The Milt Raskin Group – Exotic Sounds Of Hawaii album art
American swing jazz pianist Milt Raskin (1916–1977) is, according to Space Age Pop Music —
best remembered among exotica fans for what he himself may have considered one of his less memorable efforts: Exotic Percussion, also released as Kapu, on the notorious Crown Records.
Issued in 1969, Exotic Sounds Of Hawaii is a stereo variant of Kapu, “complete with birdcalls and all the other weird ambience” — donhonyc
Unlike many of Crown’s releases, which packaged public domain performances or uncredited cuts from far-earlier sessions and packaged them to take advantage of whatever musical trend was getting sales at the moment, Exotic Percussion is a suite of Raskin originals, apparently recorded specifically for the release. It shares many of the elements of other classic jungle exotica classics such as Les Baxter’s Ritual of the Savage, Robert Drasnin’s Voodoo!, or Stanley Wilson’s Pagan Love: titles evoking primitive languages and pagan rituals; a mixture of unusual percussion instruments tossed in in imitation of native chants and drum songs; and good old Hollywood film music.
4 Comments on “The Milt Raskin Group – Exotic Sounds Of Hawaii album art”
What is it with Hobo and Hawaii?
Hello Florian,
you are meaning: why Hobo for Hawaii?
I believe there, that with a simple question, on a tune of ukulele, you are touching the Grail.
What’s “make” Rock’n Roll, or historical, ecological, Luxury, foods or cars industry, etc.
It is a whole part of graphic design and typography that remains to be deciphered, and that many professionals and communicators from all sectors of activity would like to see finally revealed, in an Excel table.
But you’re not going to kill the goose that lays the golden eggs, I hope?!
Right. There are all kind of tropes in typography and typeface selection. Some of them are more obvious – or at least comprehensible – than others. With Hobo for Hawaiʻi, I’m puzzled. Is it that its informality is linked to the idea of holidays in the sun? Do the bulging shapes remind people of pineapples? Or is it that Hobo’s A looks like the tip of a surfboard? Anyway, once established, such clichés often are self-perpetuating.
For anyone looking for a typeface that was actually inspired by Hawaiʻi – specifically its geography and climate – see CJ Dunn’s ‘Ōpua series.
Hello,
thanks for the link. Aren’t these words too, with their smooth pronunciation, what facilitates the connection between heavenly evocation and typography?
You’re referring to the wind, I guess. I appreciate this inclination to ancient cartography, as well I have a weakness for travel and marine literature, when the action takes place in the Pacific Ocean or the Caribbean, with the scent of sea spay wafting beneath the trade winds.
Not so far, there is also that fifties typographic aesthetic of fanciful Didones, which I like very much, a real source of inspiration for cocktail menus!
A Gauguin exhibition was held in Paris a few years ago.
And a catalog was produced with remarkable graphic and typographic work (by Wijntje van Rooijen and Pierre Péronnet). In addition to the very successful Tahitian-inspired headline (or Hawaiian, it’s the same for the image we have of it), and if I’m not mistaken, a font was created for the texts, Roman and italic.
There are some reproductions at GrandPalaisRmn if you’re interested, or perhaps even create a page.