Orienta

Orienta

The Markko Polo Adventures
RCA Victor LPM-1919
1958

Occasionally, on this blog, I talk about the exotica musical form taking you on trips to fantastic worlds. Apparently, in 1959, RCA understood this (saying as much on the back cover). They (Gerald Fried) created this world with a few interesting tricks. Overlaying crowd noises, adding odd little sounds  and recording music that sounds like it was recorded in the distance (or in the next room).

This album was arranged by Gerald Fried who is know for arranging music for films and TV, including Star Trek. Apparently Fried went to high school with Stanley Kubrick and composed scores for his first four films.

One blog covering this work mentioned that some folks may consider this project a "parody" of exotica. To me, 1958 seems a bit early in the timeline to be doing a parody when the form only received it's "label" in 1957. Who would get the joke? In fact, exotica as a whole, could be considered a parody of world/folk music traditions. Could it be that Fried just wanted to make an "exotica" LP and this is what he came up with?

Whatever is the case, this record is a great addition to your collection.