We like almost everything, That's our problem.
The Exotica group are fans and collectors of weird and unusual music from the early LP era forward. The list takes its name from the title of jungle-exotica pioneer Martin Denny's seminal album.We started out in 1994 as "The Exotica Mailing List" (Look). And here's the old FAQ last updated in 1999: (Read)
The Space Page Pop page was created by List member Brad :"Exotica, Lounge, Cocktail, Incredibly Strange and Easy Listening and other Cool Music"
Remember the "Ultra Lounge" Series" Series?
If you like Instrumentals, Vocals, Jazz, Swing, Soul, R&B, Blues. Classical?
You' re open minded. Still looking for new and interesting music? Welcome.
We still like and talk about classic Exotica . But also consider it an umbrella term, and delight when musical genres are merged, or infected with new "exotic" or different elements. Martin Denny's story is a classic example. A jazz musician moves to the newly minted state of Hawaii. To entertain tourists in the new large hotels. Before you know it he's adding Eastern and Polynesian instruments to the group with bird calls! That's interesting.
We still discuss unusual music, primarily from the 1950s and 1960s. As the network has grown so have the subjects. If you collect records, cool sleeve designs, crate digging for samples, frequent thrift stores. Wonder “what kind of music were they playing in that vodka commercial” and start searching the internet looking for the tune. This place is for you. Tell us what you found and why you liked it. If you have a “guilty pleasure” you' re confessional awaits. It’s not so guilty.
We still want to hear about:
• Incredibly Strange Music, Outside Music and Kitch.
• Tiki, Polynesian.
• Space Age Bachelor Pad Music, Jet Set Pop, Now Sound, Cocktail Music, Lounge.
• Enoch Light Command, Stereo Action and other Hi-FI records.
• Moog, Electronic, Theremin, Sitar.
• Bongos, Beatnick, Spoken Word and Surf.
• Library-production music, Industry promotional LP's.
• Mood, Elevator, Easy-listening, Sleazy listening. Vocal Groups: Edgy to syrupy.
• Latin, Bossa Nova, Cha-cha, Samba, Salsa and Merengue records.
• Brazil, Tango, Flamenco along with the exciting noveau electronic counterparts like tango fusion.
• Chillout, Lounge and Dub, Percussion, Mashups.
• Trip-hop, Downtempo, NuJazz, Trance.
• Soundtracks. The more obscure the better, Spy/Crime, German, Italian, Gallo, Bollywood, Kollywood and Tollywood!
Primary artists can include: Juan Garcia Esquivel, Mr. Ho's Orchestrotica , Les Baxter, Martin Denny, Henri Mancini, Perez Prado, Xavier Cugat, Ennio Morricone, Herb Albert and the Tijuana Brass, Serge Gainsborough, Ken Nordine, Jean-Jacques Perrey, Anita Kerr Singers, Bert Kaempfert, Yma Sumac, Lux Interior and Poison Ivy, Tipsy, Thievery Corporation, Ursula 1000, Gotan Project.Throw it in the pot and STIR! It’s all good.
Got a DJ gig, podcast, radio show, Blog? Promoting something? Tell us. Playlists welcomed.
Not to be mean but "your open minded" should be "you're"
ReplyDeleteThanks, fixed it. Content comments are welcomed ya all.
Delete"I want to just make sure everybody agrees with where we're going, including all of our existing group members"
ReplyDeleteSo although I carried the Exotica Mailing List into Facebook don't really consider it mine. It’s everyone's.
Part of the picture might be the modern landscape of Facebook and how people are interacting with technology?
The group should be as wide ranging as its origins and allow some expansions. As long as it does not go into pop or rap.
It should be an open CASBAH where people can post there interests and members, musicians, writers and music presenters can find people interested in their passion projects.
How about some history?
The List was started by Lazlo http://www.studio-nibble.com/lists/ he might have been an employee of Xmission.
There it is: at the above dropped site on the Xmission server!
Exotica - Strange and Unusual music. With a link to the “[ pre-2002 archive ]”
He must have been inspired by the Re/Search: Incredibly Strange Music, Vol. 1 and 2. Shortly thereafter the Ultra-lounge Capital Compilations came out with the Lounge and Swing revival and a myriad of other compilations.
Programs like the “Retro Cocktail Hour”, “Cool and Strange Music Magazine”, The now lost Basic-Hip site and Jack Diamond’s program and store further defined the wide range.
Before leaving the Internet Basic-Hip posted all his rips, one a day for 500 days. That’s a great touchstone. So many passion projects are gone…
Part of the Re/Search: Incredibly Strange Music was Lux and Ivory and their quest for retro culture. The “lounge music” revival was a backlash by the punk culture? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RE/Search
The Millionaire from Combustible Edison was hired to great Luxuriamusic and that had a big influence on the List. Introducing Trip-Hop and Remixes, French Pop and Serge Gainsborough.
Exotica is only part of the mix, but like the Ultra lounge its wide with elements from the books and Dana’s magazine.
The group works fine as a wide ranging social media group.
ReplyDeleteThe problem is Facebook and its ability to make a group in 3 minutes. When people go to Yahoo, Amazon or Kayak they don’t think they are going to buy a canoe or find a map in South America… So I’m going to need to make it clear it’s a placeholder for a wider range.
Going back to the expanded description from 1994 sounds
about right.
