Tiki tones!
In thinking about my Labor Day week visit to Atlanta to attend DragonCon and spend the week with good friend the_firey_water, I thought it'd be nice to squeeze in a visit to Trader Vic's as well as a few tiki shops in town. Of course, in obsessing about visitng Trader Vic's...I loaded my exotica collection into winamp and let it play for the past several hours (I've got about 5 gigs worth of tiki/Polynesian pop/Hawaiian music alone!). Figured I might share some choice favorites with you all. Included is the full show audio from Disney's The Enchanted Tiki Room attraction as well. Not like I expect you to share my enthusiasm/obsession for the tiki culture and its music...but thought someone might take a small interest in listening.
Les Baxter - Pool of Love
I'd be remiss if I didn't start of with the epitomy of tiki music, Mr. Les Baxter. Most people know him for his seminal and oft covered classic, Quiet Village...but I'm going to present another great sounding tiki track.
Eden Ahbez - Full Moon
Great low tempo music with Ahbez's spoken word poetry...very Jim Morrison-esque vibe.
Martin Denny - Hawaiian War Chant
Another father of exotica, Martin Denny toured the world introducing his own musical take on tiki culture. You might recognize this song if you were ever a fan of Disney's Tiki Tiki Tiki Room.
Arthur Lyman - Beautiful Kahana
Arthur Lyman was part of Martin Denny's band and then struck out on his own and made a name for himself with his flamboyant polynesian pop.
Robert Drasnin - Desiree
I had the pleasure of seeing Robert Drasnin live at the 2005 Hukilau convention in Ft. Lauderdale and it was wonderful. He preformed the whole Voodoo album, along with several tracks from his followup (40+ years later), which was the first performance of the tracks for the public.
Milt Raskin - Mileka
A Capital Records house arranger/composer who put out one exotica album of originals named Kapu. The songs all included elements of Baxter's, Denny's and Lyman's style of exotica.
Mel Peterson - The Hukilau Song
From a Hula song compilation, this is a song that was written back in 1948 by Jack Owens for a church fundraiser event and was made famous by Don Ho.
Frankie Carle - Bali Ha'i
A popular bandleader and pianist in the late 40's/early 50's, Carle does a wonderful piano-centric cover of this exotica standard.
Ferrante & Teicher - Adventures in Paradise
Piano playing duo and composers, they put out a wonderful exotica album, Pianos in Paradise.
Duke Kamoku & His Islanders - Hawaii Calls
Calm renditions of a hapa haole favorite with seashore sounds in the background. Plenty of steel guitar and ukulele to please the ears!
Don Tiki - Polyamore
Present day purveyor of Polynesian pop sounds, Don Tiki presents upbeat lively exotica.
Hal Aloma and his Orchestra - Lovely Hula Hands
Another great instrumental of a hapa haole classic.
Combustible Edison - Junglero
Modern day lounge act (a group that helped revived the lounge scene) with their take on a classic exotica track.
The Enchanted Tiki Room original full show audio (17:35 in length total)
Disneyland's Enchanted Tiki Room, built in 1963, was the first attraction to feature audio animatronics...150 different animatronic items in fact! It was built at the height of the Polynesian pop culture era. The show included a few original songs written by the Sherman brothers and classic Hawaiian chants. Martin Denny and Bud Tutmarc tunes played in the queue line.
Les Baxter - Pool of Love
I'd be remiss if I didn't start of with the epitomy of tiki music, Mr. Les Baxter. Most people know him for his seminal and oft covered classic, Quiet Village...but I'm going to present another great sounding tiki track.
Eden Ahbez - Full Moon
Great low tempo music with Ahbez's spoken word poetry...very Jim Morrison-esque vibe.
Martin Denny - Hawaiian War Chant
Another father of exotica, Martin Denny toured the world introducing his own musical take on tiki culture. You might recognize this song if you were ever a fan of Disney's Tiki Tiki Tiki Room.
Arthur Lyman - Beautiful Kahana
Arthur Lyman was part of Martin Denny's band and then struck out on his own and made a name for himself with his flamboyant polynesian pop.
Robert Drasnin - Desiree
I had the pleasure of seeing Robert Drasnin live at the 2005 Hukilau convention in Ft. Lauderdale and it was wonderful. He preformed the whole Voodoo album, along with several tracks from his followup (40+ years later), which was the first performance of the tracks for the public.
Milt Raskin - Mileka
A Capital Records house arranger/composer who put out one exotica album of originals named Kapu. The songs all included elements of Baxter's, Denny's and Lyman's style of exotica.
Mel Peterson - The Hukilau Song
From a Hula song compilation, this is a song that was written back in 1948 by Jack Owens for a church fundraiser event and was made famous by Don Ho.
Frankie Carle - Bali Ha'i
A popular bandleader and pianist in the late 40's/early 50's, Carle does a wonderful piano-centric cover of this exotica standard.
Ferrante & Teicher - Adventures in Paradise
Piano playing duo and composers, they put out a wonderful exotica album, Pianos in Paradise.
Duke Kamoku & His Islanders - Hawaii Calls
Calm renditions of a hapa haole favorite with seashore sounds in the background. Plenty of steel guitar and ukulele to please the ears!
Don Tiki - Polyamore
Present day purveyor of Polynesian pop sounds, Don Tiki presents upbeat lively exotica.
Hal Aloma and his Orchestra - Lovely Hula Hands
Another great instrumental of a hapa haole classic.
Combustible Edison - Junglero
Modern day lounge act (a group that helped revived the lounge scene) with their take on a classic exotica track.
The Enchanted Tiki Room original full show audio (17:35 in length total)
Disneyland's Enchanted Tiki Room, built in 1963, was the first attraction to feature audio animatronics...150 different animatronic items in fact! It was built at the height of the Polynesian pop culture era. The show included a few original songs written by the Sherman brothers and classic Hawaiian chants. Martin Denny and Bud Tutmarc tunes played in the queue line.