I featured Ghous Bux Brohi in this week's post because I've always liked Indian bamboo flute music. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find out anything about this artist, so I'd be grateful if anyone could tell me more.
Saturday, 24 March 2012
Ghous Bux Brohi
I thought it was time to feature some more music from South Asia, so I decided I should feature some Indian music given that I haven't done a lot of posts about this sort of music.
I featured Ghous Bux Brohi in this week's post because I've always liked Indian bamboo flute music. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find out anything about this artist, so I'd be grateful if anyone could tell me more.
I featured Ghous Bux Brohi in this week's post because I've always liked Indian bamboo flute music. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find out anything about this artist, so I'd be grateful if anyone could tell me more.
Monday, 19 March 2012
Transkapela
My apologies once again for not keeping to my new years resolution regarding blog posts, I was just slightly tired after term ended, so I forgot about making a blog post. Hopefully, I'll be more efficient at doing these posts now that I'm beginning to recover from this fatigue. I have no more lectures or seminars so I should find it easier to do these posts.
I chose Transkapela because they are another band that has an original style of klezmer. Transkapela have been inspired by the 19th & 20th century music of the Carpathians, which combines the music of different ethnic groups such as Poles, Jews, Ukranians, Slovaks, Armenians, Gypsies, Germans and Hungarians.
I've also learnt that the word "klezmer" is a combination of two Hebrew words, "kley" (a tool, instrument or dish) and "zemer" (singer).
I chose Transkapela because they are another band that has an original style of klezmer. Transkapela have been inspired by the 19th & 20th century music of the Carpathians, which combines the music of different ethnic groups such as Poles, Jews, Ukranians, Slovaks, Armenians, Gypsies, Germans and Hungarians.
I've also learnt that the word "klezmer" is a combination of two Hebrew words, "kley" (a tool, instrument or dish) and "zemer" (singer).
Monday, 12 March 2012
Khyam Allami
I'm sure you noticed that I've not made any blog posts for the past few weeks. I'm terribly sorry for this lack, I've not done as good a job as I'd hoped to do on keeping to my new year's resolutions but I've just had lots of coursework to do and I was unlucky enough to get ill, so I've been lacking in time to do any blog posts.
Khyam Allami is another artist who I discovered by listening to the BBC's, World Routes - On the Road, album. I decided to feature him on this blog because I like the way in which he expressess his emotions so skillfully without using words.
Khyam Allami is an oud player, who is of Iraqi origin but was born in Damascus, Syria. He originally began his musical career as a rock musician and indeed at one point rejected his Iraqi origins to such an extent that he would not speak Arabic or play Eastern instruments. He decided to go back to his origins after the war broke out in Iraq and so this led to him learning to play the oud. His oud music is based on the concept of the Maqam, which is the system of melodic modes used in traditional Arabic music. He has an unusual technique with the Maqams that he incorporates with his highly structured and detailed compositions aswell as his abnormal cycles of rhythms. He is influenced by Arabic composers such as Naseer Shamma and rock musicians like Frank Zappa. Although he spends most of his time playing the oud, he still occasionally works as a rock musician.
Khyam Allami is another artist who I discovered by listening to the BBC's, World Routes - On the Road, album. I decided to feature him on this blog because I like the way in which he expressess his emotions so skillfully without using words.
Khyam Allami is an oud player, who is of Iraqi origin but was born in Damascus, Syria. He originally began his musical career as a rock musician and indeed at one point rejected his Iraqi origins to such an extent that he would not speak Arabic or play Eastern instruments. He decided to go back to his origins after the war broke out in Iraq and so this led to him learning to play the oud. His oud music is based on the concept of the Maqam, which is the system of melodic modes used in traditional Arabic music. He has an unusual technique with the Maqams that he incorporates with his highly structured and detailed compositions aswell as his abnormal cycles of rhythms. He is influenced by Arabic composers such as Naseer Shamma and rock musicians like Frank Zappa. Although he spends most of his time playing the oud, he still occasionally works as a rock musician.
Tuesday, 14 February 2012
Renata Rosa
Sorry for being late again with this blog post, I've recently been given quite a few essays to write so I've had less time for everything else! I thought I'd branch out once again by featuring Renata Rosa. The inspiration comes from the BBC Radio 3 album, "World Routes - On The Road". There's some really good music on that album, so I'm really tempted to buy it.
