One of the most intriguing and unexpected current-day musical phenomena is the popularity of tiki, or exotica, a style of music dating back to the mid-20th century. Exotica is quintessentially American — the perfect soundtrack for cocktail hour.
In its original quirky run, exotica’s leading lights included Martin Denny, Arthur Lyman, and Juan García Esquivel. The music was varied, but signature elements included bird calls, prominent use of vibraphone, and enthusiastic application of wide stereo panning. The classics include Les Baxter’s 1952 Ritual of the Savage and Denny’s monumental Quiet Village from 1959.
By the time of the British Invasion, exotica’s time had come and gone. But enterprising archivists breathed life back into the form, with a heavy dose of irony, in the ’90s. Sub Pop signed Combustible Edison, an arch group named after a classic cocktail — and the exotica revival was in full, if short-lived, swing.
As another generation of music lovers came of age, exotica was rediscovered again. Groups like the Waitiki 7 and Tikiyaki Orchestra leveraged the cultural grab-bag nature of exotica and the undeniably fun aesthetics surrounding it. Today, groups thrive emphasizing both the pleasures of hi-fidelity recordings and the thrill of live performance.
Hawaii-born Randy Wong leads the Waitiki 7, which he and Abe Lagrimas, Jr., founded in Boston more than two decades ago “to interpret a pop sound that we came to know as part of the history of music in Hawai’i,” he says. Their first regular gig was at a newly-opened tiki bar. “We weren’t sure if exotica was going to be popular in New England,” he admits. “But it was.”
Inspired by the Tiki Oasis mastermind Otto Von Stroheim, Jim Bacchi put the Tikiyaki Orchestra together in 2004, debuting with 2007’s StereoExotique, an intoxicating musical cocktail. Four more albums and a DVD followed.
Wong says his group plays creative interpretations of “hapa haole” (half Hawaiian, half foreign) music with jazz elements as well as original compositions in that exotic style. Waitiki 7’s pianist Zaccai Curtis brings his Afro-Cuban heritage, and percussionist Augie Lopaka Colón, Jr., is the son of a legendary Martin Denny sideman. In 2025, the Waitiki 7 released a pair of albums; one live, one studio. Both balance originality with the enduring spirit of classic exotica.
Wong believes he knows what lies at the heart of the music’s lasting allure. “It came out of the post-World War II travel phenomenon,” he explains. “Everyone wanted to escape.”
Jim Bacchi concurs: “Tiki offers the ultimate form of escapism.”
