So it's 1957-58: As Martin Denny's Exotica plays on the "hi-fi", a little sprite dances around the living room, charming her parents and grandparents with her best-guesstimate Bali Hai moves … That was my first downtempo moment, a fact that wouldn't actually become evident for about 40 years … 

"Quiet Village" now seems equal parts campy and thrilling, but it made the suburbs daring for a while ... Back then, the American style was very bland and buttoned-down, so no doubt people were ready for a change, and, too, as men came back from military service overseas, it created an opening in the zeitgeist for the tiki lounge exotica purveyed in food and drink at Trader Vic's, in movies like South Pacific, and on disc by Martin Denny…. Here's a bit of background from Amazon.com, where I found the track: 

quote:

In 1956, while appearing at steel and shipping magnate Henry Kaiser's Shell Bar -- a club inside the open-air Oahu resort Hawaiian Village, complete with a small pond adjacent to the stage -- the combo realized that the croaking of nearby bullfrogs blended perfectly with their tropical musical approach. On a lark,
percussionist Augie Colón also began imitating bird calls on-stage, much to the delight of the audience. Denny soon began incorporating South Pacific and Far East instruments into his arrangements as well, and by the time he recorded his Liberty Records debut, 1957's Exotica, his singular sound was firmly in place.

The release of Exotica proved perfectly timed -- as the '50s drew to a close, tiki culture was all the rage in mainland America, with Hawaiian shirts a fashion trend and tiki torches a staple of backyard parties. Moreover, the evolution from mono to stereo recording and playback had taken root, and with its bird whistles, jungle calls, and far-flung instruments, the many distinctive components of Denny's sound were ideal for channel separation. Originally composed by Les Baxter, the instrumental "Quiet Village" was a massive success.

What we didn't know back then was how persistent this island-life motif would prove to be for modern listeners. Chief among the practitioners of world music-influenced downtempo, Thievery Corporation adopts for a few of its tunes all the original exotic touches such as the "native drums" (might be tablas, might be bongos, might be something a bit more bass-heavy and driving) along with those bird and monkey calls, and marries them with sophisticated modern electronica -- complex beats, b-lines and great vocals. Sensing a theme (the origins of downtempo and how it grew up) and finding a huge variety in the musical stylings on offer, I wound up with a rich spread of Exotica Redux, including work by: Funky Lowlives, Farid, Praful, Zap Mama, The Warheads, Brazilian Girls, Carl Craig remixing Cesaria Evora, Anna Schaad and more. Yep, the Anna Schaad is mostly just because I can, and because I can hear a little tabla in there, too.

So pull on your surfer shorts or your grass skirt and lei, and join us at the BeatConscious tiki hut for drinks and dancing ... it's your chance to get away without leaving home.

DJ now on air: MadameFLY
Mix name: Exotica Redux
Current track: Chi Che
Current artist: Marzebian
Time into mix: 01:12:54
Listeners: 1

Have catched the whole mix!!! Again a fantastic mix from you! But try to reach more downtempo - listeners in the net! Fantastic work!

This message has been edited. Last edited by: DJ Mojito,