Post #515072 by Jeff Central on Thu, Mar 4, 2010 1:28 PM

Overall a pretty nice article that touches the surface of Exotica. But he definitely needs to do a little more research and the statements below were a little unsettling..........

Though there have been a few aborted attempts at reviving it by groups like Pink Martini, Skip Heller, and Combustible Edison, true-blue fans of exotica will always prefer the more authentic sounds of the past to any modern take on the genre.

I do believe that most people prefer the "old school" Exotica that was created during the day. It has a certain innocence to it. I don’t believe that the bands mentioned above were attempting to revive it though. More likely they were creating their own sound while paying homage to musicians that gave them inspiration. Skip Heller produced the reissues of Robert Drasnin’s Voodoo and the Lost Episodes of Les Baxter for the very same reason. He wasn’t looking to get rich but was more interested in making this music available for other people to enjoy.

Well, the name should be a good tip-off, for one thing. The word “exotica” had been around since 1955, but Martin Denny, an upstart bandleader who took the genre by storm, had the audacity to claim the name of the whole genre for his debut album.

Martin Denny did not have the audacity to name the whole genre for his debut album. There was no genre. Furthermore Exotica was a word coined by Simon Waronker specifically for Martin Denny’s first album. I doubt if Marty had anything to do with it.

Esquivel took the genre to a new level, but for that very reason, he’s better approached after you’ve familiarized yourself with the basics.

Esquivel took recording technologies to a new level but not Exotica. In fact most of Esquivel’s music had more to do with creative arrangements, inventive recording techniques and stereo innovation than anything else. I’m glad he was mentioned but Esquivel definitely belongs in the Space Age Bachelor Pad category.

For one thing, avoid almost all the modern revivalist practitioners of exotica. They mean well enough, and some of them even have decent songwriting chops and technical prowess to go with their retro tendencies, but what really sinks them is a matter of economics. The original exotica movement took place in an era when dancing was a regular nightly activity, and the music wasn’t recorded, but played by big bands and orchestras. This isn’t fiscally sound anymore, and few bands can afford to perform weekly with 24 trained musicians; as a result, they simply can’t replicate the huge, lush sound of Denny, Baxter, and their ilk. They have to settle for trying to ape that sound with electronics, and it simply doesn’t work.

I have a LOT of problems with these statements. First, the huge lush sound of Martin Denny, please. Martin Denny’s band was always a group combo. Les Baxter’s orchestra was primarily recorded in the studio. He didn’t give a rat’s ass about playing this music live and on those extremely rare occasions when he did it was mostly pop orchestral hits of the day not Exotica. Robert Drasnin has told me the same thing that this music was never meant to be played live, at least where large orchestrations are concerned. Retro tendencies, obviously this guy has never heard of Waitiki. I don’t believe for a second this is why Randy chose to play this particular brand of music. It’s in his blood. Waitiki is producing some of the best modern day Exotica music I have ever heard. The Stolen Idols are another band that comes to mind where Exotica music is more than just a retro tendency. Also, there is some extremely creative music that is generated completely by electronic means. Kava Kon anyone? There are other bands as well but I think I’ve made my point.

There are plenty of lesser lights in the exotica firmament, from Gene Rains to Robert Drasnin, but they should come long after you’ve familiarized yourself with the best of the best.

I’m sorry but the works of Gene Rains and Robert Drasnin are not lesser lights. These guys produced some of the best Exotica music ever recorded. As my friend James Teitlebaum pointed out “Drasnin raised the bar when it came to recording an all original Exotica masterpiece.”

And you’ll eventually want to give yourself a taste of the genuinely weird Korla Pandit, the mysterious Grandfather Of Exotica, but his stuff is so unusual that you’d no more want to start with it than you’d want to study jazz by starting with Sun Ra.

What’s so unusual about Korla Pandit? He played a Hammond B3 and a piano. I think the author has turban envy.

Finally, a warning: With the possible exception of Arthur Lyman, exotica isn’t a musical genre in which being a completist is rewarding. Baxter, Denny, and all the big names went on to do dozens of other albums, most of which had nothing to do with exotica, and lots of which are dreadfully boring Arthur Murray dance records, tedious easy-listening pop, or meandering instrumental covers of then-popular vocal hits. It’s the kind of stuff that WKRP played before Travis took over as program director, and should be avoided at all costs.

I beg to differ here and won’t even get into it.

Half the fun is discovering this music and I have been rewarded many times!

Cheers and Mahalo,
Jeff