On the show this week, Koop Kooper replay a 1994 interview with Etta James, swank advice on Bow Ties, news on a lost Ed Wood film that has been rediscovered and new music from Sydney vocalist Angie Hubbard from her brand new album Some Kind Of Daydream.
By Chris
January 29th, 2012
On the show this week, Koop Kooper checks out the Ohana Luau at the lake, reviews OSS 117 and play some music from the film. Takes a look at the world of swank with some great gigs and parties to attend plus the usual swank advice. Back on the radio for another week as we broadcast from the centre of Sydney in the Hi Fi stereophonically gadgeted up Penthouse.
By Chris
January 22nd, 2012
Ultra Swank – Your one stop blog for retro living, style and design
Ultra Swank takes you back in time into the kitsch, chic and swank living of the 50s, 60s and the 70s. We mainly focus on the design, architecture and the lifestyle of the happy-go-lucky and space-age-living mentality of that era – but also on the music and movies that takes you back to happier times. Ultra Swank is run by Chris, a Swede born in the wrong decade that currently resides in Barcelona. Read more
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On the show this week, Koop Kooper introduce you to a man who is going to join us once a month by the name of Kramer to talk about lounging movies. News from author Bill Raetz, swank advice on what to bring to a dinner party, a look at the world of swank with some great gigs to check out and info on a book about When The Mob Ran Vegas.
By Chris
January 15th, 2012
Tired of spinning the same old Esquivel and Les Baxter on the hi-fi? First, make sure you’ve given a listen to the fabulous Ultra Swank compilations curated by our own Chris. Then feast your ears on Luxuriamusic.com. And what a feast it is! Luxuria is an audible smorgasbord of tiki, exotica, and lounge music of our favourite era.
Since its humble beginnings in 2000, Luxuria has been, according to their site, a “meticulously curated mixture of musical genres.” This internet radio station streams an eclectic mix of obscure gems and unexpected twists on beloved standards. In the span of an hour, you can hear Astrud Gilberto’s “The Girl From Ipanema,” the Wally Gator theme song, a little Count Basie, a little Baja Marimba Band, and Mongo Santamaria’s spicy rendition of “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida.” Wowza!
October 6th, 2011
Exotica music began to take its roots as early as the 1930′s, but after WWII this romanticized version of Polynesia, far-away places, and tropical islands was clearly permeating its way into the American culture, transporting the listener with distinctive sounds like jungle drums, idiophones, Indonesian and Burmese gongs, Tahitian logs and the exotic sounds of bird calls, primal screeching, and other abstract jungle sounds. Martin Denny described this style of music as “a combination of the South Pacific and the Orient…what a lot of people imagined the islands to be like…it’s pure fantasy though.”
In the 1950′s and 60′s, “Space Age Bachelor Pad Music” (the term wasn’t in vogue at the time) was also boasting the sounds of Mexican lounge king Juan Garcia Esquivel. The new sounds in high fidelity were an experimental playground for arrangers like Esquivel and his zany mix of American pop, big band jazz, and easy Latin. “Compared to some of the other lounge music at the time, this music is anything but bland. Esquivel is spicy,” says Irwin Chusid, DJ and music historian.
By Amy Thyr
July 2nd, 2011
Dave Pike has created this swell recording for all those swingin’ bachelors. Herbie Hancock plays the keyboard along side Dave Pike’s vibraphone. Bobby Hebb had wrote “Sunny” and introduced it in this album, which was later released for hundreds of additional recordings. This album reminds me a little of Cal Tjader, who was the creator of Acid Jazz. Some of my favorite recordings are “Blind Man, Blind Man,” “Jet Set”, and “Devilette.” Jazz for the Jet Set is really boss! I highly recommend it for your next cocktail party!
By Steven Padal
March 25th, 2011
For those who have been asking when the compilations are coming back, today is your lucky day. As of now, all of the Ultra Swank compilations are available to download again – except Retro Shopping Volume 2, which has been temporarily lost somewhere between aisles four and eight. Get what you are looking for on the compilations section.
By Chris
February 12th, 2011
