Known for his seminal works such as Songs in the Key of Z, which spotlighted outsider music, he spearheaded the reappraisal of artists like Esquivel and Raymond Scott, and for introducing concepts such as “Outsider Music” and “Space Age Bachelor Pad Music” to the world—“Exotica” is a compilation of Sun Ra’s recordings curated from an “exotica” perspective under the supervision of Irwin Chusid, the legendary American journalist who has unearthed hidden musical treasures. Originally released in 2017 for Record Store Day by Sundazed’s sub-label Modern Harmonic as a 3-LP set in a three-panel gatefold sleeve, this 2026 edition—featuring “Tequila Sunrise Orange” colored vinyl—is now in stock.
Curated by Irwin Chusid, a figure who has left his mark on the history of modern American music—and who could be said to have influenced, even indirectly, those who love “music from the unknown,” such as outsider music, exotica, space-age pop, and world music. (His seminal work, Songs in the Key of Z, was previously reissued on CD by EM Records.) T...Read more (Original Japanese text by Saito)he genre “Exotica,” derived from the title of Martin Denny’s album of the same name, refers to music from primarily tropical regions—such as Africa, Asia, and Oceania—presented from a Western perspective as “paradise music,” often tinged with fanciful misconceptions. This compilation draws from a vast archive to present Sun Ra’s recordings—which, despite their themes of “space” and “Egypt,” have rarely been discussed in the context of “Exotica”—through the lens of that genre. Tracks have also been selected from a collection of previously unreleased Sun Ra recordings—including those collected by EL SATURN founder Alton Abraham and housed at the University of Chicago’s research center. This album offers a captivating, immersive soundscape that reveals new facets of Sun Ra’s artistry. (Original Japanese text by Saito)
Sci-Fi, psychedelic, exotic—a tribal, imaginary, electrified blend of modern exotica, Krautrock, and psychedelia that sounds like fictional ritual music. Garage rock. The post-punk “Fourth World,” which explores “somewhere other than here,” also carries a mysterious, alluring aura.
A new album from Lay Llamas, a project by Nicola Giunta—a composer, musicologist, and graphic designer from Sicily, Italy, who has collaborated with artists such as Mark Stewart (The Pop Group) and Damo Suzuki (CAN), among others. Released by London-based Zel Zele, a label known for a steady stream of interesting and excellent releases—including Tu...Read more (Original Japanese text by COMPUMA)rkish left-field and rare groove—this is a truly fascinating and excellent release that blends psychedelia, exoticism, and a downtempo vibe. Although it was originally released in the spring of 2026, we’d like to take this opportunity to reintroduce and highly recommend it. (Original Japanese text by COMPUMA)
Ghost Funk Orchestra, the 10-piece ensemble led by multi-instrumentalist Seth Applebaum, returns with their first new full-length in two years! Diving even deeper into the worlds of film music, exotica, psychedelia and surf rock, it's a concept album built around the story of a woman left behind on Earth by her astronaut partner, agonizing over where he is and whether he'll make it back alive from space.
There are so many elements layered in here that a single listen can't catch them all, and the sonic picture is wonderfully lavish. It's packed with epic tracks featuring fuzzy, spring-reverb-drenched guitar, big band-style horn arrangements, and a garage rock attitude. It's fun to catch glimpses of the many influences at play, from Eddie Palmieri a...Read more (Original Japanese text by AYAM)nd Esquivel to The Lively Ones, Dusty Springfield and War. The actual communications audio recorded during the Apollo moon missions, worked in at key moments, is a stylish touch too. A masterwork! (Original Japanese text by AYAM)
A new release from That's Love Records—founded by Alejandro Garcia of Thee Sacred Souls, a label that emerged from the Sweet Soul scene on the U.S. West Coast, and Max Shrager of The Shacks—has arrived.
From That's Love Records—which has been putting out a string of fantastic releases—comes the debut EP from Caj Rio, the solo project of Alejandro Garcia of Thee Sacred Souls. While it’s unclear whether the name is derived from the Caja del Rio in Santa Fe, New Mexico, the instrumental track “Hot Mezcal” evokes the flavors of Mexican and Central Ame...Read more (Original Japanese text by Saito)rican Hispanic culture, featuring guitar, strings, Tijuana brass, and a horn section layered over thick drums and a surging bassline. Please savor its smoky depth. The B-side, “Paradise,” has an even stronger Spanish and Latin American flavor—with a touch of psychedelic chicha—and evokes the atmosphere of a seedy Mexican bar, creating a scenic soundscape that serves as a soundtrack reflecting both the tragedy and beauty of life. Shipped directly from New Jersey. It has arrived. (Original Japanese text by Saito)
The ninth album from The Natural Yogurt Band — the project of Miles Newbold, the mysterious Nottingham-born maverick who has delivered exciting releases via Jazzman, Stones Throw's Now-Again imprint, and France's BMM Records — arrives on BMM!!! A dizzying swirl of film-noir neo-library, bewitching and seductive psychedelic downer breakbeat jazz-funk. As always, the soundscape world he creates, unfolding into vivid, imaginary scenery, is simply superb.