When you hear Renata Rosa, you can hear that her music sounds somewhat tribal even though she's a Brazilian singer. In her music, she sings the traditional Northeast Brazilian chants. Her music has been influenced by the Maracatu Rural (Brazilian carnival music), the Coco (music from northern Brazil, that's been influenced by African music) that and the Cavalo Marinho (Brazilian folk music). She also keeps her cultural origins alive by teaching the Samba de Coco. This dance is a variant of the Coco dance, which originates from the time when the slaves from central Africa brought their culture to Northeast Brazil, so that their cultures fused together. The dance usually centres around the way in which houses made from clay and straw are constructed.
You can find out much more about her with this link but I haven't got time to tell you anymore: http://www.last.fm/music/Renata+Rosa/+wiki
When you hear Renata Rosa, you can hear that her music sounds somewhat tribal even though she's a Brazilian singer. In her music, she sings the traditional Northeast Brazilian chants. Her music has been influenced by the Maracatu Rural (Brazilian carnival music), the Coco (music from northern Brazil, that's been influenced by African music) that and the Cavalo Marinho (Brazilian folk music). She also keeps her cultural origins alive by teaching the Samba de Coco. This dance is a variant of the Coco dance, which originates from the time when the slaves from central Africa brought their culture to Northeast Brazil, so that their cultures fused together. The dance usually centres around the way in which houses made from clay and straw are constructed.
You can find out much more about her with this link but I haven't got time to tell you anymore: http://www.last.fm/music/Renata+Rosa/+wiki
Saturday, 4 February 2012
Neun Welten
So for once this week's blog post is actually being completed on
time. I thought I'd try and feature a different sort of music this week
as I find myself recycling many sorts of music on a frequent basis, so I
thought I'd choose a band that had a slight hint of new age in it to
try and broaden the scope of this blog. If you don't like it though, do
let me know!
I chose Neun Welten because I find their fusion of modern styles with folk music relaxing. Admittedly though sometimes their fusions are a little too outlandish for my liking.
Neun Welten are a German Band. Their name means, "nine worlds", because it's based on Nordic mythology. Because they have been influenced by Nordic mythology, some of their songs are portrayals of mythical places from Nordic mythology but their other songs are about personal impressions and feelings and what they perceive to be nature's magic. They regard their music as being based on folklore but their main aim is to convey a love of nature in their music.
This song is called, "Pan", but there is no such word in the German language, so I presume this is one of their songs which is named after a mythological place.
This song is called, "Frosthauch", which means "frosty breath", so I thought it would be a suitable addition to this week's blog post given the current weather conditions!
I chose Neun Welten because I find their fusion of modern styles with folk music relaxing. Admittedly though sometimes their fusions are a little too outlandish for my liking.
Neun Welten are a German Band. Their name means, "nine worlds", because it's based on Nordic mythology. Because they have been influenced by Nordic mythology, some of their songs are portrayals of mythical places from Nordic mythology but their other songs are about personal impressions and feelings and what they perceive to be nature's magic. They regard their music as being based on folklore but their main aim is to convey a love of nature in their music.
This song is called, "Pan", but there is no such word in the German language, so I presume this is one of their songs which is named after a mythological place.
The name of this song means, "On a scraggy cliff" ("Auf kragem Fels").
I presume that this song is also named after a mythological place because "Valg" does not appear to be a word.
This song is called, "Frosthauch", which means "frosty breath", so I thought it would be a suitable addition to this week's blog post given the current weather conditions!
Monday, 30 January 2012
Zebda
As usual I'm slightly late with this blog post, so my renewed
apologies for that! I was lacking in inspiration for a good artist to
blog about. I ended up having to go onto the iTunes stores of other
countries in order to find a good artist but it seems that it was a case
of good things coming to those, who wait because I've really enjoyed
the research for this post. I chose Zebda because I suddenly realised
that it had been a while since I'd posted about any Western European
artists. I really like the way in which they express their feelings on
discrimination against minorities because it's very deep and witty.
