Exotica
Dreamy Island Fantasy Lounge, found among the dust-laden wall decorations at a retro tiki bar (ACPM-026)
When was the last time you went to a tiki bar? Darkened corners with dusty wall decorations, more technicolor cocktails than you can possibly try, mermaid mugs and tiny umbrellas, probably a fish tank behind the bar. It may sound outdated, and maybe it is… one person’s “old” is another’s “retro revival,” after all.
But there’s something irresistibly charming about a good tiki experience, acting like a time machine to a pre-internet era when all people could do was dream about island getaways.
This is the soundtrack for those dreams and drinks.
Exotica (ACPM-026) is a decisively whimsical spin on the lounge genre that originally found an audience in the 1950s. Fueled by fantasy and imagination, the sounds of organ, vibraphone, bongos, alto flutes, and ethereal non-lyrical vocals summon a mysterious sound that transports listeners to those distant fictional vacations.
Mellow and carefree tracks like “Diving At Rapa Nui Reef” make for a fitting accompaniment to vintage travel adverts and archival underwater documentary footage. It’s not hard to imagine colorful fish and wildlife swimming around a snorkeling tourist in impossibly blue waters.
“Ritual Of The Fire Stone” is a sensual dance with a playful and whimsical flair. It’s tracks like this that feed into feelings of romance and curious beauty. Throughout the record, you’ll also hear bits of trombone playing off the jazz flute melodies as light hand percussion and piano backdrops create a hypnotic flow.
The scenes scored on Exotica are exclusively for the paradise in your mind with no firm ties to any geographic or cultural reality, and were brought to life by composer Sean Wolcott (who also created Psych Rock on Analog Champion.)
This magical cousin of mid-century jazz and lounge music is a great source for music supervisors searching for an archival or vintage feel to accompany Mad-Men-era travel agents, scuba diving, sun drenched beaches, or lush island footage. But if this genre teaches us anything, it’s to not limit your imagination. Irreverent animation/cartoons or British spy parodies could also find the right needledrop within.
At the very least, it’d be a picturesque soundtrack for another round of Mai Tais.
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