VARIOUS ARTISTS - Technicolour Paradise: Rhum Rhapsodies & Other Exotic Delights (House Of Grass Coloured Vinyl)

It was a musical cocktail born in a marketing
meeting: Two parts easy listening, one part
jazz, a healthy dollop of conga drums,
a sprinkling of bird calls, and a pinch of
textless choir. Serve garnished with an
alluring female on the album jacket for
best results. Exotica! The soundtrack for
a mythical air conditioned Eden, packaged
for mid-century, tiki torch-wielding
armchair safariers. Be it mosquito-bitten
torch singers, landlocked surf quartets,
fad-chasing jazz combos, mad genius band
leaders, D-list actors, or a middle aged loner
programming bird calls into a Hammond,
Exotica was always more concerned with
what geography might sound like over who
was conducting. Captured across three
albums are 48 (54 on the CD) curious
examples of the short-lived genre's reach,
each summoning their own sonic visions
of Shangri La, bringing their versions
of the Pacific, Africa, and the Orient to
the hinterlands of America. Technicolor
Paradise is where one makes it, after all.

Vinyl release of Various Artists - Technicolour Paradise: Rhum Rhapsodies & Other Exotic Delights (House Of Grass Coloured Vinyl). Released through Numero Group and available on 3LP.