Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Music Video: Tribalistas - Passe em casa

I have only been to Brazil once.  I got a wicked sunburn, and I was mugged by a gang of knife-wielding kids.  Fortunately, though, I was still able to come home with some beautiful photographs and a CD that I picked up in the Rio de Janiero airport by the "blink and you might have missed them" Brazilian group Tribalistas.

Coming out way back in 2002, Tribalistas' one and only album was a wonderful blend of Latin-influenced guitars and percussion matched to velvety smooth Portuguese-language vocals.  Their song Passe em casa is a perfect sample of what this album has to offer.

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Music Video: Nisvanis - Uhliin tuhai Logjiltei duu

I suppose that it's a prime example of selection bias.  As I look back over nearly 100 Open World Music posts, the vast majority of my selections have been from Europe.  Part of that comes from the fact that I can muddle through a few western European languages with enough competence to find music that I like.  Part of that comes from common cultural touch points that I can refer to when searching for music.  Part of that is simply that we share a common alphabet with western Europe.

Well, far be it for me to rest on my cultural biases!  When I woke up this morning, the first thought that entered my head (other than "Oh Jesus!  What time is it?!?" and "Where's the coffee?") was: "What is the farthest I can go to find new music for Open World Music?"  After traveling to Uzbekistan yesterday, the next logical place was Mongolia.  I mean, really, you can't get much further away either geographically or culturally.  Right?

I suppose that the answer is a definitive maybe.  As Mongolian band Nisvanis proves with their tune Uhliin tuhai Logjiltei duu, a hard rocking beat, driving bass line, and screaming guitar solos transcend all cultural divides.  At times they're a little metal, at times they're a little punk, at times they're straight ahead alternative.  But after listening to some Nisvanis, I'm almost ready to trade in my Lederhosen for a Del to hit the clubs of Ulan Bator.

Monday, November 28, 2011

Music Video: Davron Ergashev - Kelinchak

I realize that I'm a little late to pile on, but I wanted to help still(?!?) Presidential candidate Herman Cain with that whole Uzbekistan thing.  This Central Asian nation was a Soviet republic between 1924 and 1991.  It is landlocked, and is bordered by the nations of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Afghanistan, placing it in a geographically and politically strategic location.  Uzbekistan is the world's third largest exporter of cotton, and is developing its production of gold, uranium, potassium, and natural gas.  Also high among its national products is the singer Davron Ergashev.

Although Davron Ergashev generally produces central Asian influenced light pop, Kelinchak relies on a heavy reggae beat.  To be honest, combining heavily commercial Asian popular music with this Caribbean groove is enough to make Kelinchak an Open World Music standard.  It isn't going to place highly on my own personal iPod playlist, but Kelinchak is well worth a listen regardless.

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

This Year's OWM Thanksgiving Disco Playlist

A few months ago, my step-sister made me a challenge that I couldn't resist: her new Belgian husband (another music lover, apparently) and I would go head-to-head on a Thanksgiving disco playlist.  Well, after going through a dozen permutations, I have come up with my list.  They're not all "disco" songs, but they're all danceable.  Enjoy!

1)  Baaba Maal: International (Senegal)
2)  Mexican Institute of Sound:  Bienvenidos a Mi Disco (Mexico)
3)  Timbuktu:  N.a.p.  (Sweden)
4)  Napoleon Solo:  Explota (Spain)
5)  Deichkind:  E.S.D.B. (Germany)
6)  Plasticines:  La règle du jeu (France)
7)  Madsen:  Mein Herz bleibt hier (Germany)
8)  BB Brunes:  Sixty Eight (France)
9)  Die Sterne:  Depressionen aus der Hölle (Germany)
10)  Model:  Şey. . . Belki! (Turkey)
11)  Movits!:  Sammy Davis Jr. (Sweden)
12)  Koalas Desperados:  All Night Long (Germany)
13)  Casino Royale:  Anno Zero (Italy)
14)  Nous Non Plus:  Catastrophe (USA)
15)  Jens Friebe:  Über den Weg (Germany)
16)  t.A.T.u.:  220 (Russia)
17)  Frida Gold:  Wovon Sollen Wir Träumen (Germany)
18)  Dodo:  Wett di hebä (Sweden)
19)  Mono & Nikitaman:  Komplizen (Austria)
20)  Ryo the Skywalker:  ****Japan (Japan)
21)  LaBrassBanda:  Bierzelt (Germany)
22)  Manu Chao:  Besoin De La Luna (France)

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Music Video: Aydilge - Takıntı

Ah, the leaves have fallen off the trees.  The days are getting shorter.  The chronic depression is setting in.  All of this can mean only one thing:  Thanksgiving is coming!  And in celebration of "turkey day," Open World Music takes you - where else? - to Turkey.  Doing research for this first musical foray into the gateway between east and west was both fun and challenging.  It was fun because I found all manor of really interesting bands.  It was challenging because many of the bands I really liked use really common names, and when I Google them to get more information I come up with all sorts of irrelevant sites.  When I Google them with the descriptor "Turkey," I come up with all sorts of irrelevant and bizarre sites.

But then I came up with Aydilge, and her song Takıntı.  Aydilge comes from a rich lineage of poets and writers, and she has taken that background to work as a singer and songwriter.  As with much of the other popular Turkish music that I have discovered, Takıntı is an exciting blend of western rock and middle eastern rhythms. 

