Tom Conlon (has the backing tracks for sale, too!)

link

By her own admission, she was an unlikely star who waited decades for her chance – and then became a figurehead for fans seeking true soul

Source: Sharon Jones: a soul survivor who helped rejuvenate a classic sound | Music | The Guardian

For the people who like a wobbly g-string on their guitar to play more expressive I have three versions of the wonderful tune Claire de Lune by turn of the 19th/20th century composer Claude Debussy.

The first is a theremin version with the ultimate degree of pitch modulation.

The second is a violin version with the moderate pitch vibrato that the movement of the left hand permits.

The third and last version is played on harmonica and for me is the winner in the emotion (and sound) department.

So in conclusion: there’s more to an emotional sound than shaky pitch.

Sven Kirsten compiled a magnificent collection of tunes to pull you in.

Sound of Tiki CD Art by Kevin Kidney 2008, originally uploaded by Miehana

Darrell Brogdon writes:

On Saturday, June 27 at 7:00pm, The Retro Cocktail Hour blasts off on KPR stations with a night of ‘outer space exotica’, featuring music from such memorable albums as Les Baxter’s Space Escapade, Fantastica by Russ Garcia, Music Out of the Moon (featuring the theremin!), Music for Heavenly Bodies (with the electro-theremin) and many more.

As a preview, check out the NEW album cover gallery, featuring images from some classic outer space records of the 1950s and ’60s.

And please join us in orbit for The Retro Cocktail Hour – Saturday, June 27 at 7:00pm on KPR stations (and available on-demand soon after at the RCH website).Les Baxter’s ‘Space Escapade’

Many more images available at our new cover gallery!

David Berger writes:

Hi every one!
Here are the latest tour updates…

SUMMER EUROPEAN DATES:

July 4, 2009
Deutsches Theater
Munich, Germany

July 5, 2009
Serenadenhof
Nuremberg, Germany

July 6, 2009
Paradiso
Amsterdam, Holland

July 8, 2009
Tempodrom
Berlin, Germany

July 9, 2009
Museumsplatz
Bonn, Germany

July 11, 2009
Guilfest
Guilford, England

July 12, 2009
The Sage Gateshead
Gateshead, England

September 4-6, 2009
Stradbally Hall
County Laois, Ireland

FALL U.S. DATES:

October 24, 2009
Pabst Theatre
Milwaukee, WI

October 26, 2009
Count Basie Theatre
Red Bank, NJ

October 27, 2009
Bergen Performing Arts Center
Englewood, NJ

October 29, 2009
Keswick Theatre
Glenside, PA

October 30, 2009
Community Theatre at Mayo Center for the Performing Arts
Morristown, NJ

Waitiki at Wassermusik 08

The highly recommended Exotica live-act Waitiki playing live in Massachusets in the middle of february.
Quote form the Exotica Mailing List

Who: The Waitiki All-Star Exotica Septet

When: Monday, 2/16/09, 7-9 PM

Where: The Lily Pad (Inman Sq: 1353 Cambridge St., Cambridge, MA), 617-395-1393 COST: $10

Website: www.waitiki.com
Come See Our All-Star Exotica Band: 2/16 in Cambridge, MA

Waitiki’s next show will be on President’s Day (Monday, February 16) from 7-9PM sharp! See our All-Star Exotica band make its first performance in the northeast at The Lily Pad [1353 Cambridge St., Inman Square].

Flying in direct from Hawaii: Percussionist and birdcaller extraordinaire Lopaka Colon (son of famed percussionist/bird caller Augie Colon, of Martin Denny’s band). Our co-founder and drummer Abe Lagrimas Jr also makes the wintry trip to Boston from Los Angeles.

Suggested donation is $10; All ages are welcome (bring the kids or your folks—it’s all music; finally, no burlesque or anything risque!).

Also in the band: Tim Mayer (sax, flutes), Helen Liu (violin), Zaccai Curtis (piano), Jim Benoit & Greg Parerandy Wong (bass). We may have a few special guest performers too! (vibraphone),

This is the same band that played its European Debut last July at the Wassermusik Festival in Berlin, Germany, and its American Debut at the Celebration for the 500th Retro Cocktail Hour show last November!

Your favorite classic exotica tunes… your favorite Waitiki hits… brand-new arrangements and newer-than-new originals—hear them all at The Lily Pad show. Following us at 10 pm is The Fringe, the avant-garde jazz trio led by tenor man George Garzone.

The next day we record the long-awaited Waitiki All-Star Exotica Septet album!! Hope to see you there!!!!

