Apr 10 2025
Bird calls, croaking frogs, shimmering vibraphones, bongos, gongs, piano, and mysterious percussion from around the world: few musicians captured the fantasy of mid-century tropical escapism quite like Martin Denny. Born in New York City on April 10, 1911, Denny became the musician most closely associated with exotica, the curious and enormously atmospheric style of instrumental …
May 20 2023
A koto begins to shimmer beneath a wall of brass. Bamboo flutes weave around trumpets and trombones. Japanese drums meet the polished swing of a Hollywood studio orchestra, while familiar American standards suddenly seem to occupy a musical world halfway between Tokyo, Los Angeles, a nightclub, and somebody’s highly imaginative idea of the Far East. …
Jul 27 2021
First recorded by Katherine Dunham & The Singing Gods in 1955 and now rediscovered, here is Nanigo (Cuba) from Drum Rhythms of Haiti Cuba Brazil. Drum Rhythms of Haiti Cuba Brazil by Katherine Dunham & The Singing Gods
Jul 20 2021
Domenique Dumont’s album People on Sunday glows with synths that dance and bounce with both classical brilliance and the mystique of exotica. The Latvian composer created the album as a modern soundtrack to the 1930 German silent film People On Sunday (Menschen am Sonntag/Les Hommes le Dimanche) which portrays everyday life before the dictatorship. As …
Jul 06 2021
This week Hamburg-based DJ Crille released a compilation of fun exotica tunes via the Stag-O-Lee DJ-Set Series. You can have a listen to all 32 tracks on BandCamp. BORN TO HULA! Stag-O-Lee DJ Set Vol. 4 by Stag-O-Lee DJ Sets
