Official thread about all non-english language music

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mat.bez.lima
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Official thread about all non-english language music

Post by mat.bez.lima »

I'm back!

Let's talk about the great music by many artists across the world who are not in english language. The canon of world popular music, even here in RYM, is very limited to american or britain music. Other countries with many diverse, unique genre and styles produce music as great, but almost never are able to reach world projection as much anglo-artists. United States and England project their culture for the whole world in a way that others countries simply can't do. I wonder, for example, if Elis Regina was an american singer. There is space in this thread for all kinds of exotic genres and artists also.

I will start talking about Luiz Gonzaga. The seas of culture in the world are vast, many great traditions and musical styles that are symbols of identifications for many cultures across the world. Here in Brazil, we have a giant country with many diversity of styles across the many regions here. The Northeastern region of Brazil, as well as its culture, was traditionally marginalized, suffering with prejudice in the South and Southeast regions of Brazil. It is a fascinating culture that I still have a superficial understanding, but it fascinates me, specially as my whole family, including my fathers, has its origins there, born there and grew up there, even tough I did not. The history of the region, its people, their humor, their suffering, their dialect, all is incredible. Most of our greatest humorists come from there and most of the simple workers in the big contructions of Brazil, as the planned city of Brazilia, the capital of the country, were from there, specially because how many tried their luck outside there wanting better life conditions because of the huge poverty and the lack or rain difficulting the agriculture. And Luiz Gonzaga was and still is the supreme musical artist of the Northeastern.

His songs are very dancing, the acordeon at the main front of all songs. There is a great unaffected common-man sincerity and unpretentiouness to the fun of his songs, he speaks directly to average people of the Northeastern. Acordeon is a crucial instrument of traditional music of the Northeastern. The lyrics of his songs use direct language in a strong northeastern dialect, slangs, ectera. The themes vary from reflections about the typical life, struggles and joys of the typical northeastern people, as “Asa Branca”, “Vozes da Seca”, "Triste Partida", "Assum Preto" (a critic against pierceing the eyes of birds so that they sing even more), “A Vida De Viajante” and “Apologia Ao Jumento” to celebrations of the joy of typical northeastern musical styles, dances and parties as “Só Xote”, “Forró Número 1”, “Quero Chá”, “Xote Machucador” and “Forró No Escuro”, sensual odes to female beauty as “Cintura Fina”, humorous songs as “Não Vendo, Não Troco, Nem Dou” and many humourous songs about male sexual impotency as “Capim Novo” and “Ovo de Codorna” (the best song about male sexual impotency ever). Ultimately, he personifies the culture the traditional culture of Northeastern region and is nicknamed “King Of Baião”.

Luiz Gonzaga has a purity of his artistry that is impressive, he really embodies the traditional musicality of the most traditional and oldest styles of the Northeastern, and reinventing them also, he is the greatest symbol of northeastern culture in Brazil, he will never stop getting his due there until the end. Despite becoming perhaps the first star in brazilian music, reaching huge popularity across the whole country during the 40s, he did not pander to attract wide audiences, his target public remained the people from northeastern, always faithful to his own culture. His whole music is based solely in three instruments,the most typical of northeastern culture: the acordeon, as I said before, the zabumba and the triangle, alongside many very distinctive vocal harmonies in the choirs of his songs. I don’t ever recall a piano, a guitar or any instrument used in his songs besides these three, reafirming what I said about his purity and faithfulness to the traditional music of the northeastern region.

I feel proud for passing his music for a new audience here, because even tough he is one of the greatest brazilian artists ever, championed by the likes of Gilberto Gil, Caetano Veloso and Raul Seixas, he is relatively obscure worldwide due to how regionalist his music is in every sense.
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Jirin
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Re: Official thread about all non-english language music

Post by Jirin »

I wish we had better ways to learn about non-English music in the US, but if it's not distributed in the US it's probably not on Spotify and the only place I can reasonably be recommended them is here.
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prosecutorgodot
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Re: Official thread about all non-english language music

Post by prosecutorgodot »

New band tricot (originating from Kyoto, Japan) keeps popping up in my feed, and every single thing I click on is great. They're kind of math-rocky. I haven't yet checked out a full-length project, but just try out anything by them. The song I enjoyed earlier this year by them is "Potage", but this band is very surprising in their versatility. One of their songs can sound completely different from another. Live performances sound great too.
DaveC
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Re: Official thread about all non-english language music

Post by DaveC »

prosecutorgodot wrote:New band tricot (originating from Kyoto, Japan) keeps popping up in my feed, and every single thing I click on is great. They're kind of math-rocky. I haven't yet checked out a full-length project, but just try out anything by them. The song I enjoyed earlier this year by them is "Potage", but this band is very surprising in their versatility. One of their songs can sound completely different from another. Live performances sound great too.
Good recommendation. That Audiotree Live performance was most enjoyable. Very accessible math-rock crossed with pop. I haven't heard another math-rock band that also employ great multi-part vocals and a melodic sensibility like this.
Jirin
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Re: Official thread about all non-english language music

Post by Jirin »

A lot of the non-English speaking music I end up getting into is from African French artists. This year, Fatoumata Diawara.
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