A4 "Too Much Fun" (sample2) is sublimely pleasant, with layer upon layer of dubby polyrhythms from vintage rhythm machines with that cheap, weathered tone, plus an elegant electric piano solo melody. A3 "Punch Me" is gorgeous, strange breakbeat jazz-funk where rhythm machine and live drums intertwine. B3 "Look to the Skies" is full of zapping machi...Read more (Original Japanese text by COMPUMA)ne sounds, recalling a stylized horror soundtrack, and B2 "Under the Waves" is a wonderful underwater psychedelic avant slow-mo piece. Eight tracks in all. (Original Japanese text by COMPUMA)
Haruomi Hosono's classic 1975 album Tropical Dandy — a landmark from one of Japan's greatest artists — gets its first-ever overseas vinyl release via Stones Throw in honor of its 50th anniversary! Pressed in the US on 180-gram heavyweight vinyl (audiophile quality) and issued in two versions: an exclusive limited ocean blue color edition and a standard black edition. Complete with an obi strip replicating the original, plus an inner sheet featuring an English translation of Hosono's 1975 liner notes along with photos!
This marks the first international reissue of Tropical Dandy. Known abroad as a cult classic, its genre-crossing blend of exotica, jazz, and pop is the record that set Haruomi Hosono on the path to laying the foundations of Japanese city pop. Longtime fan Van Dyke Parks says, "I have orbited light-years around Hosono during his pan-Pacific musical ...Read moreadventures. Sonic texture and cinematic romance are fused together."
Born in Tokyo in 1947, Haruomi Hosono was a founding member of the legendary folk-rock band Happy End and the pioneering electronic trio Yellow Magic Orchestra (YMO). Also known as "Harry Hosono," he has released numerous solo works, freely fusing exotica, funk, country, electronic, ambient, and more across a career spanning over 50 years.
Arriving two years after his solo debut HOSONO HOUSE (1973), this second solo album documents the moment he steered toward a freer, more exotic and multinational sound. Brimming with tropical feeling and hybridity, it's a key work marking the moment Japanese pop connected to the global musical map.
At last, a precious reissue that lets you experience once again this turning point in Hosono's musical adventure — the start of the "Tropical Trilogy" and a path leading toward the formation of YMO. Hosono continues to captivate listeners around the world, and now the album that announced the beginning of that "Tropical Trilogy" journey reaches the ears of a new generation.
Track List
SIDE. A
1. Chattanooga Choo Choo
2. Hurricane Dorothy
3. Kinukaido 絹街道
4. Nettaiya 熱帯夜
5. Peking Duck 北京DUCK
SIDE. B
1. Hyoryuki 漂流記
2. Honey Moon
3. Sanji no Komori Uta 三時の子守唄
4. Sanji no Komori Uta (instrumental) 三時の子守唄 (instrumental)
Memotone, a Bristol-based artist who has been actively releasing works on renowned labels such as 〈Sähkö〉, 〈The Trilogy Tapes〉, 〈Soda Gong〉, and 〈Folklore Tapes〉, makes his debut on London’s eccentric and prestigious label 〈Discrepant〉. He presents a sound that’s a perfect fit for the label—a blend of Fourth World ambient, jazz fusion, and radio-phonic, sci-fi-inspired cyber-jungle.
A work that exudes a sense of artistic beauty—far from being a mere collection of previously unreleased tracks—brought together under the title Pruning. It offers a glimpse into the dizzying torrent of ideas from Will Yates—aka Memotone—where Fourth World, ECM, exotica, and sci-fi metamorphosis intersect in a nonlinear fashion. From atmospheric tra...Read more (Original Japanese text by Adachi)cks reminiscent of a rainforest to “Not What I Thought”—with its sudden burst of warm, ethereal tropical guitar—and “Jim Starling and The Inverse Church,” a cosmic boogie-blues track that feels like Mike Cooper dashing through a dungeon, each track stands on its own while collectively forming a single, vast organism. An ideal escape across all 10 tracks. Mastered by Rashad Becker. (Original Japanese text by Adachi)
Before exotica-lounge master Martin Denny later blasted off into space with the Moog, he was making music that lifted us just slightly off the ground using the sounds of the earth. Jackpot, carefully working their way through his catalog, reissues three early masterpieces simultaneously in 2024. The crystallization of his reverence for Polynesian culture and his imagination — the historic 1958 classic that established the aesthetic of exotica.
Martin Denny's third album, completed after a nine-month stay in Hawaii, where he was captivated by the islands' culture and music. Vibraphone, piano, percussion, bird and animal calls, the sound of waves — natural sounds beautifully woven into the arrangements on this exotic lounge classic. A bewitching, dreamlike sound cocktail that gets under yo...Read more (Original Japanese text by Adachi)ur skin. A travel guide to paradise. Fans of today's exotica, like the Discrepant catalog, should take note. Full album streaming available. Red marble color vinyl. (Original Japanese text by Adachi)
Before exotica-lounge master Martin Denny took off into outer space with the Moog, he was making music that used earthly sounds to lift us just slightly off the ground. Jackpot, who have been carefully working through his reissues, drop three more early masterpieces simultaneously in 2024. This 1959 album keeps the cheerful tiki-bar atmosphere restrained, opening with the quiet sound of waves and exuding a grown-up mood.
