- You have to admire the chutzpah of Don't DJ's Authentic Exoticism. Released on SEXES, a label that "seeks to map the relations between identity and power," it addresses the topic of cultural hybridization in its music as well as its slightly nauseating cover image (a fleshy pan flute with a European-style mouthpiece) and an essay inside its elaborate sleeve. The gist of that essay is roughly as follows: problematic as it is in many ways, exoticism—that is, Western fetishization of "native" cultures—is an authentic cultural phenomenon, rooted in the feeling that the West's own culture is "corrupt" and "a dead end, where everyone wants out but nobody knows how." Delicate as those ideas may be, Don't DJ barrels through them with wit and irreverence, and creates some lovely music in the process.
Authentic Exoticism would be a remarkable record even without its conceptual side. This is lush and transportive music, in turns groovy and meditative, immediately soothing and totally unusual. Its fluid polyrhythms are a genuine exploration beyond the boundaries of Western musical tradition—the kind of thing Burnt Friedman, in an interview with RA last year, implored more artists to do. Its sonic palette, meanwhile, dips into a more self-parodying idea of the exotic, evoking cartoon jungles through woodblocks, bird calls and droning crickets. Tacky as they are, these sounds lend the record vivid atmosphere, and prove its point about the power of such signifiers. In beautifully exemplifying its titular theme, Authentic Exoticism is a surprisingly effective marriage of music and ideas.
TracklistA1 Savanna Siesta
A2 Savanna Sundown
B1 Southern Shore
B2 Southeast Subterrane