Øyvind Torvund: The Exotica Album

  The Exotica Album's roots are in the “lounge” music of the mid 20th century as exemplified by Martin Denny and Les Baxter, a lush musical vernacular calling to mind an imaginary South Seas, tropical birds, and tiki lounges. However, it is as if seen and heard from a 21stcentury perspective, incorporating synthesizers, modern electronics, Messiaen-like bird song, and noise, making this a unique mashup of styles and decades distilled into a single work. In contrast to chittering minimalist trends, Exotica could be described as “maximalist,” with lush Hollywood-style melodies and kaleidoscopic instrumental colors in counterpoint with extravagant electronic displays of modernism.        While high culture or avant-garde encounters with popular musical forms often result in pastiches of a cynical or “meta” nature, Torvund’s approach is organically developed from within the style, resulting in a work both knowledgeable, genuine, and delightful.        In short, Exotica is a singular and in