Kamalei Alexander Isn’t Afraid Of Going Back To His Happy Place

Computer Body has to be one of the most underrated sleepers in Volcom’s catalogue.

There’s no real underlying thread to it, but it perfectly represents an era and its spirit, and what was happening on the fringes at the time.

The South Pacific section is scored to “Monique’s Theme” by Monsieur Leroc, a world away from the melodic punk that soundtracked most of the shot-from-the-sand action in surf films of the time.

In it, Kamalei Alexander surfs a wave that’s hard to compare to any other. A point that looks like a series of slabs stitched together by little side wakes and backwash, sometimes detonating below sea level over a shallow reef that runs perpendicular to a beach formed by bleached-white coral chunks.

Computer Body had no on-camera talking, and the footage was a good two decades away from 4K, let alone the vlog-style candid moments shot vertically on devices once used to call other people.

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In Flowers Received, released a few days ago, Kamalei returns to the location with friends from Kauai, including Bryce Baker, in a film with the raw, unvarnished feel of a home video documenting a surf trip between good friends.

Directed by Kamalei and edited by Miles Frazier, this is not his first directorial outing. Back in the early 2000s, Kamalei directed, edited and released Ahead, possibly the most comprehensive and intimate moving portrait of Kauai’s golden generation in its heyday.

The final minutes of Flowers Received come with a little bonus section from those days, featuring some Andy, Bruce, and a particilarly crazy one Kamalei caught at the Teahupo’o trials, for nostalgia’s sake.