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From '50s NYC clubland, a Yma Sumac-inspired version of "Babalu" by jazz/calypso singer Phyllis Branch.
Category Archives: Exotica/Space-Age
AM Radio Dust
A new, or new to Office Naps, mix this week. AM Radio Dust was my 2009 contribution to the annual CD mix swap over at the Waxidermy forums, the weird id of contemporary record collecting. AM Radio Dust is … Continue reading
The Cave
This week, both a Halloween-themed post and an iteration of a familiar Office Naps theme: Namely, the ways in which certain phenomena – natural, geographical, supernatural, technological, etc. – get played out in entertaining, cinematic ways in pre-Beatles rock ‘n’ … Continue reading
Blue Flame: a new mix
I put together a new mix for my Dutch compadre Cortez for the fifth anniversary of his fabulous Club Cortez blog. You can find it there now. Club Cortez has been around as long as Office Naps. Cortez’s tastes in … Continue reading
The desert, part three
Another variation this week on an all-time favorite Office Naps theme. Its mystery and romance has provoked more than its share of paeans over the ages, but musical impressions of the desert’s expanse and mysterious beauty reached some sort of … Continue reading
Walt Bolen’s Lion Hunt
A great pleasure to hear recently from keyboardist Walt Bolen, who filled me in on the backstory behind his organ-led R&B exotica instrumental “Lion Hunt” (Pick-A-Hit 101, which I first wrote about at this ancient post), as well as some … Continue reading
The sea, part two
This week, a second part to one of my all-time favorite posts. As before, tremolo guitar, dreamy tempos and loads of echo chamber drama carry the day. There’s something of a desert island mini-theme this time around, too, though the … Continue reading
Primitiva
Some raw, wild instrumental combo rock ‘n’ roll from the late ‘50s this week. Contemporaries, these three selections embody the type of sound that would keep rock ‘n’ roll vital and interesting before the British Invasion. While there’s no highly … Continue reading
Exotica mix
I have a new exotica mix (Time (Is Endless)) currently featured at online magazine Triple Canopy: Time (Is Endless) Since early 2008, Triple Canopy has been bringing together writing from essayists, researchers and cultural observers with work with contemporary artists … Continue reading
