Non-English music...

[Guest kayden]

In America it's rare that anyone listens to "foreign" music, even foreign music that's in English.

[Kev de Cauchery]

I've been listening to foreign songs all my life, a.k.a. English songs.

 

Well, I can't tell you much about Chinese songs, since no song come to mind if I had to pick a Chinese song to save my life.

 

Yet a Japanese song came to mind. Thing is, I've never ever wanted to listen to a JPN song till this one.

 

Sorry about no link of youtube. Youtube is again blocked. S**t.

 

 

そばにいるね (soba ni iru ne, aka I'm by Your Side)

performed by 青山 テルマ (Thelma Aoyama) feat. SoulJa

 

I'll come up with a Chinese song, hopefully.

 

 

Edit added:

Just a few others, carefully selected.

 

From the Thai film 'รักแห่งสยาม (Rak Haeng Siam, aka The Love of Siam)' 's Soundtrack:

Ticket (Day Trip)

performed by ชูเกียรติ ศักดิ์วีระกุล (Chookiat Sakveerakul) and August Band

with Eng sub

 

From the 1998 French musical 'Notre Dame de Paris':

Le Temps des Cathédrales

Bohémienne

both performed by the Cast

 

From the 2002 French musical 'Le Petit Prince' 's soundtrack:

Le Jardin des Roses

performed by the Cast

Edited January 6, 2010 by KevinCaucher

[MikeL]

It's no surprise that so many European groups sing in English. English has become nearly every European's second language...except in the UK of course.

 

An English language CD by an Estonian rock band is going to garner more sales and play time on radio all over the continent than one in their native tongue. As such groups gain popularity in Europe, their promoters will get them into the US market. Essentially, as English becomes the primary international language, every market will be open to everyone.

 

I enjoy music in a number of languages and own CDs or MP3 downloads in Italian and Gaelic (my two favorites) plus Spanish, Greek, Hawaiian, and several African languages. I enjoy the variety of music styles even though I can understand a little of the Italian and absolutely none of the others. We heard a folk music group in Prague several years ago; didn't understand a word but loved the melodies.

 

Sorry to hear, Kevin, that the "Great Firewall" is back in place.

[Tipdin]

I am American and listen to more non-American music makers than anything else. My mother was a classical pianist to I grew up listening to mostly classical music. I came of age in the disco era so I would die if my dance music stopped. My taste in music today covers a wide variety from trance to opera.

 

Mario Frangoulis is a greek singer that sings in many different languages, and Alessandro Safina, an Italian singer, also has an amazing voice.

 

I prefer not understanding the language, the rhythms of both the voice and the music stand out to me that way.

[Tarin]

Oh my, you got me started now didn't you? I love music, and I see the voice as another instrument. Good music should not need words, but they can enhance it. Otherwise it is just poetry with a melody, which is not a bad thing. I'll let you in on some of my favourites. (*) means I strongly recommend checking out all of their work.

 

The one you posted Kayden is very good! Sorry Kevin, I have yet to check yours out.

 

Native tongue:

Nicolai -

(Danish) *

Eluveitie -

(Swiss Celt?)

Roger Whittaker -

(French)

Jordy can Loon - Verleifdheid (Dutch) *

Tom Klijbroek -

(Dutch)

Sigur Ros -

(Icelandic) *

Glukoza -

(Russian)

Francis Bernier - Pourquoi tu cries? (French) *

Camille -

(French) *

 

 

In English from abroad: (very brief sample)

Jon - Popstar (Denmark)

Bluepop -

(France)

Jorane -

(Québec) * Much of her work is in French.

Alexander Rybak -

(Norway)

Christine Guldbrandsen -

(Norway)

 

 

Edit for Jack's québéquois obsession correction.

Edited January 8, 2010 by Tarin

[Guest kayden]

そばにいるね (soba ni iru ne, aka I'm by Your Side)

performed by 青山 テルマ (Thelma Aoyama) feat. SoulJa

 

http://www.youtube.c.../ThelmaAoyamaTV Can't open the link myself, but hopefully there's the song there.

That's just a link to a channel for her. Here's a link to the actual song for anyone interested:

 

http://www.youtube.c...h?v=v2YExb8xiAg

 

(Why does she incorporate English phrases into her music, though? I've noticed a lot of English words in a lot of the non-English songs I've been listening to. Such a shame, in my opinion.) Beautiful song nonetheless!

 

 

It's no surprise that so many European groups sing in English. English has become nearly every European's second language...except in the UK of course.

