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Favorite songs from other cultures?


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Both my daughter and I really like music from other cultures or in other languages. I'd like to add some new songs to the ones we listen to but have no idea where to start.

 

Some songs we currently have and like:

 

Marjaani Marjaani (from Billu)

 

Ayami Beek (Wana A'dar) (which is currently free at Amazon)

 

Peponi (feat. Alex Boye)

 

Anyone have some faves we can look into?

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I am fond of the Finnish folky group Värttina. This is my favorite song by them--

--but it's not exactly bouncy.

 

I'm a sucker for Indian pop, which you mostly get from the movies. There are a lot of songs I love, but here is a random sampling:

 

from a movie

 

Pretty Woman in Hindi, which is way better than Roy Orbison

 

Chale Chalo, a great workout song!

 

, sad song
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Pretty much anything from the Putamayo collections has been a hit here. Lots of variety & a good way to sample various artists.

 

Also, lately dd has really enjoyed a group called the Orthodox Celts (a Serbian group playing traditional Irish music). She found a couple of their songs on youtube:

Rocky Road to Dublin

 

I will have to look through dd's & dh's music collections because I can find many more to recommend....

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I've been listening to Boris Grebenshikov for 20 years...maybe you'll like him? Here's

, which is actually in English but have you ever tried to search for a Russian song on youtube without a Russian keyboard?? Besides, secret bonus, this song is quoted in SOTW4.

 

And Limpopo, crazy Russian folk n' roll...they're a bit hard to find on youtube, but I have an old tape. Here's

. Edited by dangermom
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IMO it does not get better than the late great Egyptian diva Oum Kolthum doing "Al Atlaal."

 

It is a long song (some performances run about an hour) such as this one on YouTube:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHDmq_NuMhY&feature=youtube_gdata_player

 

It is not as great a performance as the audio version released on Sono Cairo records, but still gives a taste of one of the greatest singers in human history doing her (IMO) masterwork.

 

Bill

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I was going to mention Grebenschikov too! His group is called Aquarium. I liked the album Radio Africa. My favorite song was Svyataya Sofiya, but I have no idea where to find these songs.

 

ETA: Ok the song's name is actually Nikita Ryazansky, I finally found it, but if you try to download any of these songs, I would doublecheck that you have a reliable source-- some of the sites I found on Google seem a little iffy.

Edited by Little Nyssa
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I was going to mention Grebenschikov too! His group is called Aquarium. I liked the album Radio Africa. My favorite song was Svyataya Sofiya, but I have no idea where to find these songs.

 

ETA: Ok the song's name is actually Nikita Ryazansky, I finally found it, but if you try to download any of these songs, I would doublecheck that you have a reliable source-- some of the sites I found on Google seem a little iffy.

 

Add me to the list of Boris Grebenshikov/Akvaryum fans. Nikita Of Riazan is one of my favorite songs too. It's on Grebenshikov's album Russian Songwriter, which I bought on CD several years ago but is available at iTunes.

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Pretty much anything from the Putamayo collections has been a hit here. Lots of variety & a good way to sample various artists.

 

I am a big fan of Putamayo also. My favorites are the songs from the Tea Lands and Coffee Lands II and Romantica and Latinas. But I probably have about 30 of them and I love most of them. For soft, kid-friendly stuff I also like the lullaby series from Ellipsis (Papa's Lullaby, Mama's Lullaby, Brazilian lullaby, etc.).

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Sheilah Chandra :: Weaving my Ancestors Voices

anything by Glen Velez

anything by Zakir Hussain

anything by Swapan Chaudhuri

Silk Thread by Yousif Sheronick

Rain of Blessings by Lama Gyurme

Escalay by Hamza El-Din

A Wish by Hamza El-Din

Krishna Das's music is pretty accessible to a Western ear

Rifat Sultana

Nusrat Fateh Ali-Khan

 

I'm sure there are lots more I'm forgetting but those will take you on a journey! A couple of them are instrumental only but the rest are vocal.

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It's a current pop song, but I love Je Veux by Zaz. It's got a jazzy, funky sound to it. It's weird when translated though.

There is a German pop song that I love, but I can't find the name of it or the group that sings it. Grrrrr! And of course the only time I hear it is on stations that don't broadcast the name on the radio display.

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We are huge Brule fans (pronounced Bru-lay). They are a contemporary, Lakota Native American group. If you are able to ever see them in concert, they are even more amazing in person. Fortunately, we live in an area where we have been able to see their concerts many times (and have gotten autographs and pictures with them too! :D).

 

We own the Star People, We The People and Passion Spirit CD's. I have not heard any of their newer CD's, but the ones we have are fantastic. Their songs are mainly instrumental.

 

The main singer's story is really cool. He was adopted to a white family, and discovered his heritage late in life, and his son and daughter are a part of the band. I cannot recommend them enough! :001_smile:

 

If you google them, you can find their webpage easily. You could try youtube as well.

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Cheb Khaled, Didi

 

 

Here's an oldie but goodie! Not for the kids maybe, but definitely one of my favs :D

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_v9oQhVE2E

 

Cheikh Lo

 

 

We're big Mary O'Hara fans here

 

 

We never get tired of Carla Bruni's voice

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1_fJj64W9A&feature=relmfu

 

And I get emotional every time I here Jacques Brel sing Ne Me Quitte Pas

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=za_6A0XnMyw

 

Lastly, A little Tucson Az. :D Linda sings these songs so so well! :001_wub:

Takes me away.

 

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