Zebda are a French band from Toulouse, who are famous for writing very political songs. Zebda formed in 1985 after Magyd Cherfi, who was at that point a community organiser, set up a small group of musicians to make a video for the community organisation, that he was working for. Some of the members joined the group at a later stage because they met each other by getting involved in community projects, that were aimed at encouraging the young people of Toulouse to become involved in arts and music. So it was not until 1988 that the group started to perform on a regular basis. They became famous in 1990, when they performed at the Printemps de Bourges music festival. The band's name comes from the Arabic word, "zibdah", which means "butter", as the french slang word "beur" (which comes from the french word for butter, "beurre") is a word, which refers to citizens of Arab origin. Generally their songs focus on the ways in which immigrants, ethnic minorities and young people from the banlieues (suburbs) of France are treated. One of their most famous songs is the song, "Le bruit et l'odeur", that was based on a comment that Jack Chiraq made during his time as president of France, in which he said that Arabic immigrants only create noise and smells and never get a job.
Le bruit et l'odeur ("noise and smell"):
Tomber le chemise ("take my/your shirt off"), this song criticises the social differences in France. It's based on the Midi accent:
Je
crois que ça va pas être possible ("I believe that that won't be possible"). Judging from the lyrics, I think
that this song is about the fact that employers are more reluctant to
employ ethnic minorities than nationals/Europeans:
Zebda are a French band from Toulouse, who are famous for writing very political songs. Zebda formed in 1985 after Magyd Cherfi, who was at that point a community organiser, set up a small group of musicians to make a video for the community organisation, that he was working for. Some of the members joined the group at a later stage because they met each other by getting involved in community projects, that were aimed at encouraging the young people of Toulouse to become involved in arts and music. So it was not until 1988 that the group started to perform on a regular basis. They became famous in 1990, when they performed at the Printemps de Bourges music festival. The band's name comes from the Arabic word, "zibdah", which means "butter", as the french slang word "beur" (which comes from the french word for butter, "beurre") is a word, which refers to citizens of Arab origin. Generally their songs focus on the ways in which immigrants, ethnic minorities and young people from the banlieues (suburbs) of France are treated. One of their most famous songs is the song, "Le bruit et l'odeur", that was based on a comment that Jack Chiraq made during his time as president of France, in which he said that Arabic immigrants only create noise and smells and never get a job.
Le bruit et l'odeur ("noise and smell"):
Tomber le chemise ("take my/your shirt off"), this song criticises the social differences in France. It's based on the Midi accent:
Motivés, this was a song that they wrote in support of
Les Motivé-e-s, a political party that was trying to encourage local
government to represent all demographic groups of the city. The party
was also focused on encouraging young people and immigrants to vote and
do more to help with the political issues, where they live:
Je
crois que ça va pas être possible ("I believe that that won't be possible"). Judging from the lyrics, I think
that this song is about the fact that employers are more reluctant to
employ ethnic minorities than nationals/Europeans:
J'y suis,
j'y reste ("I there [and] I stay there"), this song is about how
immigrants can settle in France or indeed any other country but never
really integrate and therefore stay in the same parts of the country,
with their counterparts, who have the same story to tell:
Monday, 23 January 2012
Lui Pui-yuen & Wong Ching Kuen
My apologies for not publishing this post earlier on the second weekend running, again a busy work load was taking up my time!
I thought this week's blog post should be about Chinese music as today is the first day of the Chinese new year, and so after searching for some good artists on YouTube, I found this music by Lui Pui-yuen & Wong Ching Kuen. I really like the way their music is slow paced because it makes it very relaxing.
I've not been able to find out very much about them but as usual, if anyone else can enlighten me, then please feel free to do so.
Lui Pui-yuen is one of the most well known artists amongst Pipa players. He was so well respected as a Pipa player, that he taught at the Centre for World Music in Berkeley, at UCLA and Brown.
All I know about Wong Ching Kuen is that he is/was a Xiao player (an end-blown flute made out of bamboo)
I thought I'd finally wish you all a Happy New Chinese Year with this composition that I found on iTunes by the Heart of The Dragon Ensemble:
I thought this week's blog post should be about Chinese music as today is the first day of the Chinese new year, and so after searching for some good artists on YouTube, I found this music by Lui Pui-yuen & Wong Ching Kuen. I really like the way their music is slow paced because it makes it very relaxing.
I've not been able to find out very much about them but as usual, if anyone else can enlighten me, then please feel free to do so.
Lui Pui-yuen is one of the most well known artists amongst Pipa players. He was so well respected as a Pipa player, that he taught at the Centre for World Music in Berkeley, at UCLA and Brown.
All I know about Wong Ching Kuen is that he is/was a Xiao player (an end-blown flute made out of bamboo)
I thought I'd finally wish you all a Happy New Chinese Year with this composition that I found on iTunes by the Heart of The Dragon Ensemble:
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