 

An English language CD by an Estonian rock band is going to garner more sales and play time on radio all over the continent than one in their native tongue. As such groups gain popularity in Europe, their promoters will get them into the US market. Essentially, as English becomes the primary international language, every market will be open to everyone.

 

Yeah, I know it's better for sales as it's easier for them to gain international recognition with English-sung music, I just think it's a shame. I'm not opposed to people doing it, but I'm depressed to think music is on its way to being only in English, (an exaggeration, I'm sure, but I really think non-English music is not made nearly as often as probably should be. I feel sorry for those from other countries. )

 

I enjoy music in a number of languages and own CDs or MP3 downloads in Italian and Gaelic (my two favorites) plus Spanish, Greek, Hawaiian, and several African languages. I enjoy the variety of music styles even though I can understand a little of the Italian and absolutely none of the others. We heard a folk music group in Prague several years ago; didn't understand a word but loved the melodies.

 

I love the Gaelic language, but have had trouble finding good music in Gaelic. I used to have a heavy metal album in Italian that I liked, but I can't remember who it was. I'll bet Greek music would be interesting!

 

I am American and listen to more non-American music makers than anything else. My mother was a classical pianist to I grew up listening to mostly classical music. I came of age in the disco era so I would die if my dance music stopped. My taste in music today covers a wide variety from trance to opera.

 

Mario Frangoulis is a greek singer that sings in many different languages, and Alessandro Safina, an Italian singer, also has an amazing voice.

 

I prefer not understanding the language, the rhythms of both the voice and the music stand out to me that way.

 

Wow, Alessandro Safina does have an amazing voice! I like "

".

 

 

 

 

I love music, and I see the voice as another instrument.

 

I agree, and it's my favorite instrument. I just wish I could develop my own voice more. My most potent dream is to be able to sing well. Ah, if only. Perhaps I should look into those voice lessons again...

 

 

Jordy can Loon - Verleifdheid (Dutch) *

 

Haha! I have no idea what he was saying, but I couldn't stop laughing throughout this whole song! The words, (assuming they are, in fact, words! ), flow so well and there's hardly a break. What a fun melody, too!

 

 

Tom Klijbroek -

(Dutch)

 

Yes, I'm familiar with Tom. He's a big fan of 3JS, (the band in the video I posted above), and they actually wrote "Verliefd Op Jou" for him. He has such an amazing voice! I prefer the song "

" though.

 

 

Sigur Ros -

(Icelandic) *

 

Yeah, I hate you. I opened this in another tab and didn't even watch the video at first, just listened to the music. The song actually brought me to tears, until it seemed to get happier. (Then, like, the last two seconds it gets all screwy and made me sad just before the song ended.) It's hauntingly beautiful, possibly one of my new favorite songs and I can't wait to check out more by them! Then, of course, I watched the video. WOW. There's no way I'll ever be able to listen to this song without crying. An amazing video for an amazing song, truly touching and heartwrenching.

 

 

Glukoza -

(Russian)

 

And then you redeem yourself! This song is awesome. Period! And the music video was so hilarious! Muchos gracias, mi amigo!

[Myval]

I love music, that isn't english based

 

And Tarin, I did a bit of digging, a bit back, I believe Omnos is actually Gaulish, not Gaelic.

 

Okay my little list, some may be sung in both english and the other language

 

Fleur Du Mal Sarah Brightman (French/English)

Life is like a Boat Rie Fu (Japanese/English)

Tunak Tunak Tun Daler Mehndi (Indian, i think)

Sarah Brightman and Andrea Bocelli (Italian/English, I think)

Enigma (French/Latin, I think)

Enya (Not even sure on this one, Gaelic maybe)

Er

[Camilo]

Well, I think there is a difference between foreign music that you can understand and foreign music which you don't know the language to. To me, part of the fun is singing along in my mind, or muttering a few verses as the song plays. Plus, understanding the lyrics is also very fun.

 

My favorite artist bar none is Shakira. I like her upbeat stuff and booty shaking, but her my favorite songs from her are the more calm and and poetic songs, which are mostly when she sings in Spanish.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKC73FvEhIo

 

 

And the Lyrics are (For those who speak Spanish and maybe have a sense of what I'm talking about) :

 

Se me acaba el argumento

y la metodología

cada vez que se aparece frente

a mí tu anatomía

 

Por que este amor ya no entiende

de consejos, ni razones

se alimenta de pretextos

y le faltan pantalones

este amor no me permite

estar en pie

por que ya hasta me ha quebrado

los talones

aunque me levante volveré a caer

si te acercas nada es útil

para esta inútil

 

