LinuxBBQ

I know you have already seen it coming. So here it is.

Actually 'exotica' is a pretty broad definition for a very complex 'genre'. But let's start anyhow and see where it all ends.

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Massive risk of genre overlap here. Exotica is indeed broad. Anything exotica could easily be cross-posted in the electronic, jazz, or even classical music related thread. Heck, even electronica and hip-hop share so much - any hip-hop song made on an Akai MPC is basically electronica. I'd also consider a lot of Miles Davis' work to be more exotica than free/modal-jazz, to be honest.

Anyways, I can't say I know much about Exotica. Whenever people mention the genre, first name I think of is Tak Shindo. I think it's mainly because so much of his stuff reminds me of the BGM we used to get in the old Hanna Barbera and Warner Bros cartoons. This one, for example, always makes me think of The Jetsons, for whatever reason.
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The other one is probably Juan García Esquivel. I part-timed at an art gallery lounge many years ago, and the curator had a lot of Esquivel records. A lot of Esquivel's more "space-age" pieces were popular accapella/remix/re-edit material among some DJ friends, mainly for wine bars and lounges.
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Don't know much new Exotica. Does Shackleton count? =P

If you lived in Singapore in the 90's, you'd hear a lot of Exotica and Space-Age Pop at shopping malls (or at least those malls that didn't play cheap top40 crap), believe it or not. In the west, Exotica was probably the predecessor to chill-out or elevator music, at least until the hipsters decided to switch to the "Belearic" genre, which ironically, wasn't really Belearic at all.

agree with GS about the cross-polination, but we're getting that anyway so fuckit :)
also agree on my lack of Exotica-knowledge. all i can think of is Les Baxter and Xavier Cugat. since they're both awesome, here's some:

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Well, Les Baxter is pretty much essential when it comes to digging exotica sounds.

This was the start of an entire generation of music and style.

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But the man got so many good records in his sack. Here is another one.

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Moving to the jungle-side of exotica, here is lovely one.

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^ cool shit Gekko, love it! thanks!

One of the true masterpieces of Exotica is the Perez Prado's "Voodoo Suite". Whatever the word 'exotica' means, it is in this suite.

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First names that come up when you read about exotica are Les Baxter, Martin Denny and Arthur Lyman. Each one of them deserves more posts, of course, but let's go with a Lyman today.

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Most of Lyman's albums were recorded in the aluminum Kaiser geodesic dome auditorium on the grounds of the Kaiser Hawaiian Village Hotel on Waikiki in Honolulu. This space provided unparalleled acoustics and a natural 3-second reverberation. His recordings also benefited from being recorded on a one-of-kind Ampex 3-track 1/2" tape recorder designed and built by engineer Richard Vaughn. All of Lyman's albums were recorded live, without overdubbing. He recorded after midnight, to avoid the sounds of traffic and tourists, and occasionally you can hear the aluminum dome creaking as it settles in the cool night air. The quality of these recordings became even more evident with the advent of CD reissues, when the digital mastering engineer found he didn't have to do anything to them but transfer the original 3-track stereo masters to digital. The recordings remain state-of-the-art nearly 50 years later.

The Queen, I suppose.

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^ YEEESSSSSSS thats the shit!

Thanks for all these, Gekko. Very uplifting. I'm only familiar with Les Baxter thus far, and a lot of the others you posted have been rather educational. Still, a lot of them sound like OSTs from old cartoons and movies. Like in those scenes where James Bond (Sean Connery or Roger Moore era) is chilling on a beach somewhere.

Some new stuff. A friend sent this to me (vinyl rip) a few months ago. This was the only version youtube had. I'd always just put it in my "Chill-Out" folder, but I think it would fit in here.
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I know what you mean, it took me a lot of reading and exploring to dig these sounds. :)

^^ beautiful sounds.

Another of my top-favorite is Sven Libaek. He did gorgeous sondtracks but has some other works worth of your attention.

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^ yesss, i remember you posting about Sven Libaek in the general musics-thread, and i love his shit, thanks again for pointing me in that direction :)

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Just bumped into this, courtesy of Flash Strap.

Piero Umiliani. I already posted about him, but let's keep him in this topic so it makes more sense.
Best known for his work on soundtracks, but he did a lot of incredible music.

Il Corpo - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KkdpGlMOjds
La Ragazza dalla Pelle di Luna - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xb_Jn71h8pc
Ode To Duke Ellington - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nP9nH_MDDy0
Spanish Mood - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9AUk5ehEhzo

Something old, something good.

The Tropicals:
> Indian Cobra - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_Xvb7wl8yk
> African Popcorn - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRk8hLQEFyY
> Baobab Blues - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0E_monXsy0

I have been expanding my playlists a bit recently, including some Andre Kostelanetz, Percy Faith, Mantovani, Bert Kaempfert, The Living Strings, Henry Mancini, Richard Clayderman, Chet Atkins, et.al. (I think they would count as some fashion of exotica?) Anyhow, I have been greatly enjoying the genre and now include Les Baxter on my list of patron saints. I found this peice, something of a mix between funk(?), bossa nova, and... and I don't know what. Sounds fantastic, though :D

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Les Baxter: done
Arthur Lyman: done
Martin Denny: it's about time!

Denny became popular covering a Les Baxter's classic: Quiet Village.
Actually, the cover became way more popular than the original, so do not feel sorry if you knew Denny's version of Quiet Village.

Other classics:

Forbidden Island
Hypnotique
From Maui With Love
On a Little Street in Singapore

I like Denny, not as much as I love Baxter or Lyman though.

Just a few that I have been enjoying lately :D

Billy Vaughn And His Orchestra – Melody of Love
Mariano Moreno - Whiter Shade of Pale
Enoch Light and His Orchestra – Too Young Cha Cha

And one of my personal favorites, Frank Chacksfield and His Orchestra – Ebb Tide

Great sounds there, thanks Dr.