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It's thanks to the requests/recommendations thread that I discovered Amelie-les-crayons, my new favourite French band. I like Jaques Brel, too.
In Hebrew, I listen to Korin Alal and המכשפות (HaMachshefot or "The Witches"). They did a song with Nick Cave, but sadly he's not in the video:
And yes, I have just realised that this particular song is in English. Hah!
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"One of the disadvantages of almost universal education was the fact that all kinds of persons acquired a familiarity with one's favourite writers. It gave one a curious feeling; it was like seeing a drunken stranger wrapped in one's dressing-gown."
http://www.justgiving.com/nicsi <--- I'm shaving my head for charity after the Summer, so if you feel particularly nice you can sponsor me here
Wallias Band - really good ethiopian (afrobeat kinda?) band. really funky with great horns and organs and everything.
Fela Kuti - the man was an asshole and a genius. he was sort of the pioneer of the whole afrobeat thing. jazz, funk, nigerian folk, with (usually unintelligible) african chants. check out his album Zombie, for starters. then maybe try Expensive Shit.
Asha Bhosle - famous Bollywood singer who sarted her career in the 1950s and is kinda still going. i am not really smart on Bollywood but i came across her on some mixtape i was given of good Indian music, and i fell in love with her voice. you'd be fine to get a "best of" by her or something, i think she does no wrong. here's the best clip of her singing i could ( bother to, at 3:30am) find:
Also... listen to Sun Ra. Period. Anything he did, especially after 1958 or so, will immediately make your face melt off of your head. Not exactly "world music" but definitely "other-worldly music." Go listen to him now.
My world music knowledge is somewhat restricted, but non-English language artists I like:
Camille (French)
Charline Rose (French; does French language covers of Protege Moi by Placebo and The River by PJ Harvey amongst her own material)
Shakira (I like her a lot more in Spanish than English)
Gotan Project (Spanish)
Ojos de Brujo (Spanish / Catalan)
La Oreja de Van Gogh (really cheesy Spanish pop, but it reminds me of working in Segovia in 2001)
For me, I'm loving Sweden at the moment. I don't have any Swedish-language music, but I'm a big fan of The Cardigans, Jens Lekman, Roxette, bits of Peter Bjorn & John...
My world music knowledge is somewhat restricted, but non-English language artists I like:
Camille (French)
Shakira (I like her a lot more in Spanish than English)
Gotan Project (Spanish)
Ojos de Brujo (Spanish / Catalan)
La Oreja de Van Gogh (really cheesy Spanish pop, but it reminds me of working in Segovia in 2001)
I love Shakira in Spanish, although I think her material in English is terrible. I also love love love La Oreja de Van Gogh. Its pop, but its not THAT cheesy. They write and play all their songs,and yeah they're catchy as fuck, but that doesn't make them bad. I also love Ojos de Brujo. You might like Mala Rodriguez, although she's more of a rapper, and doesn't really incorporate that much flamenco into her music. You might also dig Chambao, they're more easy-listening than Ojos de Brujo, but they mx flamenco w/electronica and pop.
Also, check out Colombia's Aterciopelados. You might also like Julieta Venegas and/or Ely Guerra, both from Mexico. If you want me to post any of this stuff, let me know...
I'm listening to Chilly Friday right now. They sing in Greenlandic, or Kalaallisut. Very interesting to hear since it sounds so different from anything I'm used to.
I keep trying to post my favorite Asha Bhosle song, but for some reason the video won't work. It's "Jawani Jaaneman" though. Insanely catchy.
For the hell of it, I'll go through my iPod and see how many different languages I have music in. It helps a lot for learning a new language too (though I have a hard time finding anything in Danish, can find lots for Finnish and Portuguese). Great idea for a thread like this, glad to see it.
Last edited by alectronancy : 07-03-2008 at 12:31 AM.
Not directed at the thread starter specifically, but...
It just dawned on me that it seems very American to lump all non English speaking countries into "World Music."
I think that the initial best of cds from Byrne's label Luaka Bop have been reissued. Brazil Tropicalia and that stuff? I am blanking. I have one with (a song I have put on a lot of mixes) the groovy Ponta De Lanca Africano (Umbabarauma) by Jorge Ben. I have a smattering of French music of varying styles. I love Shiela Chandra's more traditional releases like Nada Brahma. I like a bit of sama here and there - Like Jobim, but I'm not well versed. I have a lot of samplers from varying countries. The only one I didn't like too much was a Japanese classical one.
__________________ "They're fine. If you like that sort of thing. Which I don't."
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Last edited by historygravity : 07-03-2008 at 08:42 PM.
Reason: remembered the name of the label
The only reason I made a WORLD music thread is because the majority of the artists/bands discussed on this forum are English language, be they from Iceland, Sweden or Japan. I wanted to make a thread to discuss artists/bands that create music and write in their native languages.
It's funny that armies of yuppies and liberal arts students make such a big deal out of world music, since even people in other cultures know English language music is superior to their own.
They actually get offended when English-speaking people express interest in their music, because it's like a rich person romanticizing poverty.
Notice how you always hear of shows by English speaking bands in non-English speaking countries, where entire stadiums of people sing along to every word. Whereas the reverse isn't really true. Maybe someone's mom gets drunk at a Gypsy Kings concert and does an obnoxious impression, but that's about it.
By any measure, Niyaz has come very far, very fast. The trio's 2005 debut featured a convincing blend of Sufi mysticism and trance electronica, and quickly established them as a standout ensemble in a very crowded world music field. A worldwide tour followed. Now, Niyaz returns with Nine Heavens, which doesn't just cross cultural and stylistic boundaries, but the centuries as well. Drawing on medieval Persian poetry and 300-year old Persian folk songs, Niyaz has created a 21st century global trance tradition.
This may seem like a tall order for a band that's barely three years old - until you realize who these musicians are. Vocalist Azam Ali co-founded the best-selling world music duo Vas in 1996; her unmistakable voice has graced numerous recordings and major film scores. Loga Ramin Torkian is a multi-instrumentalist whose group Axiom of Choice brought the ancient sounds of Persian classical music to Western listeners in the 1990s. And producer Carmen Rizzo, a multiple Grammy nominee, has worked with Coldplay, Seal, Ryuichi Sakamoto, and many others. Small wonder then that the trio hit the ground running with its self-titled debut. Now, with Nine Heavens, Niyaz breaks new ground in a two-disc format: the first is an adventurous, spiritual exploration of the ties that bind Persian, Indian, Turkish, and Western dance music. The second disc showcases 8 out of the 9 songs in a purely acoustic setting. - From Amazon.com
her.
