Archive for the ‘Reviews’Category

“Needs to be on your must-have list” // Westchester Herald [Review]

Tom Bock of the Westchester (NY) Herald writes a rave review in the Herald’s Sept. 7, 2009 issue:

Westchester Herald mastheadThis debut CD from The Waitiki 7, Adventures in Paradise, raises the bar extremely high for both the group and their representatives [Fully Altered Media] … To the romantic trying to set the mood, this needs to be on your must-have list. And to any music lover looking to relax after a hard day’s grind, you’ll need to go no farther than Adventures in Paradise.

Download the Westchester Herald’s review of Adventures in Paradise (PDF)

Place your order at The Waitiki 7 Shop!

07

09 2009

“Intoxicating” // GoodNewMusic.com [Review]

Pete Hund posted a nice review of our album today at GoodNewMusic.com:

Good New Music logo[The Waitiki 7] is an exotica jam band that updates the genre by augmenting the requisite vibraphone with plenty of sax and violin and often employing dead-serious jazz improvisation.

Read the full review at GoodNewMusic.com

Or: Download GoodNewMusic.com’s review of Adventures in Paradise (PDF)

06

09 2009

“Looking backward while moving forward” // Audiophile Audition [Review]

Audiophile Audition published a review yesterday of Adventures in Paradise. AA focuses on recordings that would be of interest to audiophiles, collectors, surround sound (music-related), and hi-res disc format—that they even considered us for inclusion is a great testament to our production values; not to mention a ★★★★ review!

Audiophile Audition logoThose who imagine the music made famous by Martin Denny and others has grown fallow or inert will think differently after sitting back and listening . . .

Adventures in Paradise is modeled upon the tranquil and relaxing exotica blueprint but The Waitiki 7 has built a different kind of tiki structure, assisted in measure by the members’ disparate training, experience and education. A realization of experimentation and advancement within a precisely coded genre gives Adventures in Paradise a context that places it in a unique position: looking backward while moving forward. —Doug Simpson

Read the whole review: http://www.audaud.com/article?ArticleID=6311

Or: Download Audiophile Audition’s review as a PDF

Place your order at The Waitiki 7 Shop!

28

08 2009

“A smart and swank affair” // Under The Radar Magazine [Review]

Cory Frye of Under The Radar magazine calls Adventures in Paradise “a smart and swank affair” … Some highlights from Frye’s review below.

utr-logoParadise effectively marries the cool melodies of 1959 jazz with a contemporary tang that acknowledges the iconic influence (Les Baxter and Martin Denny are among the tunesmiths lovingly acknowledged here) of predecessors while constructing equally timeless originals in a similar spirit . . .

. . . Lopaka inherited his father’s prodigious talents, weaving a steady thread through Paradise with his own percussive pats and impressive whoops and cries, the latter of which add a remarkable third dimension to an already exotic instrumental dialogue.

Frye says some really great things, in particular mentioning the work of Jim Benoit (vibes) and Zaccai Curtis (piano).

Read the whole review at: http://www.undertheradarmag.com/reviews/adventures_in_paradise/

Or:  Download UTR’s review as a PDF.

Place your order at The Waitiki 7 Shop!

26

08 2009
  • 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: