Exotica by Bam Bam

I haven't really found anything else exactly like this, so I thought I'd share. From time to time, when the mood strikes (i.e. when I'm bored and have a song stuck in my head) I'll lay down a rough Acapella mix of a song. Not too long ago, that song was Quiet Village.

I ended up with six tracks of vocals loosely based on Baxter's originally-published piano score. Liberties were taken with some of the chords, mostly by happy accident.

https://soundcloud.com/electrospinner/quiet-village-les-baxter-1951

If there are any other similar exotica covers out there I would be really curious to hear them.

[ Edited by: Bam Bam 2017-05-31 19:23 ]

Very cool.

Nice! All the vocal tracks are yours? You should have made a video of you singing all the parts :lol:

Thank you! And yes, all the tracks are me overdubbed. It's the only effective way of getting that music out of my head. I've seen those multitracking videos, but I'm not quite photogenic enough to pull that off.

Something else Exotica-/Lounge-based I recently finished further up that page - an old-school remix of Harlem Nocturne, based on a rather exotic recording by Doc Severinsen from '68:

https://soundcloud.com/electrospinner/harlem-nocturne-remix

New acapella track! This time it's Jungle Flower, another piece from Ritual of the Savage.

https://soundcloud.com/electrospinner/jungle-flower-les-baxter-1951

Figured I should keep everything in one thread.

Built myself a steel guitar, and have been learning how to use it. In the process I've made some more exotic recordings:

Call of the Jungle

Birds of Paradise

Night Bazaar

Also did some covers of Hawaiian tunes:

The Moon of Manakoora

Ke Kali Nei Au

New track:

Ceremonial Drum Dance

Silk Road Caravan

You have been busy Bam! All very nice. Personally I like the acapella songs better than the steel guitar just because it's unique.

Finally getting back to recording again. Tried my hand at another Exotica standard, albeit in a more traditional arrangement.

Tabou

Island Delirium

I like all of your stuff, but I do agree with Mike: I really love your a cappella covers. Not only are they unique, but I think they really capture that "other-worldliness" of exotica.

Thanks, Hamo! I've got some more Baxter-based acapellas in the works, coming soon!

As promised:

Simba

Nice!

Can you make these available for download?

Ah! I didn't realize until now that downloads are disabled from Soundcloud if you don't have an account. Here's a link to a Mediafire folder with the various Exotica tracks:

http://www.mediafire.com/folder/1rpot4dzhpfqv/Exotica

Also, new acapella track:

The Left Arm of Buddha

Thanks for making your stuff available for download! I’m very happy to add your a cappella tracks to my library (and hope for more to come).

Hey, Bam Bam, I must have artwork for my digital music, so I slapped together this “album cover” from a picture of one of your carvings and would like to offer it for others to use.

Oh, cool! Thank you!

In the process of restoring an early 50's lap steel much in need of TLC, and it's back to the point of being playable. Featured it between verses on a cut of E Huli Ho'i Mai.

Truth be told, it was the finish that sealed the deal for me...

Another cut for those who don't mind mangled Hawaiian lyrics.

He Aloha No O Honolulu

Again, using the Hilo Hawaiians chart as a guide for this one. Featuring the DIY Ipu Heke from this thread.

Holy crap, has it already been a year and half since I added to this library?

New track, in honor of Tiki Central's 20th birthday! Stranger In Paradise, in the vein of the Martin Denny & Arthur Lyman recordings. Featuring my prototype Boo-Bam, which happily happens to be tuned in the same key as the song (F).

Another great track, Bam Bam. Thanks for sharing. I've downloaded it and added it to your "album" in my collection.

Thank you, Hamo!

For anyone curious, here's a behind-the-scenes shot of my "studio" for this track: the family dining room. The reflective floors let the drums speak their tones more clearly when raised off the surface a bit by the rails. Right to left: prototype Boo-Bam, Zim-Gar Requinto, and vintage badge-less mini-conga. The "ship's horn" is an antique Melodia organ pipe I bought ages ago. I told myself to hang on to it, since I would certainly find a use for it someday - and I did!

In case anyone wants an HQ copy of the latest track:

Stranger In Paradise

Felt the need to record some soothing music after this past week. Here's a piano solo rendition of Jungle Flower.

HQ Download Here.

Stuck inside and nothing to do? Why not rope the rest of the family into recording some Exotica?

Jungle Cat - featuring my parents on conga, guiro, and bird calls.

HQ download HERE.

Wow, two whole years. What a ride it's been! During quarantine I further refined my exotica projects, now officially dubbed "Weekend Exotica." Below are links to some videos I produced during our collective down-time. I will have HQ audio links available soon for those who wish to download them.

Lotus Land - Video

At The Barefoot Bar - Video

Jungle Cat - Video

Orchid Lei - Video

Bangkok Cock Fight - Video

Additionally, there may be big news brewing as it relates to bringing this into the realm of Live Performance - stay tuned!

This is really really cool--from a fellow musician and home recording enthusiast, I salute you sir. Nice work.

[ Edited by tikibhoy on 2022-04-07 10:01:15 ]

Welcome back, Bam Bam. Glad to see you're still making exotica. I came back a week ago and downloaded a few more previously posted tracks, so I'll be looking forward to the new stuff.

"I will have HQ audio links available soon for those who wish to download them." Please do!

These are pro quality. Should be a proper album release.

I really enjoy your takes on these. They make me smile in the good way. Aloha and mahalo.

Really impressive.

First time visiting this thread. Beautiful work. Is there a central place to buy/download all your tracks?

Thank you for all the kind words, guys. Im so glad you are enjoyng these efforts. I apologize for not getting links up for the new tracks just yet. My home desktop and main mixing and editing computer had the cpu fan die on me, and I haven't had a chance to swap it out yet. Rest assured, as soon as the old gal is no longer in danger of burning up her processor I'll get those mixes uploaded.

In the mean time, here's an impromptu session with the parents on percussion (Mom on bongos, Dad on cowbell) from this afternoon to tide you over: Sophisticated Savage

I hadn't considered something like a Bandcamp account until now. I guess I've finally got enough of these under my belt that it might be worthwile.

[ Edited by Bam Bam on 2022-06-01 13:18:16 ]

Finally got a chance to tweak the final mixes a bit, since mastering for FB video is very different from what you want in a general stereo mix.

Download MP3: Bangkok Cock Fight

Edit: REALLY, Mediafire is censoring words in filenames now? How the mighty have fallen...

[ Edited by Bam Bam on 2022-06-14 13:28:07 ]

Another cool track. Thanks

Aloha!

Here are a few more of my lockdown-era recordings, remastered with fresh mixes.

Lotus Land

Jungle Cat

Orchid Lei

Well, I did tease a couple months ago that a live performance was in the works. Here is a link to the scheduled livestream for the Pahu Grunts Orchestra, live, August 6 at 7PM eastern. A 6-piece combo presenting some of our favorite Exotica standards. I hope you can join us, at least, virtually!

Most Excellent! Thanks for the Alert (and for Everything, for that matter)! I'm really looking forward to it.

I may even create a Facebook Account for this.

Very Nice!!! Sorry about the Technical Difficulties, but the overall sound was quite good. I look forward to future adventures!

Thanks Vic! That was so frustrating to have the PA blow just as we were getting started after two hours of setup... We got through it though, and in the end the mix on the livestream was not bad!

Here's a direct link in case anyone missed the show over the weekend!

[ Edited by Bam Bam on 2022-08-07 23:19:42 ]

A couple bonus cuts from this past weekend!

The group was asked by Wesley UMC to provide some music before and after the Sunday morning church service. Featuring Wesley's esteemed organist in place of our vibes player, who could not be there that morning. George Wright, eat your heart out!

Sophisticated Savage

Quiet Village

Aloha!

Another quick update from last weekend's concert. Considering the audio problems we had during the show/stream, and after listening back to the recording of our last rehearsal, I decided to share some of it so you can get an idea of what we would have sounded like, had conditions been ideal. A glimpse of what goes into making this genre we love. These are a bit unpolished, since some of the group was effectively sight reading, but I think they'll still put a bright spot in your day.

Ebb Tide

Harbor Lights

Invitation

Lotus Land

Quiet Village

Shangri-La

Sophisticated Savage

Mahalo!

[ Edited by Bam Bam on 2022-08-13 19:15:12 ]