Makua Rothman’s New Jams

By now, you should be well aware of Makua Rothman’s smooth voice and ukulele excellence. With a solo EP (Makanale Road, 2013) and a heck-ton of killer live shows under his belt, Makua’s about to take the next step up the musical ladder: He’s currently in final negations with Hawaii’s Mountain Apple record company, and is doing time in LA recording an album. And that ain’t all he’s got going on. If all goes to plan, 2014 will see the Hawaiian scratching into monsters on the Big Wave World Tour. Makua had just been to see a movie with a very excited Axel Irons when Stab called to talk music. Stab: So, what’s happening with your deal and how’s your program at the moment? Makua Rothman: I’m in the final stages of negotiations with Mountain Apple Records, the biggest record company in Hawaii. They’re the guys that did, you know Bruddah Iz, who sung Somewhere Over The Rainbow? I’m gonna sleep at this studio for the next month and record my album with a producer named John Feldmann. The studio’s in Woodland Hills and every morning, I wake up at 6am, drive over the hill and train with Laird (Hamilton). We do underwater workouts Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, and gym workouts Monday, Wednesday, Friday. I wake up and train with Laird every day, then if there’s waves I’ll surf, and if not I’ll go straight to the studio. I’m writing tomorrow with a guy who has a song in the US top 10 right now. We’re gonna do a top 40 style song. What’s the vibe of the record gonna be? I’m gonna do all kinds of stuff. Like I said, I’m gonna write with this guy who does the top 40 stuff, and I spoke with Pat Tenore and we’re gonna try and get a song together with will.i.am. I mean, music’s huge, I never realised how big it is. My whole goal right now is to do that and also make sure I’m on the ASP Big Wave World Tour next year. I’m gonna do the BWWT and music, and they’re my focuses. I actually only really started the music thing last year in May, and now I’m getting a deal. Do you wanna keep the whole you, your ukulele and your voice vibe? Well, there’s gonna be some drums, I just want it to be vibey. The ukulele and my voice is cool, but at the end of the day, for it to go worldwide, I kinda want the full band. A few songs will definitely be just me and the ukulele, because that’s where it all started. But you know as well as I do, you can have a magazine with just words, but when you add pictures it’s a different story. What’s more important in your life right now, surfing or music? It depends what happens in the long run, but I mean, my whole life, everything I love, everything that I am, is the ocean. Even my name, Makuakai, means father of the sea. I love surfing more than anything in my whole life, and it will always be first. That’s why I really wanna focus on the 2014 Big Wave World Tour. Yeah, I’m getting a record deal, but I wanna be the first ASP Big Wave World Champion. – Elliot Struck Lighting up at the Warped Tour.