Plenty of exotic flavor, but with the comic elements dialed back, joined by dreamy female vocals, abstract orchestration, and lyrical storytelling — a masterpiece of stillness that leans firmly toward mood music. A poetic sonic experience that transcends the lounge idiom. A magical moment that ebbs and flows. The bird calls (imitations of birds, fr...Read more (Original Japanese text by Adachi)ogs, and more) by the great Augie Colon are another highlight. You may never find your way back. Tiki green colored vinyl. (Original Japanese text by Adachi)
Before exotica-lounge master Martin Denny took off into outer space with the Moog, he was making music that used the sounds of Earth to lift us just slightly off the ground. Jackpot, who have been carefully working through his reissue campaign, drop three more early masterpieces simultaneously in 2024. This 1961 album, built around percussion as its central theme and shining with experimental ideas, gets its first-ever LP reissue.
Xylophones, chimes and traditional jazz instruments are scattered alongside boo-bams, shamisen, manga harp, Burmese gongs and more, with a wide array of rhythms and timbres meticulously woven together — a record that pulls you deeper the more you listen. Highlights include "Moonlight On The Ganges" (sample2), made famous by Frank Sinatra and still ...Read more (Original Japanese text by Adachi)heard today on the Jungle Cruise attraction at Disneyland, and "Misirlou" (sample3), the classic Greek song later made widely known by Dick Dale and the Black Eyed Peas. A favorite of Haruomi Hosono, of course, and still beloved and influential to this day. Sea glass colored vinyl. (Original Japanese text by Adachi)
Belgium's 〈Radio Martiko〉 is a label Newtone highly recommends, known for its wonderfully obscure digs into the Middle East, Latin America and beyond. Here's a compilation of 60s exotic love songs and instrumentals, released on 〈Souma Records〉, its sub-label focused on 1960s Egypt.
A compilation of Egyptian 60s music that completely captivated us when we heard the promo. Licensed from SONO CAIRO, Egypt's largest record company, founded in 1959 as a private label before passing into the hands of the Egyptian government in the mid-60s. "A rich musical portrait of an era when Cairo was the vibrant cultural heart of the Middle Ea...Read more (Original Japanese text by Saito)st and the grandeur of its first-rate orchestras was without equal." Exotic, richly textured sounds—surely touched by American jazz and Latin music—that resonate with Ethiopian music, Ryoichi Hattori, and the golden age of Cambodian pop: "an invitation to the glamorous nightlife of 1960s Cairo." A 2018 remastered reissue of material all originally released on 7-inch. We also have Radio Martiko's back catalogue in stock, including classics we've carried before as well as several titles arriving for the first time (all of them appealing). Be sure to check them out. (Original Japanese text by Saito)
【レーベル最終ストック入荷しました】オリジナルは200枚しか存在しない、ドイツ産東洋エキゾチック・ジャズ1979年の驚異の一枚。MÜNCHNER STUDIOORCHESTERの「twilights of Bali」アナログ再発！
タイ・エキゾチカなSOUND VOYAGEがカルトヒットした7SAMURAI, TOM WIELANDの〈FREE SOUL INC.〉からドイツ産エキゾチック・ジャズ。NIAGARAやCATCH UPといったジャーマン・ジャズロックのマスターピースにも名を連ねるベーシストMilan PilarやギリシャのジャズドラマーFREDDIE BROCKSIEPER、SABA/MPS周辺でも活躍したピア二ストHANS VAN DER SYS達エキスパートによる架空のエキゾチカサウンド！またしてもあまり出回らないのでお早めに！ (サイトウ)
Curated by Irwin Chusid, a figure who has left his mark on the history of modern American music—and who could be said to have influenced, even indirectly, those who love “music from the unknown,” such as outsider music, exotica, space-age pop, and world music. (His seminal work, Songs in the Key of Z, was previously reissued on CD by EM Records.) T ...Read more (Original Japanese text by Saito)he genre “Exotica,” derived from the title of Martin Denny’s album of the same name, refers to music from primarily tropical regions—such as Africa, Asia, and Oceania—presented from a Western perspective as “paradise music,” often tinged with fanciful misconceptions. This compilation draws from a vast archive to present Sun Ra’s recordings—which, despite their themes of “space” and “Egypt,” have rarely been discussed in the context of “Exotica”—through the lens of that genre. Tracks have also been selected from a collection of previously unreleased Sun Ra recordings—including those collected by EL SATURN founder Alton Abraham and housed at the University of Chicago’s research center. This album offers a captivating, immersive soundscape that reveals new facets of Sun Ra’s artistry. (Original Japanese text by Saito)