Performance Practice

 

The W7’s Guiding Principles of Authentic Exotica Performance Practice

  1. Everything played live. Whether the score calls for a xylophone or a Tibetan cup gong, all sounds are made live, by real musicians on real instruments. No computers on stage or background tracks needed.
  2. Bird and animal calls voiced by humans! When it comes to bird and animal calls, no synthesizers or recorded samples are used. All calls are made live—by members of the band.
  3. Tasty improvisation does the music good. Our music is neither so strictly scored that it negates or hampers improv; nor is every tune a improv free-for-all.
  4. Compositions and arrangements are done specifically for us and by us. W7 is a one-of-a-kind group—one whose members bridge many of the individual genres, cultures, and values reflected by exotica. Thus, it’s fitting that we do all of our composing and arranging in-house, and specifically for our ensemble: no off-the-shelf arrangements or head charts.
  5. It’s about the music. We make discrete choices regarding special instrument use, groove, improvisational style, etc. depending on what each song is about. Not how many instruments are at our disposal.

 

Philosophy

A note from bandleader Randy Wong

I see myself as a facilitator moreso than as a ‘bandleader’ in the traditional sense of that word. I am proud that my colleagues in W7 have been able to build their own unique vocabularies for what exotica music is, because they have the freedom to integrate their own musical ideas. Our performance practice is itself an aesthetic response to an emergent base of inquiry questions:

  • What was it like to see Denny’s or Lyman’s bands perform live?
  • To what extent did improvisation play into their performances?
  • How did the context of the venue and audience affect what tunes they chose and how they performed?
  • To what extent did they develop a collective conscience of ‘what’ is exotic?
  • Finally, how do we achieve a balance between articulating these questions and artistic transparency?

    • Beyond the music-specific aspects of its performance, WAITIKI’s overall portrayal of the tiki pop culture plays an active and dynamic role in how people perceive our music; it helps us to articulate the differences between what exotica music (and the related tiki craze) is and isn’t.

    —Randy Wong, bandleader, The WAITIKI 7

    Thanks for visiting WAITIKI7.com!

  • About The WAITIKI 7

  • The WAITIKI 7 are helping to define a new movement in Exotica.

    Dedicated to the preservation and resurgence of Exotica music, and the related tiki culture, W7 is modeled after the classic groups of Martin Denny, Arthur Lyman, and Gene Rains. The WAITIKI 7 is the only modern group that performs exotica completely live and acoustic—just like in the 1950s.

  • Band Members: