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good luau party music?

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Hey guys I need some help. I am planning a tiki/luau themed pool party for the 4th of July, and I need some advice/ideas on some good music playlists that goes with the theme. Not all of the guests are "tikiphiles", so I don't want to go too exotic, yet I still want that feel. Doing Kahlua pig, some punches, and a bunch of different recipes i found on the tiki food thread, so I'm kinda going all out on this. Any input would be a big help! Mahalo! :)!

M

I think all the Tikiyaki Orchestra CDs are a perfect soundtrack for that kind of situation, because it's not too weird or strange and a lovely introduction to exotica for non-tikiphiles listeners.

Thanks! I'll check those out

LilTikiChef! Good to hear from you :)
Exotica is very cool for setting a relaxed mood but I don't think anyone outside of Tiki Central associates it with a Luau. You might was to add in some Don Ho, Izzy, Keali'i Reichel, maybe some Tahitian Drums.

Thanks for the suggestions MadDogMike!

H

Ditto to Hapa, Iz and Tikiyaki Orchestra!

If you're mixing it up with tiki folks and non-tiki folks, here are a few other suggestions:

Vintage/Retro vibe:

"You're at a Luau Now" - Mel Peterson
"Rock-a-Hula Baby" - Elvis
"One Paddle Two Paddle - The Surfers
"Hawaiian War Chant" - The Percussion All-Stars
Almost any good surf music, like "Ka'anapali Road Trip" - The Fabulous Po Boys, etc.

Tahitian/Polynesian contemporary:

"Pate Pate" - Te Vaka (actually, check out any upbeat stuff by them - they also have some GREAT drumming solos)
"Tahiti Tahiti" - Na Wai Ho'olulu O Ke Anuenue

Hawaiian:

"It's Aloha Friday (No Work 'til Monday) - Kimo Kahoano and Paul Natto OR Nathan Aweau's version
"E Komo Mai" - Barefoot Natives
"Ulili e" - Gabby Pahinui
"A-L-O-H-A" - The Mana'o Company
"Kalapana Way" - Quino

Maybe throw in some Jawaiian by Fiji or Marty Dread or the like if you like that reggae vibe.

These are not meant to be tikiphile purist tunes, of course, but for a mixed group it's nice to have a little something for everyone.

Sounds like it'll be a fun time! Enjoy!

BB

Putting together a tiki/luau themed office lunch on Monday and I decided we could use a mood music mixtape for the event. I tried to fill most of the time on a standard CD. I started out with a lot of exotica, but with tweaking it turned into mostly swinging hapa-haole tunes! Consideration was given to transitions between tracks, not so much artist separation. Here's the order:

Les Baxter - Quiet Village
Martin Denny - Singing Bamboo
The Polynesians - At The Bamboo Bar
The Hawaiian Islanders - My Little Grass Shack
Sonny Kamakele and the Surf Serenaders - E Huli Makou
The Pacific Serenaders - Hukilau
Gabby Pahinui - Ulili E
Hawaiians Serenaders - Pagan Love Song
Kamuela and his South Sea Islanders - The Cockeyed Mayor of Kaunakakai
Benny Kalama and his Hawaiian Village Serenaders - Hoe-Hoe
John Lukela - Nani Wale Na Hala
Benny Kalama and his Hawaiian Village Serenaders - Nani Waimea
Kamuela And His South Sea Islanders - Wiki, Wiki Mai
The Polynesians - Lovely Tahiti
The Pacific Serenaders - Little Brown Girl
Johnny Pineapple And His Orchestra - Paradise Isle
Les Baxter - Simba
Matin Denny - Hawaiian Wedding Song
Hui Ohana - Nani Waimea
Sonny Kamahele and The Surf Serenaders - Lovely Hula Hands
Hilo Hawaiians - He Aloha No O Honolulu
Malekowa & The Trade Winds - Sweet Leilani
The Polynesians - Orchid Lei
Pua Almeida - On The Beach At Waikiki
The Kontikis - Lei-Ona
Johnny Pineapple And His Orchestra - Maui Chant
Johnny Pineapple And His Orchestra - Hilo March
Hilo Hawaiians - Nani Waialeale
Hawaiians Serenaders - Aloha Oe

DL link here: https://www.mediafire.com/file/uk68ln1tifbmdja/Luau_Mixtape.mp3/file

EDIT: Fixed an error in the playlist, and improved the balance in a couple of the cuts.

[ Edited by: Bam Bam 2019-10-23 05:08 ]

You could do a lot worse than simply playing APE's album Jungle Gems.

That's a really solid playlist, Bam Bam. That would be perfect for the setting! That Johnny Pineapple record in particular is excellent, such a great, upbeat album.

M
MrFab posted on Tue, Dec 3, 2019 1:13 PM

Ah durn Bam Bam, your mix is off-line. Can you put it up elsewhere, pretty please?

Pages: 1 10 replies