Íxtahuele are a Swedish “exotica” group that call on 1950’s jazz-library sound palette of the likes of Martin Denny and Arthur Lyman, transporting listeners to exotic locations from some forgotten past, through a very detailed research approach to this music. Their sophomore album, “Call of the Islands” builds on the tiki motif the group have established from their most unlikely of origins, Gothenburg, since their debut “Pagan Rites” . Sparkling marimba strokes and keys occupying the more lounge-informed tempos, ebb and flow like the waves crashing on a Polynesian shore, while hand percussion and bass-lines talk of the curious tribal rituals buried somewhere deep in the jungle.
Simple, seductive melodies laze around a in a hammock, swaying amongst the bird calls and animal chatter of some retro island scene. There’s a relaxed, comforting feel to the music, a breezy island soundtrack, where you can just lend yourself over to the music. If you let it, Call of the Island will transport you wherever you’d like to go and as the darkness of winter sets in, it brings a notable warmth to our daytime playlist as the album of the week.