Bruta, ciega, sordomuda,

torpe, traste y testaruda,

es todo lo que he sido

por ti me he convertido

en una cosa que no hace

otra cosa mas que amarte

pienso en ti día y noche

y no se como olvidarte

Cuántas veces he intentado

enterrarte en mi memoria

y aunque diga ya no más

es otra vez la misma historia

por que este amor siempre sabe

hacerme respirar profundo

ya me trae por la izquierda

y de pelea con el mundo

 

Si pudiera exorcizarme de tu voz

si pudiera escaparme de tu nombre

si pudiera arrancarme el corazón

y esconderme para no sentirme

nuevamente

 

Bruta, ciega, sordomuda,

torpe, traste y testaruda,

es todo lo que he sido

por ti me he convertido

en una cosa que no hace

otra cosa mas que amarte

pienso en ti día y noche

y no se como olvidarte

 

Ojerosa, flaca, fea desgreñada,

torpe, tonta, lenta, nécia, desquiciada,

completamente descontrolada

tu te das cuenta y no me dices nada

se me ha vuelto

la cabeza un nido

donde solamente tu tienes asilo

y no me escuchas lo que te digo

mira bien lo que vas a hacer conmigo

 

Bruta, ciega, sordomuda,

torpe, traste y testaruda,

es todo lo que he sido

por ti me he convertido

en una cosa que no hace

otra cosa mas que amarte

pienso en ti día y noche

y no se como olvidarte

 

Bruta, ciega, sordomuda,

torpe, traste y testaruda,

es todo lo que he sido

por ti me he convertido

en una cosa que no hace

otra cosa mas que amarte

pienso en ti día y noche

y no se como olvidarte

 

Bruta, ciega, sordomuda,

torpe, traste y testaruda,

es todo lo que he sido

por ti me he convertido

en una cosa que no hace

otra cosa mas que amarte

pienso en ti día y noche

y no se como olvidarte... Ooh and of course another of my favorite songs:

 

[Tiger]

I'm an Andre Bocelli fan. His most famous is probably

. It is a duet with Sarah Brightman. Despite the name, it is actually in Italian.

is also good. It's a duet with Christina Aguilera in Spanish. There are several versions of Vivo Per Lei. There's one in

, which is my favorite, but there's also an all

, an Italian/French version, a

, and an

. The Spanish and Brazilian ones do not have a mix with Italian, which is unfortunate.

 

I'll get into another I like for non-English later.

[Guest kayden]

I love music, that isn't english based

 

And Tarin, I did a bit of digging, a bit back, I believe Omnos is actually Gaulish, not Gaelic.

 

Okay my little list, some may be sung in both english and the other language

 

Fleur Du Mal Sarah Brightman (French/English)

Life is like a Boat Rie Fu (Japanese/English)

Tunak Tunak Tun Daler Mehndi (Indian, i think)

Sarah Brightman and Andrea Bocelli (Italian/English, I think)

Enigma (French/Latin, I think)

Enya (Not even sure on this one, Gaelic maybe)

Erämaajärvi Nightwish (Finnish)

Leaves' Eyes (Norwegian, maybe)

 

That my list, I'll keep an eye out for more

 

An awesome list! A Nightwish fan, huh? Didn't expect that! Are you a Sonata Arctica fan also? They're from Finland and have affiliations with Nightwish. When Nightwish was touring in North America in 2008 Sonata Arctica opened for them. I didn't catch a Nightwish concert, but I saw Sonata Arctica when they headlined without Nightwish at a small venue in upstate New York and it was AMAZING!

 

 

If you like Sonata Arctica, (or even if you don't but still like Nightwish), you might be interested in Sydänpuu. It's a band formed by Jani, the original lead guitarist for Sonata Arctica before he was kicked out of the band. (I'm not really sure if it can be called a band, Jani seems to do all the writing, and plays all the instruments except drums in the studio recordings, not to mention being the lead vocalist.) Anyway, Sonata Arctica does only English songs, but Sydänpuu is all in Finnish. Here's a sample:

 

(This includes subtitles in English so you know what he's singing in Finnish..)

 

 

 

Well, I think there is a difference between foreign music that you can understand and foreign music which you don't know the language to. To me, part of the fun is singing along in my mind, or muttering a few verses as the song plays. Plus, understanding the lyrics is also very fun.

