When I listened to DJ Ötzi's "Ein Stern (...der deinen Namen trägt)", I fell in love with his music immediately and irreversibly. If I had to say what underlies this performer's rapid rise in popularity, it is unquestionably the "catchiness" of his songs - you listen once and then hum it to yourself all evening.
How much do we know about pop musicians from other European countries - Serbian, Croatian, Czech, Norwegian, Danish, Polish, or even Lithuanian and Estonian? When you start looking and listening around more, a good song or singer can be a genuine discovery. That is how I came across some poignant songs from the repertoire of Serbian singer Željko Joksimović. I recommend listening!
I recommend listening to one fantastic song about love. Two talented singers - Italian rock bluesman Zucchero and Arabic singer Cheb Mami - perform it simultaneously in two languages. The melody and the colour of these two different languages, as well as the combination of rhythms, in my view, also produce that perfect effect.
A singer from Belgium in whose music, voice, and temperament - just as in her blood - many cultures blend together. Known as a performer of Arabic and Egyptian songs. Though don't be surprised if you hear her singing in English, French, or other languages too.
A musical instrument resembling a guitar, but its sound is saturated with an Eastern character. The only information available in Latvia about this remarkable Indian instrument is that the sitar was introduced to the Western world by Ravi Shankar and G. Harrison from The Beatles. Enchanted by a melody performed by Anoushka Shankar, I decided to explore this instrument more closely.
Genuine joy that young people have preserved simplicity and been able to reflect their thoughts, feelings, and experiences so talentedly - both in original poetry and music, and in a successful arrangement of a familiar Latgalian folk song. Hats off!
I discovered it quite recently, though in Russia and specifically in Vladivostok it has been known and in listener charts since 2006. The performers and authors are three young people - Миша, Люся, Тонек.
It is an emotional musical style, full of passion, pain, sorrow, and jealousy, but at the same time fado is distinguished by its ability to unite unbearable pain with sparkling joie de vivre, the cruelty of life with the power of love.