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It’s an obviously expensive production — when you follow a highly lauded big-screen classic, even by 50 years, you can’t go cheap — with the touristic exotica that’s characterized every Bond film since “Dr. No” and money spent licensing Radiohead tracks.

Among its extensive attractions, the event featured a presentation on tiki-inspired architecture by premier tiki historian Sven Kirsten; live music by a number of tiki-themed musicians — including the Tikiyaki Orchestra, one of the few first-rate exotica bands in the world — burlesque performances by a number of SoCal’s most well-known dancers; and an extraordinary tribute to Danny Balsz’s historic, Monterey Park amusement park, the Tikis, which thrived in the ‘60s and ‘70s.

This reporter attended the inaugural 2023 Exotikon event on behalf of tiki lifestyle magazine Exotica Moderne and bore witness to possibly the biggest celebration of tiki culture that Los Angeles has experienced.

“Lips” is a sly wink at midcentury jazz and exotica, mood music that’s more moving than you might expect.

Both worked for her parents’ clothing business, Exotica International.