Label: Righteous

Released 2023

Two CD set. Four albums plus bonus tracks from the master of exotica Martin Denny. Mono reproductions of the key albums that launched the space age bachelor pad music trend in the late 1950s. Complete with bird calls, deranged percussion, super cool vibes and Denny's distinctive piano. Including a host of hit records that launched a thousand copyists and ensured that the tiki trend, easy listening and the call of the islands would blossom. Featuring the super expensive (if you seek them out on vinyl) original mono mixes. It was 1957, down in Hawaii; some jazz guys had come in to take up the slack at the bar, playing subtle cool sounds while people drank and talked. It was the Hawaiian Village Hotel in Wakiki. The room was filled with palm trees and bamboo curtains, it was a sanctuary in the madness of the place, a stopping off point for the weary traveller, a refuge from reality. The band did long stints, fuelled by the free bar; the exotic setting slowly infused itself into their music, got under their skin. What started as a few bird calls amid the scraped percussion, shuffling drums, tinkling piano and offset vibes soon became the signature sound of the bar. The "sound effects", created by the players, increased and through chance, misfortune, rum and possibly initially boredom, exotica was born.

Track listing:

1. Quiet Village
   
2. Return to Paradise 03 Hong Kong Blues 04 Busy Port
   
3. Lotus Land
   
4. Similau
   
5. Stone God
   
6. Jungle Flower
   
7. China Nights (⽀那の夜)
   
8. Ah Me Furi (⾬降り)
   
9. Waipo
   
10. Love Dance
    
11. Shoshu Night Serenade
    
12. Island of Dreams
    
13. Japanese Farewell Song
    
14. Singing Bamboos
    
15. The Queen Chant (Li Liu E)
    
16. The Hawaiian Wedding Song (Ke Kali Nei Au)
    
17. Escales
    
18. When First I Love
    
19. August Bells
    
20. Bacoa
    
21. Ebb Tide
    
22. Rush Hour in Hong Kong
    
23. Llama Serenade
    
24. The Enchanted Sea
    
25. Jungle River Boat
    
26. Harbor Lights
    
27. Manila
    
28. Mama Iti E Papa E
    
29. Bamboo Lullaby
    
30. Ringo Oiwake
    
31. Moon of Manakoora
    
32. Limehouse Blues
    
33. Beautiful Kahana
    
34. Caravan
    
35. Congo Train
    
36. Hello, Young Lovers
    
37. Stranger in Paradise
    
38. Hawaiian War Chant
    
39. Coronation
    
40. Sake Rock
    
41. Paradise Found
    
42. Firecracker
    
43. Martinique
    
44. My Little Grass Shack in Kealakekua, Hawaii Cha Cha Cha
    
45. Tune from Rangoon
    
46. Happy Talk
    
47. Pagan Love Song
    
48. Laura
    
49. Quiet Village