Discussion Forums - International

Hedningarna is an awesome band, go for the album Tra or Hippjokk.  Also try the Nordic Roots samplers from their label, you get to try lots of artists in a similar sound.  I like to play Hedningarna for people and challenge them to guess what language it is...if you're not familiar with the Scandinavian sounds, you won't know what the heck it is, it's not related to English or the Romance languages.

Is there a certain genre you tend to like more? I try to get music whenever I travel to other countries. But some genres I don't seem to like in other languages as much. But if you have one sort you do like, I might be better able to recommend some bands to check out.

Also, last.fm is good at recommending things based on what you listen to. Or if you don't feel comfortable downloading their music logging program, you can still look up bands you do like and sort of go on tangents of what bands are similar until you get to bands in other languages.

There are a few good sites that I use as "try before you buy" places for international music.

Live 365 -   http://www.live365.com/index.live  They cover every genre on the planet.  Check out the "New Age" and "International" listings to find the sort of music you were describing. 

Radio Paradise - http://www.radioparadise.com/  They offer an eclectic blend of music from all over. 

Putumayo World Radio - http://www.putumayo.com/en/radio.php They offer one hour blocks of themed programming.  Most of it comes from their own catalogue, but they sometimes play exceptional cuts form artists they like from other labels if it fits the theme. 

Ledjam Radio - http://www.ledjamradio.com/  A great eclectic online radio site out of France.  They offer a mix of jazz, new age, folk, adult alternative, J-Pop and French Pop. 

Pandora - http://www.pandora.com/  This is a really nice site that lets you enter in a song or artist you like and then finds other artists or songs that you might like as well.  I've found a lot of stuff I've really liked that way.  One warning:  The more feedback you give them, the more the music will suit you.  I started a channel called "Fretful Divas" that was intended to center on women's acoustic work.  I didn't give the songs they played a thumbs up or down for a day (I was working on a commission and counldn't stop after every song to click thumbs up or down) .  The next time I went there, it played Madonna and Britney.  Eeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

I second the recommendations for Hedningardna and the Northside/Northen Sound collections.  I see them listed fairly regularly and snagged the second and third volumes here not long ago. 

Here are some other downtempo/relaxing artists/series you might want to check out:

Therese Schroder-Sheker

Vas

Maggie Sansone

Ellipsis Arts'  World Lullaby Series

Triloika's Trance Planet Series

Buddha Lounge in all of it's incarnations ;) 

The Traveler Series

I hope this thread stays active.  I love talking about and sharing music.  Heck, I've even got a Pando group!  :)

Hi Suzanna,

If you like Polynesian languages, maybe try the singer, Fiji, or just look into some Hawaiian music.

I know Josh Groban isn't considered international, but he sings in Italian, French and Spanish with amazing ability.

Japanese- maybe try Ryuichi Sakamoto or if you're really adventurous, look into the roots of j-pop & j-rock music.

I think Elvis Crespo is pretty popular in Latin American countries.

Michael Cretu is pretty interesting; I think he sings in German and French.. he was in Enigma if I remember right.

African- Ladysmith Black Mambazo and Angelique Kidjo

That's all I can think of off the top of my head right now.

Destructa - I know it's been a while since you recommended Hedningarna here - and I'm just wondering if the band sings in Finnish or Swedish.  I see they are a Swedish band, yet the vocalists are Finnish.   Or maybe they sing in both languages?

Kiitos.