Joe Vs. The Volcano (ambient soundtrack)
May 6, 2015 7:51 AM   Subscribe

We're throwing a tiki party and I would like to set the mood with some soundscape. Please recommend some online available jungle sounds and beats to set the vibe.

Imagine what Joe (from Joe v. Volcano) would be hearing while he marched to the top of the jungle volcano to make his selfless sacrifice. The sound of deep drums banging rhythmically, birds squawking, monkeys screeching. This is the vibe (possibly minus the self-sacrifice but will accept if I have to to find the right vibe) I want my guests to feel. Please recommend me some audio clips. Available online is better.

Bonus points for any songs that are must have at a tiki party.
posted by blackjack514 to Media & Arts (16 answers total) 16 users marked this as a favorite
 
Well - you could be lazy and just stick on Les Baxer's LP "The Ritual of the Savage".
posted by rongorongo at 7:59 AM on May 6, 2015 [3 favorites]


And - for some more drum intensive stuff from the same era - Babatunde Olatunji's "Drums of Passion". This remains the best-selling percussion LP of all time, I believe.
posted by rongorongo at 8:08 AM on May 6, 2015


Not a specific song or songlist, but The Retro Cocktail Hour plays a lot of that stuff. Online streams here and here.
posted by cog_nate at 8:08 AM on May 6, 2015 [1 favorite]


If you're looking for quintessential Tiki music, look no further than Martin Denny.
posted by cosmicbandito at 8:09 AM on May 6, 2015 [4 favorites]


Ribs Out by Fuck Buttons off of their debut album Street Horrrsing is what immediately comes to mind. The song practically screams "jungle volcano sacrifice."
posted by oceanjesse at 8:13 AM on May 6, 2015


I'm on my phone, so this isn't as robust as I'd like: Yma Sumac . her voice is the definition of tiki party for me.
posted by boo_radley at 8:15 AM on May 6, 2015 [1 favorite]


When you run out of Martin Denny, put on some Tikiyaki Orchestra. Great stuff.

Shameless plug: You might find something useful to grab over at my Thrift Store DJ site. You can sample everything here.
posted by Otis at 8:40 AM on May 6, 2015 [1 favorite]


Guantanamo Baywatch is a super fun garage surf rock band. You can stream their old album Chest Crawl on Bandcamp, and you can stream their brand new album here.
posted by Juliet Banana at 8:48 AM on May 6, 2015


nth-ing the great Les Baxter and Martin Denny, absolutely. I'd also suggest Axel Stordahl's Jasmine & Jade.

Here's Gene Rains with a decent cover of the title track.
posted by Gelatin at 8:49 AM on May 6, 2015


Nthing Les Baxter and Martin Denny for sure. They both feature prominently on Capitol Records' first Ultra-Lounge compilation, Mondo Exotica (Amazon link), which would make an excellent tiki party soundtrack. (At the time of this reply, it also appears to be on YouTube.)
posted by usonian at 9:09 AM on May 6, 2015


The original 1968 LP derived from Disney's "Enchanted Tiki Room" - might be the one to play at the end, when you want people to go home. - but stay for the Offenbach
posted by rongorongo at 9:31 AM on May 6, 2015 [1 favorite]


Man, there are a lot of great modern exotica artists too (Tikiyaki Orchestra is a great example).

But, I would have to go with who I consider to be the Big Three first... Martin Denny, Les Baxter, and Arthur Lyman. If you want the full on fake bird calls, Martin Denny is really who you want first and foremost given how over the top he and his band got. Les Baxter really started this genre of music, but it was Martin Denny who took it to what you're thinking of.

Here is an excellent video showing Denny and his band playing probably their greatest hit.

Anyway, here are some quintessential tunes for a tiki bar (a real tiki bar like Don or Vic would've run... not one that serves syrup-laden blended bright red slushies). Lyman originally played in Denny's band, so they share some of the same tunes but each have their own takes.

Some links below are not so safe for work due to their album covers...

Martin Denny Arthur Lyman Les Baxter And if you really want to go one-stop-shop, you are in good hands if you buy one of Martin Denny's compendiums, like his Quiet Village LP.
posted by Old Man McKay at 9:39 AM on May 6, 2015 [5 favorites]


The netlabel Comfort Stand Recordings put out a bunch of freely downloadable offerings that are hosted on the Internet Archive, including a bunch of lounge exotica. Their double-CD-sized compilation Two Zombies Later is a pretty great exotica collection that might be fun to have in the mix.
posted by Strange Interlude at 11:22 AM on May 6, 2015 [2 favorites]


Oh, I also found a direct link to Two Zombies Later on Archive.org if you want to stream it before downloading.
posted by Strange Interlude at 11:41 AM on May 6, 2015


Yma Sumac - Voice of the Xtabay album This album is on Spotify, but I ab not able to link it there right now!
posted by WeekendJen at 9:27 AM on May 7, 2015


Oh man! Two zombies later was on the top of my tongue! Such A good comp
posted by boo_radley at 10:59 AM on May 7, 2015


« Older My MacBook thinks I am an iPhoto library   |   Still MORE funny, charming, intelligent movies? Newer »
This thread is closed to new comments.