Friday, November 18, 2011

Blast from the Past: Xmal Deutschland - Augenblick

One of the great things about coming of age in the 1980s - at least as remembered through the sepia-toned haze of middle age - was that every high school had one really cute punk girl.  My school's cute punk girl was a year older than me, but because my school was so small, we managed to become friends.  I would loan her my Dead Kennedys and Billy Bragg albums, and she would loan me her Clash and Savage Republic albums.  One day, she supplied me with an odd EP by a German goth band called Xmal Deutschland.  While it wasn't exactly love at first listen, I liked it enough that I picked up one of their CDs that spring when I was in Munich on vacation with my family. 

Augenblick is a pretty representative sample of Xmal Deutschland in those days.  Intentionally monotonous and repetitive rhythms and lyrics weave a post-industrial tapestry of barely contained angst.  Really the perfect soundtrack for a misfit teenager in those days of the Cold War, the disintegrating family structure, and economic uncertainty. 

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Not French but French

One of the first things you notice when you listen to music produced around the world is how much of it is in English.  This is true, not just in the English world as one would expect, but in non-English speaking countries as well.  With the worldwide popularity of American and British musicians, this is perhaps not all that surprising.  However, one thing that I have noticed as I have tried to find non-English popular music is how many artists perform in French when they are from non-French speaking countries.  This is not a knock in any way on the French language.  Rather, it is an observation that French, for all of its beauty and rich artistic heritage, is not widely regarded as the international language of popular music in the same way that English is.

With this in mind, I thought it might be fun to showcase three of these Francophone artists that hail from non-French countries.

First, I bring you an artist from Poland that I just recently discovered named Mademoiselle Karen.  Her music, at least on the track Ouaf, Ouaf, is hip-hop.  However, her heart is very much in the realm of French cabaret.  Adding to the confusion, Mademoiselle Karen is a classically trained musician who was born and raised in Denmark before moving to Poland to perform with Czeslaw Mosil (a fellow graduate of the Royal Danish Academy of Music). 

Next on tap, I reacquaint you with the German group Pierre Ferdinand et les Charmeurs, who performed respectably in the Bundesvision 2011 competition.  Now, I have to admit to cheating a little bit here.  Despite having many French related titles, despite usually having French subject matter, and despite often singing in what I take to be French-accented German, their lyrics are typically in German.  But hey, it's my blog, and I can showcase whatever bands I want to.  In Alles von Pierre, Pierre Ferdinand et les Charmeurs follow their usual formula of playing heavily French-influenced swing and lounge.

Finally, I bring you a band from the good old U.S. of A.  Nous non Plus has been lighting up New York City since 2005, when they formed out of the ashes of another faux-French band Les Sans Coulottes.  While often teetering on the edge of being a novelty act, Nous non Plus produces some excellent French-language pop that would not be out of place in Paris.  The new track J'en Ai Marre perfectly showcases Nous non Plus' ability to put out insanely catchy tunes in a language that probably few of their listeners actually understand.

ADDENDUM: 
Well, I'm a day late and a dollar short, but here's another artist that I wanted to be sure to add to this list because A) I can; and B) I love this song.  Paula is another German artist, who produces some very danceable electro-pop.  Most of the time, she sings in German.  Every once in a while, perhaps because her brand of electro-pop has wide appeal in France, she sings in French.  C'est comme ça is perhaps her best example. 

Friday, November 11, 2011

Music Video: Myslovitz - Scenariusz Dla Moich Sąsiadów

It's funny.  Over 14 years ago, I married a beautiful woman of Polish descent.  And yet, over the year or so since I started this blog, I have never posted a video by a Polish band.  Until now.

Today, from the Polish town of Mysłowice comes the nationally popular band Myslovitz, and their song Scenariusz Dla Moich Sąsiadów.  This particular track is an enjoyable Polish take on the alternative genre from their 2006 album Happiness is Easy.  While it is somewhat dated in that respect, Myslovitz has a new album slated for release this year.

Thursday, November 10, 2011

Music Video: Locas in Love - An den falschen Orten

I will admit to having an affinity for bands with female bassists.  I don't know why that is, and I certainly don't know why I am telling the world this, other than to use it as an eye-catching way to introduce Köln, Germany's band Locas in Love.  Fortunately, Locas in Love is more than just a band with a female bassist.  For over 10 years, they have been successfully producing insidiously catchy pop tunes, like their most recent single, An den falschen Orten.

As usual, non-English language pop gets little play outside of whatever country it comes from.  If there was any justice, though, Locas in Love would have a solid underground following in the U.S. or the U.K.

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Music Video: Babaman - Tentan Di Fermarmi

I am always amazed at how well reggae and its various offshoots (ska, dancehall, ragga, etc.) seem to travel around the world.  If you have read more than a few of my posts, you will note that I post a lot of German reggae.  Well, today I will give you a tasty bite of Italian dancehall.

Hailing from Milan, Babaman has put out 10 albums of pretty decent quality music.  His track Tentan Di Fermarmi, from his 2008 album "Dinamite" is a nicely representative sample.  It has slick, heavy beats, intense vocals, and plenty of typical dancehall bravado.