Crime

1. Lady in Cement
2. The Prisoner
3. Randall and Hopkirk Deceased
4. Duffy
5. Department S
6. The Saint
7. The Rockford files
8. La Polizia ordina: sparate a vista
9. The Avengers
10. The Baron
    
11. Columbo
12. Seven Golden Men
13. Cannon
14. Deadly Shots on Broadway
15. The Streets of San Francisco
16. Superargo

Comedy

1. Le Gendarme de Saint-Tropez
2. My Favorite Martian
3. Pink Panther

Intermission

1. No matter what shape your stomach is in

Animation

1. Menace from the Bottom of the World
2. Stingray
3. Rod Scribner Opening for UPA shorts
4. ?????????? ED
5. Ghost A Go-Go

Exploitation

1. The Cool Ones
2. Sor Yeye
3. The Mariners
4. American Graffiti

Spy

1. Assassination
2. The Man From U.N.C.L.E.
3. Gerak Kilat
4. Where the Spies Are
5. Spy Today Die Tomorrow
6. Spy in Your Eye
7. Some Girls Do
8. From the Orient with Fury
9. Master Stroke
10. Mission Bloody Mary

Adventure

1. Daktari
2. The High Chaparral
3. Der Schatz im Silbersee
4. The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
5. Robinson Crusoe

Romance

1. Love is a Many Splendored Thing
2. Arabesque
3. The Sandpiper

When I was asked to DJ Exotica music on a boat recently I had to burn some vinyl of mine to CD. So I could see the sound waves and made two screenshots of the perfectly mastered Arthur Lyman album Bahia.

The reason I chose this one was that the loudest and first track I ripped peaked at 0dB without the limiter catching it. I just left the dials to their own devices and hoped I can capture the entire album with this “magic” setting. It was just plain luck. So I ripped this particular vinyl record without any additional limiting or compression, peaking at 0dB and all the music of that album perfectly relative to that peak.

When you see the soundwaves you will recogn that each one has got its own shape. This means that the creativity of the musicians is reflected in the volume at any given point in time, allowing for drama, surprises and expression. Sure there was some kind of processing going on even in those days, but it was to get a good, hi-fi sound at the end-consumer, with the goal being a natural room impression – heavy compression doesn’t allow that. See that one very quiet track – it’s meant to be that way. How they made it? They played their instruments softer. You have to be quiet yourself to clearly hear it, you start interacting with the music.

It all made me realize on a new level, what beautiful works of art music masters can be.

Here are two Heavy Metal soundfiles for comparison. It’s the same track, the upper, more dynamic one was given to a game company, the lower one is from the CD album. Wether this was a mistake or the less dynamic sound was considered more desireable I don’t know.

related posts:
Turn Me Up! | Bringing Dynamics Back To Music
Loudness Wars Explained
Article on Metallica‘s new album at Wired.

I’m a really unlucky fela with my internet service provider (Freenet). Since about a month or so I can’t listen to Luxuriamusic.com anymore. I can tune-in via iTunes as usual, but the stream re-loads at least every 20 seconds. It’s insane. I would do everything I can to support them, except report on shows I have heard – just because that’s not possible for me anymore… They have such great people, who really are into the best music that deserves a place in the spotlights, if not the sun.

If somebody in Germany still can get their program as before, I would be really interested in the kind of connection that you have. Please, please leave a comment here and help me find out what’s wrong. Possibly it’s iTunes, maybe I can listen via VLC Player or something else? I’d appreciate any helpful advice or even just an explanation why I’m having this annoying tech problem.

Here’s the latest news from Luxuriamusic.com (for those happy people who can get it alright):

Had he not passed away earlier this month, Louis Teicher would have turned 84 on Aug. 24. In this Sunday’s special Beyondophonic Action Hour, F&T’s long-time manager Scott W. Smith will join your host Tothar to celebrate Mr. Teicher’s legacy.
Via phone, Scott will share swell stories about the twin piano team, including an inside scoop on the duo’s dazzlingly visionary and futuristic ‘prepared piano’ recordings. (Tothar sez, ‘Ten of the most uniquely innovative, ingenious LPs ever made.’) Tothar and Smith will also share some of the F&T tracks that most left them awestruck.

PLUS, the Lux F&T memorial extends at 8pm PST/11:00pm EST with a rebroadcast of a 2001 LuxuriaMusic interview with Ferrante & Teicher conducted by The Millionaire!

Check out http://www.luxuriamusic.com for some jaw-dropping YouTube footage of F&T performing their ‘prepared’ technique live on the Ernie Kovacs Show. Remember yesterday’s Sound of Tomorrow this Sunday night at 7:00 PST/ 10:00 EST on LuxuriaMusic Internet Radio! Please spread the word to anyone you think should know about it! – Michael ‘Tothar’ Toth

LuxuriaMusic Internet Radio | Internet Radio: Exotica, Lounge, Space Age Bachelor Pad, Bossa, Soft-Psych, Go-Go, Latin Jazz, Sophisticated Rock and Surf.