Post #522095 by tiki mick on Mon, Apr 5, 2010 8:09 AM

On 2010-04-04 21:36, MadDogMike wrote:
I don't want to embarass myself with my ignorance, but were do songs like "Girl from Ipanema" fit in? Bossa Nova was popular (1958-63) during the golden Tiki age and I imagine it played often at home tiki bars. I know enough about music to realize it's quite dissimilar to Exotica; different instrumentation, different beat, vocals vs instrumental - but it still has the vibe of tropical nights, white beaches, and exotic locations (and it's NOT Caribbean :) )

Well...

it's practically my favorite type of music. The sentiment is there, except in the one major way it differs from Exotica/Tiki...the instrumentation, sense of whimsy, and vague tropical location. With most Exotica, you can rarely pinpoint an exact country or island it is supposed to be from...it's vaguely hawaiian, or vaguely African, etc. With Bossa Nova, you automatically know it from Brazil. Then, the music is very serious and mainly concerned with romantic themes. In the instrumentation, bossa nova also has a standard set of instruments that they mostly use that is very different to that found in exotica.

But, where it is similar is that like most of the tiki music (except surf tiki and rockabilly tiki), the music is easy listening, and that's the section it would have been found in the record stores of yesteryear.

I actually make a stronger connection with some of the early new age bands and exotica. I feel that was the direct descendent style. Take the band "Shadowfax", for example.

Designed for the modern bachelor pad, albeit with a yuppy bent, Shadowfax proudly listed every single world percussion instrument they used on thier albums. Boobams, devil chasers, gongs, ect...the liner notes reads like an Arthur Lyman album.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5AMyjWL81_c&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Td1D3hQyGUs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6G6B4hkubU&feature=related