Hawaii: Part II

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Hawaii: Part II is the debut studio album by the musical project Miracle Musical. The album was released at 12:12:12 AM on December 12, 2012, and features eleven tracks.^[1] Its "0th track," "Variations on a Cloud," features thematic elements related to the September 11 terrorist attacks, according to creator Joe Hawley.^[2] This song can be dated back to at least May 25, 2010, where an instrumental demo can be heard in the video uploaded to the Tally Hall YouTube channel called "Internet Show Outtakes".^[3] When later questioned about the track's origins, Hawley declined to elaborate.

The album's release was accompanied by an 8-bit companion video game titled "Labyrinth",^[4] which was named after the track of the same name and inspired by its music video. The soundtrack for the video game was later compiled and released on the album Hawaii Partii, as well as on the Variations on a Cloud EP. The album's demos were later released on Hawaii: Part II: Part ii.^[1] Upon its initial release, the album was sold through Sellfy,^[5] but it was later moved to the Miracle Musical Bandcamp page. Initially, only the instrumental version were available for free on the platform.^[6] While categorised under "World" music on iTunes^[7] and Bandcamp,^[8] the album shifts between genres, including pop, rap, and ballads.

Songs for this album date as far back as 2005 with "The Mind Electric," which was originally performed under the title "Inside the Mind of Simon".^[9] However, creator Joe Hawley stated that the initial concept for the album came to him in the summer of 1997 during a family vacation to Hawaii. ^[1]He noted further inspiration from Pila Chiles's 1995 book The Secrets and Mysteries of Hawaii: A Call to the Soul. Meanwhile, the origin of the penultimate track, "Stranded Lullaby," stems from a song Hawley wrote for his girlfriend called "Our Lulla-bye" in the early 2000s that was ultimately repurposed for the project.^[10] The official Miracle Musical Facebook page has cited Mario Lanza, Phil Hartman (via Bing Crosby), Hawaii itself, Alf Clausen, and whales as inspirations for the final track, "Dream Sweet in Sea Major." ^[11]

Hawaii Part: II is referenced in several of Joe Hawley's other works, such as his "Crazy F***" ^[12] music video, his song "Bahamian Rap City" ^[13]and the music video for "Your Mother Is a Basketball."^[14]

For the 12th anniversary of Hawaii: Part II, the album was temporarily removed from all digital streaming platforms except Tidal during the 12 days leading up to December 12. ^[15]

A video of Joe Hawley performing "Stranded Lullaby" was posted on the official Miracle Musical website and Vimeo. Titled "Stranded Lullaby (Ghost)," the video featured Hawley performing the track while dressed as a ghost. This specific live performance was later released audio-only on the album Hawaii Part II: Part ii.^[16]

On December 13, 2014, a music video for the song "Isle Unto Thyself"^[17] was released on the Miracle Musical Youtube channel.^[18] The animated video depicts a narrative centered on a whale that falls in love with an octopus. After the two are separated, the whale is pursued by various land animals while attempting to reunite with the octopus; the video concludes with the pair successfully swimming away together.

On December 14, 2014, a music video for the song "Labyrinth"^[19] was released. The video features an animated sequence depicting a man trapped inside a retro, 8-bit Game Boy-esque console. On the same day, an official video game developed by (the presumably now defunct) Wonderfling Studios-based on the music video-was also released.

Also on December 14, an audio cover for the song "Candle on the Water", a cover of a song by Helen Reddy was released.^[20] The track was recorded as a tribute to Diem Brown and Trevelyn Grace Campbell, two Tally Hall fans who had tragically died.

On June 9, 2015, a "Sing-along" video for the song Black Rainbows was uploaded to the facebook page for Miracle Musical. This version of the song has different drums and removes the lead vocals. ^[21]

On June 14, 2015, an official lyric video for the song "The Mind Electric" ^[22] was released on the MIracle Musical YouTube channel. The video prominently features flashing lights. Notably, the audio used in this release features an alternate mix of the track; the forward section of the song is entirely unglitched, omitting the heavy distortion, suttering, and sound collages present on the standard album version.

On September 11, 2015, a music video for "Variations On A Cloud"^[23] was uploaded to YouTube. The video is in memoriam to the victims of the 9/11 terrorist attack. The video splices together videos and pictures of the attack, overlaid with pictures and videos of clouds, in greyscale. The vocalists of the song are represented through colourful puppet characters. Upon its release, the video initially drew confusion from fans who were uncertain whether it was intended as a joke or a genuine memoriam. Comments were later disabled on the video, as well as all other uploads on the Miracle Musical channel, for unknown reasons. On the 4th of June, 2022, YouTube removed the music video for violating its community guidelines, after which public comments were reactivated across the rest of the channel's remaining videos.^[24]

Miracle Musical has never toured or given a public, ticketed live performance as a full band, likely due to the logistical complexity of coordinating the large collective of guest musicians and Tally Hall collaborators. To date, the project's only full-ensemble performance occurred in 2014 at "Seanaroo"-a private Victorian mansion party hosted by music video director Sean Donnelly in Echo Park, Los Angeles. No official footage of this performance has even been publicly released, other than one photo posted to Facebook which has since become lost media. However, individual members of the collective have occasionally performed songs from Hawaii: Part II during independent solo shows and side projects.

Throughout the early 2000s, Tally Hall played "The Mind Electric" under the name "Inside The Mind Of Simon" at the Pingry School. They planned to put this track on "Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum" but ran into budgetary constrictions.^[25]

On June 23, 2016, Joe Hawley performed a solo set at the Sonic Lunch concert series in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Rob Cantor was intended to be there but couldn't make it. During the performance, he played a solo rendition of "Variations on a Cloud," which transitioned into a cover of Van Halen's "Jump" backed by an instrumental track that sampled John Lennon's "Imagine."^[26]

On August 7, 2025, Shane MauX, a featured vocalist and co-writer on Hawaii: Part II, performed "Labyrinth" live at The Blind Pig in Ann Arbor, Michigan. This marked the first time the track was ever performed live in front of an audience. ^[27]