I am here to make good on my promise to provide you with some of the best international music in my collection. As I mentioned in my previous blog, I love that music can be enjoyed and loved across even language barriers. Some songs merely to groove to, but sometimes there's more. In some cases, feelings and emotions can translate, and isn't that the goal? I hope you can enjoy these as much as I do, and maybe gain some exposure to artists you wouldn't normally come across.
Mi Gente - J Balvin & Willy Williams (Spanish)
The easiest and the hardest choice. With the emergence of more and more Latin artists at our fingertips, it was difficult to pick a favourite. I especially appreciate Latin bangers because of their use of flow and beat. Maybe Spanish lends itself better to rap than English at times, on par at the very least. J Balvin has had some huge hits over the last couple years and was recently featured as part of the J-Lo and Shakira Super Bowl half-time show. Which is quite appropriate given that Shakira is one of those artists he has to thank for paving the way when Latin music wasn't so prominent on the Billboard charts. She definitely put the work in to cross over into the English top 40. This beat is killer, and even though Beyonce has since added her touch to guest on this track, I still find the original the best.
Papaoutai - Stromae (French)
If you're keeping an eye on the Canadian charts, you often see a few French language songs make an appearance. One of the benefits in living in a bilingual country is we get to sample music from two distinct cultures/languages right in our backyard. Stromae, is not a Canadian artist, but by far my favourite French one. When I was traveling through Europe ages ago, I discovered his single "Alors on Danse." I loved it, and found myself listening to it on repeat for much of the trip. Eventually Kanye wrote a verse, and the song did what the Titanic couldn't do, and made it across the Atlantic. I was excited that Stromae might have more a presence here in Canada, but sadly this was not the case. I listened to his next album in 2013 and discovered this song "Papaoutai," with its high energy and great instrumentation it quickly became my new favourite Stromae track. Since then Stromae hasn't done much in the way of albums, but has had his hand in a lot of different projects, including producing "Arabesque" by Coldplay from their last album.
Glosoli - Sigur Ros (Volenska or Hopelandic)
This is an artist you'll see featured on this blog multiple times. On an upcoming blog I will feature an album of theirs on albums that changed the way I listen to music. But for now, check this song out. I picked a more approachable song for those of you who may not have been exposed to this Icelandic tour de force yet. They sing in Hopelandic, which is a mix of English, Icelandic, and Gibberish. This may not make sense to you, but this kind of music connects to my emotions in ways many other genres and styles don't. Also, maybe one of the best live shows I've seen.
The Rainmaker - Hans Zimmer (Zulu)
Another Hans mention, I know. It's my hope that one day you will learn to love him as I do. Fun fact: this is the score that inspired Hans to go on to write the music for the Lion King. You will hear some similarities and where he got the inspiration. What did you say? You want another fun fact? Ok. I've never actually seen the movie this score is from. I think one day I will, but for now I will just appreciate the track. I was introduced to this song at a young age by the means of a Drime (Drama + Mime usually set to music) called Puppetmaster, and I have been in love with that Drime and this song ever since. The Zulu choir and the African instruments are a refreshing change from a lot of your typical movie scores. I always come back to this song not just because its great, but also for nostalgia reason. Oh mama no.
Label Black - Gupz Sehra (Hindi)
I have fond memories of sitting in front of a tiny old TV in Fiji with my cousins being exposed to Bollywood music videos for the first time. They're just so happy (sounding), uplifting and catchy. It's refreshing to hear dance music with different kinds of instruments woven into it - no matter what kind of mood I might be in, "Label Black" always gets me moving. I find the flow makes this particular song very approachable if you don't have much exposure to international music. It makes you bob your head to the groove and forget that it's not English you're listening to.
Diamond - OZI (Japanese)
If you think there's a little trend happening with my international language music preferences, you might be right. Bangers only. Gimme that hype, that huge beat, that sick flow and it doesn't matter what language the song is in. I'm turning it up to 11. This is the definition of one of those bangers. The beat is sick and OZI comes in hard, spitting in Japanese and throwing a little English in here or there. Rapping in two languages has to be crazy hard to do, I can't even do it in one.
Canto Della Terra - Andre Boccelli (Italian)
Ballad. This is a Ballad. There you go. I have been listening to Tenors for a very long time, as I can remember being young and hearing Pavarotti and Boccelli being played by my mother while she cleaned. This is where my love for this type of music started, and then evolved to my love of opera. This particular song is a good gateway into it, a little more approachable than some. A while ago I made the mistake of taking my wife to Don Giovanni expecting her to get into opera, which did not happen; I should have taken her to something more approachable like Carmen or Turandot. But I digress. Love songs in Italian seems like they were meant to be, and Andre Boccelli has one of the best voices of all time. Check out this song and then dive into the rest of Sogno to be swept away.
Vor i Vaglaskogi - Kaleo (Icelandic)
Possibly another Ballad. I haven't translated the lyrics to be sure though. Yes, I am featuring another Icelandic band. Tons of talent coming out of this country has made its way to our charts, and for good reason. Kaleo is super talented, and most of their songs are actually in English, but I thought I would feature one that isn't to stay in theme with the post. Like I said, I haven't looked at the translation for this song, but that doesn't stop me from feeling whatever it is that they intended me to when writing this song. You can just feel it through their voices, and harmonies, and the smooth warm guitar sounds.
Can you relate to any of these songs? Do you have some international songs you love to listen to? Maybe some opera that would win my wife over? Let me know, I'd love to expand my library!
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