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!

Luxuria DJs host clever theme shows in the evenings. Themes can range from spy jazz and latin-a-go-go to sunshine pop and ambient fusion. Shows include: “Kitsch Niche,” “Atomic Cocktail,” “The Now Sound,” “Beyondophonic Action Hour,” and “K.A.O.S. A Go-Go.” During the day, the Luxotron 5000 spins a more random mix of quirky delights.

Streaming of the channel is reliable and of relatively good quality. The Luxuria stream can be played through iTunes, Winamp, or directly through a web browser. Some shows are available as downloadable podcasts. And the play list is updated in real time on the Luxuria website, which can be dangerous to avid music collectors or listeners hoping to have a productive day. Consulting the play list can lead to countless hours scouring online music stores for albums or YouTube for video clips. My own recent listen led me to research Mongo Santamaria, which, thanks to a user’s mash-up video, led me to seek out a mod Westinghouse refrigerator film/commercial.

Let Luxuria provide the soundtrack to your next swanky soiree. Unhook your ears and open your mind to the sounds you won’t encounter on today’s hit parade. You will dig it!