Many players use their own special tunings that often remain proprietary secrets.
As the sounds of Gabby Pahinui, the Sons of Hawai'i, The Sunday Manoa, and others, played on the turntable, he jammed along for fun and relaxation. The rich physical and cultural landscape of the Hana Coast provided the inspiration for many of these compositions. While borrowing heavily from the essence of traditional slack key, Jim West brings much of his own musical heritage to this collection of contemporary ki ho'alu instrumentals. Jim divides his time between Hana, Maui and Los Angeles, where he writes and produces music for film and television. His slack key compositions have been featured in several national television commercials.