Pepper with special guest Joe Samba

Before Pepper began building a community in its adopted hometown of Southern California, the group held its very first rehearsal in 1997 in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. All three members were natives of the Big Island, and together, they made a sound that nodded to their tropical roots while also moving forward into new territory. After earning a loyal fanbase in Hawaii, they moved to the mainland, where Pepper quickly became a popular live act. Pepper’s diverse music allowed the group to tour the country with a wide variety of bands, including reggae icons (The Wailers), punk bands (Pennywise), reggae-rockers (311, Slightly Stoopid), and hip-hop legends (Snoop Dogg). Meanwhile, the band’s admiration for DIY-minded groups like NOFX inspired Pepper to launch its own label, LAW Records, which gave the trio complete control over its own music. It also allowed the band to sign other acts, which expanded Pepper’s circle even further.

For an album that features nearly a dozen guests, Local Motion was appropriately recorded with several producers, including Stick Figure, the English Beat’s Wayne Lothian, E.N Young, Henry Fong, Jinco, the Dirty Heads’ Dave Foral, and Jungle Josh. Working with a range of collaborators gave Pepper a chance to experiment with new sounds. The result is an album that pays tribute to the band’s past while also pushing forward — and, perhaps, hinting at what might be in store for the next 20 years. There’s the brass-filled bounce of “Carnaval,” the sexed-up swagger of “Sugar (808 remix),” and the summery grooves of “Warning,” all wrapped into a tracklist whose songs celebrate the bright side of a life well-lived.