If people want strictly Exotica there are 2 other associated Facebook pages. (And they should be merged) All related specialty groups are encouraged to link up. (I invited Shano to moderate the group years ago, but he went and created the “classsics” site)
Out group is large and successful because people don’t want to be boxed into one ridged genrea. And they don’t want to be consumed with posts from 50 different groups they have to join on Facebook.
It’s like the “new section at the Library. You don’t have to go into the stacks and dig dig dig…..They are going to get a hit from people knowledgeable about all kinds of music from Jazz to Classical who are not interested in the current rock, fake country, rap.
So the “about” section can be improved. But the bullet points are what made the old List so much fun and what is appreciated about the Facebook incarnation.
Great stuff guys and gals, keep it moving forward! See you on FB
ReplyDeleteThanks for creating this group. I waited 40 years for this. I own both books about "Incredibly Strange Music" (Re/Search publications) and proposed to post the list of people interviewed in the books. Here is Volume One : The Cramps Gil Ray Mike Wilkins Norton Records Eartha Kitt Mary Ricci Gershon Kingsley Jean-Jacques Perrey Mickey Mc Gowan Lynn Peril Phantom Syrfers/Untamed Youth Martin Denny Lypsinka Amok Books Illustrations are B&W At the end there are Quotations from record covers and "Sources" for the book
ReplyDeleteTomorrow Vol. Two
Hi to all
Phil Gosez
Thanks to member Phil Gosez:
ReplyDeleteHere are the people interviewed in Vol 1 of the "Incredibly Strange Music" book :
The Cramps
Gil Ray
Mike Wilkins
Norton Records
Eartha Kitt
Mary Ricci
Gershon Kingsley
Jean-Jacques Perrey
Mickey Mc Gowan
Lynn Peril
Phantom Surfers/Untamed Youth
Martin Denny
Lypsinka
Amok books
Here is the list of people interviewed in Vol.2
JELLO BIAFRA
RUSTY WARREN
CHRIS LONG
KEN NORDINE
CANDI STRECKER
KEN SITZ
KORLA PANDIT
DEAN SANTOMIERI
ROBERT MOOG
REV. WARREN DEBENHAM
JUAN GARCIA ESQUIVEL
YMA SUMAC
O.RODGER HARRIS
ELISABETH WALDO
IAN HARTLEY
AL ENNIS
BEBE BARRON + QUOTATIONS !
Here comes another proof reader... Not sure if "infected" is the word you want (especially these days!) "Infused" might be a better choice. "Your confessional awaits" rather than "You're." Also Henry Mancini rather than Henri, and Herb Alpert rather than Albert.
ReplyDeleteThat said, I truly appreciate the broad viewpoint of your group, allowing for many kinds of music to be included, and that one person's "crap" may be another's "classic." Thanks.
Here the "about" on Facebook" since at least April 2021:
ReplyDeletehttps://the-exotica-group.blogspot.com/p/about.html
Established 05 May 1994 as the "Exotica Mailing List" we are the FIRST internet forum created for people interested in unusual music, primarily that from the 1950s and 1960s.
Jack Diamond , one of our 1st DJ’s to solidify this cobbled genre described it as “Pop instrumental music from the 50’s and beyond, including TV and Film Soundtracks, Beatnik and Private Eye Jazz, Exotica, and a collage of sounds from out of space.”
The list takes its name from the title of jungle-exotica pioneer Martin Denny's seminal album. But "we like almost everything, that's our problem".
We still like and talk about classic Exotica . But also consider it an umbrella term, and delight when musical genres are merged, or infected with new “exotic” or different elements.
On Facebook since Jan 15, 2011
here is the Facebook "About" added in 2021.
ReplyDeleteBlog: https://the-exotica-group.blogspot.com/
Exotica On Radio and Online: https://the-exotica-group.blogspot.com/p/exotica-on-radio-and-online.html
Exotica & Other Cool Unusual Music – What is Exotica? What is Other Cool Unusual Music?
Exotica – objects considered interesting because they are out of the ordinary, especially because they originated in a distant foreign country. In the 1950’s, most North Americans had only an inkling of what was beyond the Pacific and Atlantic shores, save for the servicemen and women who traveled during war and peacetime to lush, tropical destinations.
Let’s replicate it. Let’s bring the islands, soft sea breezes and warm nights home through music. Exotica, the music genre, was the best interpretation of these idyllic environments made popular by Les Baxter, Martin Denny and a host of composers and arrangers in the late 50’s. They took jazz & pop and mixed it with strange slow rhythms, accents and instrumentation. And they make it sexy.
This group began life as a gathering of souls who still found excitement in this now near forgotten musical retreat. Made up of record collectors, crate divers and those who re-discovered these discs, the focus of music widened to other forgotten RPM realms:
Moog, Beatnik, Bongo, Surf – Tiki, Sufi, Tango, Turk
No-Hit Howlers, High Weirdness in Japan, Cover Version Foulers, Funk Music from Iran
Cocktail, Muzak, Latin & Sitars
Jet Set Pop, Bouzouki & No-Stars
Plus Spoken Word, Outsider, Strange Soundtracks & other Audio Ephemera
Get the picture? We celebrate recorded music. The lost, the forgotten, the fallen & the never stood up in the first place.
Welcome friend. Join in. Ask questions. Comment. Engage. And above all, listen to a new world.
On Facebook since Jan 15, 2011.
Established 05 May 1994 as the "Exotica Mailing List"