In Francesco Adinolfi’s Mondo Exotica: Sounds, Visions, Obsessions of the Cocktail Generation, he explores how post-war escapism fuelled the co-opting of ethnic and cultural stereotypes to subsequently spawn an exciting, but comfortable, alternative reality. The commercial success of the broadly-defined exotica sound fed on this desire to tangentially experience the mystery and glamour of far-off locales. Ted Feighan’s recording project, Monster Rally, uses the language of collage and the backdrop of exotica to explore the boundaries of authentic and imagined sounds. The largely instrumental, loop-based songs are culled from his vast collection of records, spanning tropicália, surf-rock, spaghetti western, and countless other dollar-bin genres. There’s a backbone of hip-hop running through the tracks, undoubtedly influenced by the use of samples in modern rap music, but the resultant soundtrack nods heavily to escapism – perhaps a bit dangerous, but ultimately something we all need every now and again.
- Hunter Mack (Gold Robot Records)
Kaffa- Kaffa, Ethiopia
This complex and creamy coffee is from the western Ethiopian Kaffa zone. Kaffa is in the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and People’s Region (SNNPR) in what was formerly Kaffa province. The forests of the Kaffa highlands are thought to be where coffee evolved; in fact, both the word Kaffa and the English word coffee are believed to be derived from the same Arabic root, qahwah, meaning “a drink made from berries”.