Martin Denny - Afro-Desia
I guess you can't talk about exotica without talking about Martin Denny. I thought instead of choosing one of the exotica classics, this one is just a little bit different I think. He's going for a different feel on this one, probably more of an Afro thing. Although I think if you look on the back it says something like "played on authentic instruments supplied by Hollywood studios, California" so it was still 100% a reinterpretation of someone else's aesthetic, but it's just magical. I can't escape Martin Denny, I could listen to him all day. The other day I just played Martin Denny back to back for about 25 minutes (and the songs are only about three minutes each) because I just love the feel. There's a funny story about Martin Denny; he has the same woman on the cover of all of his records, usually in a slightly provocative position. She turned up in the front row at like ten of his shows and in the end was like, "Don't you know who I am?" and he had no idea.