from Shakatak on Da Makani!
I'll put my blog post together later and post the link here.
Just a quick update to say I have expanded on the above drivel and added the questions I asked the band which Roger sent back to me. Short and sweet but a world exclusive sortofkindofish!
I think you're starting to whet my appetite with Shakatak Ted. I was more into the New Wave & New Romantic thing (yep one of those weirdos that sported a Phil Oakey style haircut) around the time that they were in their UK peak years and didn't fit visually in the type of dance venues that played their stuff and similar back then. Interesting to read that Roger Odell had worked with Trevor Horn too, he's currently playing bass with Dire Straits Legacy which is formed of several former members of that legendary band, one of which is keyboard player Alan Clark who lives just a mile away from here.
Last edited by laserfanhld-gb on 02 Nov 2020, 23:11, edited 2 times in total._________________ Pioneer HLD-X9/CLD-925/CLD-2950 OPPO BDP-105D EU ARCAM AVR-600 JVC DLA-X7000BE Lumagen Radiance 2144
Glad to know the Shakatak effect is spreading! There's a LOT of music to dig through in their discography. Also, Roger Odell has a famous son, non other than electronic artist Jimpster, who has a great discography of his own, especially his remix work.
Great news! The guy who posts here who's username I cannot remember, sorry, has posted something rather special on his YouTube channel.
Now everyone can enjoy this great Laserdisc!
Note: The sickeningly 80's Perrier bottle is about 12 minutes in. And if you want to skip to the best track (in my opinion), that's Endurance and is at 40 minutes in.
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