exotica Archive
12 Mar 2026
A conversation with Tikiyaki Orchestra’s Jim Bacchi
Jim Bacchi is the founder and leader of exotica ensemble the Tikiyaki Orchestra. As with my Randy Wong conversation, I interviewed Bacchi in connection with a feature I wrote for […]
11 Mar 2026
A Conversation with Waitiki 7’s Randy Wong (Part 2 of 2)
Continued from Part One… From my perspective as a listener, exotica is a quintessentially American form because it plunders from a lot of different things. And what could be more […]
10 Mar 2026
A Conversation with Waitiki 7’s Randy Wong (Part 1 of 2)
Randy Wong is the founder and leader of exotica ensemble the Waitiki 7. The group recently released two new albums: Caves of the Sea and Enchantment Under the Kiawe Tree. […]
09 Mar 2026
Exotica’s Enduring Appeal
A shorter version of this featured appeared previously in SPIN. One of the most intriguing and unexpected current-day musical phenomena is the enduring popularity of exotica, a style of music […]
10 Dec 2024
Album Review: Cal Tjader – Huracán
Cal Tjader was a prime exponent of the Latin jazz scene of the 1950s and early ‘60s. Though his activities began long before and continued long after, it’s those years […]
01 Dec 2024
30 Days Out, Dec. 2024 #1: LA LOM, The Nutcracker, ‘Together We Rise,’ RJD2
A popular multi-hyphenate aritst, an amazing new(ish) group putting a creative spin on an an established form, a benefit for WNC and a beloved holiday tradition (times four): those are […]
30 Aug 2023
Album Review: Martin Denny – Deep Exotica
Some readers of this blogzine may remember the 1990s, a period when – for a moment, at least, it seemed – exotica made a comeback. Exemplified by the self-consciously retro […]
15 Feb 2023
30 Days Out, February 2023 #2: Silversun Pickups, Bobby Weir, Music of Morton Feldman, Os Mutantes
We’re really, really back into the swing of things now, with major artists back on tour. The assortment of music that’s coming to town in the next 30 days is […]
22 Nov 2022
Album Reviews: David Javelosa – Atomic Odyssey! and Modern Work Volume One
David Javelosa is an inspired musician whose work is primarily synthesizer-based. But his bent, whimsical and playful approach to music results in sounds that are far from the “serious” kind […]
18 Jan 2021
Hundred-word Reviews: January 2021 #2
Here’s five more brief reviews; this time we’ve got progressive rock, powerpop, indie chamber pop, goth rock and one album that’s simply beyond easy classification. What they all have in […]
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