Do you like listening to music that's in a language you don't speak?

[Positron]

Alim Qasimov (there are a few transliterations of his name) is a traditional singer of Azerbaijan who had a meteoric rise in international fame in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The cynic in me thinks that, after the death of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan in 1997, the world music market needs to find someone with a similar vocal quality. This doesn't, of course, means his music isn't enjoyable in its own terms.

I saw him in concert many years ago. He even stayed and talked with the audience afterwards -- through an interpreter though; he doesn't speak or understand English.

 

[Yellow Yam Scam]

oh babee

 

[m0rnutz]

Ma inec in ochii tai, lal-la-lei
Plange lumea dupa ei, lal-la-lei
Esti un inger pe Pamant
Despre tine cant si zi si noapte, lal-la-lei......

It depends on the music mostly.

 

[ulsterscotsman]

I love the Italian Alpini songs.

 

[Positron]

Susana Baca is currently Peru's most internationally renowned singer. I always turn to the album Lamento Negro, recorded when she was much younger. You can't hear such sweetness and freshness in her voice nowadays. Unfortunately there are copyright disputes around this album and Baca prefers not to talk about it.

 

[ShittyRecolor]

Alim Qasimov (there are a few transliterations of his name) is a traditional singer of Azerbaijan who had a meteoric rise in international fame in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The cynic in me thinks that, after the death of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan in 1997, the world music market needs to find someone with a similar vocal quality. This doesn't, of course, means his music isn't enjoyable in its own terms.

I saw him in concert many years ago. He even stayed and talked with the audience afterwards -- through an interpreter though; he doesn't speak or understand English.

Azerbaijan has a great musical scene I really should put more effort into discovering. Aziza Mustafa Zadeh, one of my favorite Fusion pianists\vocalists, also originates from there:

 

[invalid]

I just watch other countries music videos because it's interesting to see what a standard music video is like in other countries/cultures. It's not always about the music.

Sometimes they pretty catchy though

 

[Positron]

What is now called "Bulgarian choral music" or "mysterious voice of Bulgaria" is actually a 20th century concoction, the result of the Communist Party's promotion of "national identity". But it is perfectly OK to turn a blind eye to its political context and enjoy the otherworldly harmonies. The best performers of Bulgarian choral music I've ever heard hail from -- Japan. The 100-strong group Geinoh Yamashirogumi research ethnic musical tradition from all over the world, and their performance is emblematic of typical Japanese dedication and precision. The transparency of their voices and their fine graduation of dynamics are simply incomparable. Here is a selection from their early album Reverbration of the Earth. Most of the songs are Bulgarian (tracks 1,2,4,9,10,12), the rest are from Russia (tracks 5,6,7) and Georgia (Central Asia, tracks 3,8,11) respectively.

 

[ShittyRecolor]

What is now called "Bulgarian choral music" or "mysterious voice of Bulgaria" is actually a 20th century concoction, the result of the Communist Party's promotion of "national identity". But it is perfectly OK to turn a blind eye to its political context and enjoy the otherworldly harmonies. The best performers of Bulgarian choral music I've ever heard hail from -- Japan. The 100-strong group Geinoh Yamashirogumi research ethnic musical tradition from all over the world, and their performance is emblematic of typical Japanese dedication and precision. The transparency of their voices and their fine graduation of dynamics are simply incomparable. Here is a selection from their early album Reverbration of the Earth. Most of the songs are Bulgarian (tracks 1,2,4,9,10,12), the rest are from Russia (tracks 5,6,7) and Georgia (Central Asia, tracks 3,8,11) respectively.

Wow. I had a hard time deciding whether to rate your post "informative" or "winner".

 

[Positron]

Dug out an old CD by Maui y Los Sirénidos. Nice fusion of flamenco and light jazz.

 

[Positron]

A beautiful lullaby that ends their album Local Ground.

Close your eyes, sweetie.
Daddy will come home tomorrow.
And he will bring along a present.

 

[TwinkleSnort]

Yes, I like to listen to music in languages I don't speak. IMO, music is language, while at the same time, it also transcends it. I'm a born communicator, and I am intrigued by language/communication of every kind, with music being a particular love.

 

[TwinkleSnort]

A beautiful lullaby that ends their album Local Ground.

Close your eyes, sweetie.
Daddy will come home tomorrow.
And he will bring along a present.

Gaelic is beautiful.

 

[Magic Sun Daddy]

Bitch, please. My fucking theme song is Japanese AND gibberish.

 

[Ginger Piglet]

Eluveitie. Pronounced "el-vey-ti."

They are a Celtic metal band from Switzerland and a large number of their songs are in ancient Helvetian.

Yes. THAT Ancient Helvetian. The language that blue-painted barbarians with names ending in -ix would have spoken when Julius Caesar came along.

Here's some of their stuff:

If music be the food of love, then nata vimpi, cvrmi da!*

* = Pretty girl, bring me beer!

 

[Zeorus]

Eluveitie. Pronounced "el-vey-ti."

They are a Celtic metal band from Switzerland and a large number of their songs are in ancient Helvetian.

Yes. THAT Ancient Helvetian. The language that blue-painted barbarians with names ending in -ix would have spoken when Julius Caesar came along.

Here's some of their stuff:

If music be the food of love, then nata vimpi, cvrmi da!*

* = Pretty girl, bring me beer!

If memory serves, they've also recorded an album that's entirely in Gaulish (don't recall which one off the top of my head). Eluveitie's a real gem.

 

[RichardMongler]

All the time.

Here's Farshid Arabi, an Irani guitarist who plays Metal inspired by Rumi's poetry.

 

[Sylvie Paula Paula]

Other than Vocaloid & songs from idol anime/games, there are some Japanese artists I enjoy - Susumu Hirasawa, Kyary Pamyu Pamyu, Kikuo (even though he's a Vocaloid producer I do kind of count him as otherwise because of his collab albums with Hanatan), and Babymetal.
In French, I like Edith Piaf, Babylon Circus and Emilie Simon. The only German artists I've enjoyed on a semi-consistent level is E Nomine.
And there are other songs in other languages I also enjoy... some of which is K-Pop, actually, but the fandoms tend to turn me off from their music as I worry it'll be hyped up too much. There's one artist who I enjoy, Vagabond Opera, who does songs in Russian sometimes (and possibly other languages, I haven't dug too deep into their discography yet). This is the only one I can remember off of the top of my head other than what's listed above -

 

[POWER IN MISERY]

sometimes.

 

[SregginKcuf]

I like spanish music as long as it isn't Despacito...