 

I'm a HUGE "singer-alonger", (preferably not just in my mind but out loud also), but I guess what I've discovered is that music transcends language. Although knowing the meaning of the lyrics, and being able to sing along, are both things that add an intimacy to the musical experience, those aren't the only intimate experiences that can be shared. Without knowing the meaning of the lyrics, I still find some music extremely emotional, powerful, and touching. Take, for example, another song by the Dutch band 3JS:

 

3JS - Kamers Van M'n Hart

 

I find this song extremely uplifting, and listening to it just makes me smile and feel good about myself. I have no idea what they're singing about, for all I know it's about mass-murdering or something, but it's doubtful because the emotions it invokes in me are good ones. I don't need to know what they're talking about to know what they're saying, (or at least, what they're saying to ME; they may be singing about something irrelevant, but to me I hear something beautiful and relevant.)

 

My favorite artist bar none is Shakira. I like her upbeat stuff and booty shaking, but her my favorite songs from her are the more calm and and poetic songs, which are mostly when she sings in Spanish.

 

http://www.youtube.c...h?v=wKC73FvEhIo

 

 

This link doesn't work for me.

 

 

I'm an Andre Bocelli fan. His most famous is probably

. It is a duet with Sarah Brightman. Despite the name, it is actually in Italian.

is also good. It's a duet with Christina Aguilera in Spanish. There are several versions of Vivo Per Lei. There's one in

, which is my favorite, but there's also an all

, an Italian/French version, a

, and an

. The Spanish and Brazilian ones do not have a mix with Italian, which is unfortunate.

 

I'll get into another I like for non-English later.

 

My grandma introduced me to Bocelli. Not that I'm saying only old people listen to Bocelli; my grandma had uncanny good taste in music, and was even open-minded and willing to listen to my own more modern, and sometimes heavy-metalish music. She was actually my inspiration for exploring music outside my own comfort zone. I'm fond of Bocelli also, though I cannot locate the songs that I liked the most. I only really listened to him when I was visiting my grandma, and when she died her CDs disappeared somewhere. I'll have to check out the links you provided, but my internet is running extremely slow at the moment and videos are taking hours to load.

 

Lastly, I've found yet another great Dutch band! It's called Mooi Wark. This is a song whose title, from what I understand of the translation, means "In the Bare Butt". No clue what it's about, but it's a cool song nonetheless!

 

(They wear some sweet pants, huh? Haha!)

 

Not to mention BLØF. The Dutch seem to produce more than just a relatively open-minded citizenry and sexy guys!

 

 

[Kev de Cauchery]

So here comes the Chinese song, Cantonese to be exact. I'm adding the Asian flavor to the thread.

 

林一峰(Chet Lam) -

(Cantonese)

 

Chet Lam is so talented.

 

So here is my list with youtube links.

青山 テルマ (Thelma Aoyama) feat. SoulJa -

(Japanese)

'รักแห่งสยาม (The Love of Siam) Soundtrack -

(Thai)

Notre Dame de Paris Musical -

(French)

Notre Dame de Paris Musical -

(French)

Le Petit Prince Musical -

(French) Edited January 6, 2010 by KevinCaucher

[Tarin]

[thatboyChase]

Oh my, you got me started now didn't you? I love music, and I see the voice as another instrument. Good music should not need words, but they can enhance it. Otherwise it is just poetry with a melody, which is not a bad thing. I'll let you in on some of my favourites. (*) means I strongly recommend checking out all of their work.

 

The one you posted Kayden is very good! Sorry Kevin, I have yet to check yours out.

 

Native tongue:

Nicolai -

(Danish) *

Eluveitie -

(Swiss Celt?)

Roger Whittaker - Un

[Tarin]

I thought Sigur Ros spoke their own language, "Hopelandic"? It is like their own stuff, mixed with Icelandic, I could be wrong though.

They sing in Icelandic, though they sometimes use "Vonlenska" (or "Hopelandic") which is just sounds that seem to make words. They don't though, not really. Around 35 songs use Volenska, including the entire album ( ), in part or exclusively. The song I linked to is completely Icelandic. Good observation.

 

Edit for formatting.

 

 

Edited January 6, 2010 by Tarin

[thatboyChase]

 

They sing in Icelandic, though they sometimes use "Vonlenska" (or "Hopelandic") which is just sounds that seem to make words. They don't though, not really. Around 35 songs use Volenska, including the entire album ( ), in part or exclusively. The song I linked to is completely Icelandic. Good observation.

 

Edit for formatting.

 

 

 

you learn something new everyday, I like when bands do weird things, like that for instance. I find it hard to listen to Sigur Ros though, maybe because I am so hyper. I need to focus intently so I can actually hear his voice, cause it mixes with the melody so well. But, Jonsi has another song I like with another DJ I like even more, Take a listen (Tarin you too)

 

its a really great song, the build up is sick, plus it works with Jonsi's sound. Then drop is pretty short but its definitely worth the wait. And I think he is singing in English, because you can hear him say Kaleidoscope a couple times, "Come, through, Kaleidoscope." Tiesto opened in New York with Jonsi himself for his World Tour, shit hits the fan around 5:23, pretty epic. Might be off topic in regards to non-english music.

[Tarin]

you learn something new everyday, I like when bands do weird things, like that for instance. I find it hard to listen to Sigur Ros though, maybe because I am so hyper. I need to focus intently so I can actually hear his voice, cause it mixes with the melody so well. But, Jonsi has another song I like with another DJ I like even more, Take a listen (Tarin you too)

 

its a really great song, the build up is sick, plus it works with Jonsi's sound. Then drop is pretty short but its definitely worth the wait. And I think he is singing in English, because you can hear him say Kaleidoscope a couple times, "Come, through, Kaleidoscope." Tiesto opened in New York with Jonsi himself for his World Tour, shit hits the fan around 5:23, pretty epic. Might be off topic in regards to non-english music.

<3 Ti

[Myval]

An awesome list! A Nightwish fan, huh? Didn't expect that! Are you a Sonata Arctica fan also? They're from Finland and have affiliations with Nightwish. When Nightwish was touring in North America in 2008 Sonata Arctica opened for them. I didn't catch a Nightwish concert, but I saw Sonata Arctica when they headlined without Nightwish at a small venue in upstate New York and it was AMAZING!

 

 

Hmm, never heard of them, might look them up..

 

 

Also someother artists,

 

Delerium featuring Mediaeval Baebes

Mediaeval Baebes

 

To, tell the truth they are singing in English, that happens to be an old form of english, Middle English, I think

[Guest kayden]

Hmm, never heard of them, might look them up..

 

Here's a live version of the song "

" by Sonata Arctica. I recorded this video myself at the concert I went to. I also recorded the song "

". They're not the best quality videos, so if you want a better quality video of them try "

" which is followed by "End of this Chapter", from their live DVD.

 

 

Anyway, those are all in English despite them being a Finnish band. To get back on topic, here's another non-English song. You'll notice the man in these pictures looks a lot like the guitarist seen in the Sing in Silence video above, because as I mentioned in my last post, this guy used to be the guitarist for Sonata Arctica. (There's a different guitarist in the videos I recorded above because Jani was already gone, unfortunately.) Anyway, here's another great Sydänpuu song:

 

Sydänpuu - Hautaa Minut Tänään(with English subtitles)

[MikeL]

Gaulish\Gallic is "Swiss Celt," I just didn't know the proper name for the language. Now I do, thanks.

Enya sings in several languages (I am an Enyaholic). This song is in Irish, which is a Gaelic language but should be referred to as Irish. Sumiregusa is one of my favourites not in English.

I don't believe there is any such thing as "Swiss Celt". The word "Gallic" is just another name for French, one of the four primary languages spoken in Switzerland. See: Gallic, Swiss languages, and Gaelic language.

 

I agree that "Irish" would be more precise because of the other Gaelic languages.

Edited January 7, 2010 by MikeL

[Guest kayden]

I'm a huge Gogol Bordello fan.

[Tarin]

[W_L]

I am a canto pop fan, so I am well versed in cantonese music, especially the Hong Kong scene.

 

My favorite has to be Ekin Cheung and Jordan Chan's theme song for Young and Dangerous:

 

 

Yeah, I know odd that I am a big fan of Triads and organize crime movies, but I can't help liking the song and the idea of fighting with honor, integrity, and brotherhood.

[glomph]

I still listen to Astrud Gilberto sometimes, mostly in English with some Portuguese.

[Jack Frost]

(double post)

Edited January 8, 2010 by Jack Frost

[Jack Frost]

Ofra Haza (Israel) - "Amen to Words" (Arabic)

France Gall (France) - "Poupée de cire, poupée de son" (French - "Wax doll, sound doll")

10 + 2 (Catalan kid song)

Wilfrid Lebouthillier (New Brunswick, Canada) - "La ballade de Jean Batailleur" (French - "Jean Batailleur's Ballad")

 

Québequois

QUÉBÉCOIS****

 

¬¬'

 

Note that not all Québécois singers sing in Québécois. Many of them do sing in Standard French. If you want singers that sing in joual, just check out the Plume Latraverse video I just linked. The Québécois videos you linked are in Standard French.

Edited January 8, 2010 by Jack Frost