Irish Aris' Music Walrus: The Sequel

Maybe something from home: the sublime voice of Iarla O'Lionaird, combining beautifully with Irish and African instruments, as part of the Afro Celt Sound System collective.

Good afternoon everyone, hope you all enjoy the great weather!

Apologies for the radio silence, real life has been a bit busy the last few days.

Also, I have a hard time ranking this category (the foreign language). 5 listens in and I still have songs going up and down the ranking like yoyos. Not a single song that I didn't like, so I'm sorry in advance for anyone that will place low, nothing wrong with your selections. And I expect that at least one of my decisions will be controversial.

Reveal planned for Wednesday around 8pm (after Arsenal's champions league match) - subject to change if Rikand does the sheep reveal that day.

In 15th place

Seamus Begley & Stephen Cooney-Bruach Na Carraige Báine

Selected by: @Pretzill

Did I know the Artist: No

Did I know the Song: No

Language: Irish

I’ll probably get crucified for placing this so low, but, honestly, it did nothing for me. I can appreciate it as a melody: something that I would associate with traditional Irish music – I explored similar songs when I first moved to Ireland many years ago, but lost interest very quickly. Elements of the song reminded me of other artists: early Enya (the first 3 albums), Secret Garden, Loreena McKennitt etc. But this is just way low key – and at the same time not low key enough to hit ambient territory. I admire the artistry, but it’s just not for me.

In 13th place

Love of Lesbian-La hermandad

Selected by: @Sawduck

Did I know the Artist: No

Did I know the Song: No

Language: Spanish

This became the earworm of the category. In the first couple of listens I had marked it for bottom 3 finish. Later, I started finding it more interesting, a nice piece of pop music. I had a look at the lyrics as I recalled that Hermano is brother in Spanish and the lyrics are quite nice. The feel-good video also helped sway me a bit more and the song kept climbing positions. A fun selection, that couldn’t go any higher as the competition was intense.

In 11th place

Metalinda-Xenia

Selected by: @Kolido

Did I know the Artist: No

Did I know the Song: No

Language: Slovak

Oh, someone has been listening to Scorpions! This song reminds me of some of the hits of the iconic German hard rock band. Even the way the song is structured is very reminiscent of songs like Still Loving You and Holiday. Great guitar riffs and solos, and solid drums behind it. Alas, another song that the language held it back. I find many of the Eastern European languages difficult to listen to, and Slovak (with which I wasn’t familiar) joins the club. Good selection though.

In 9th place

Super Furry Animals-Ysbeidiau Heulog

Selected by: @Arghus

Did I know the Artist: Yes

Did I know the Song: No

Language: Welsh

My introduction to the music of Super Furry Animals is a nice one. I really liked the various sound effects that occur throughout the song and the way the tempo goes up and down. Welsh is another language that I’m not familiar with (although I have heard of that town with the very long name!), but the song is busy enough, in a good way, that the vocals blend it nicely. Great selection and I will probably look into Super Furry Animals’ music a bit more.

In 7th place

Santana feat. Mana-Corazon Espinado

Selected by: @Deja Boo

Did I know the Artist: Yes

Did I know the Song: Yes

Language: Spanish

OK, let’s dance! My favourite song of the super successful and diverse Supernatural album by Carols Santana, one of the best guitarists ever. This whole album was an exploration of rhythmology, and here we are in prime latin pop territory. The congas holding the whole song together, all other percussion instruments getting their space in the quieter bridge and the trademark guitar solos of Santana. Now, where is my cocktail?

Instead you decided to take a risk…

In 6th place

Ductape-Gölgesiz

Selected by: @Electric Nitwit

Did I know the Artist: Yes

Did I know the Song: No

Language: Turkish

Turkish is another language that I don’t like. Very familiar with it as they are our neighbours, but I find it hard to listen to it. I have heard of Ductape but never listened to them because of the language. In the selection pm, Electric Nitwit mentioned She Past Away, another Turkish band that I know and have briefly listened to. . . and moved on because of the language (although, incidentally, I will see them live in a few months in a festival). So when I saw the selection, I thought oh no, bottom 3. Now I’m a bit disappointed that I can’t place it higher. Music wise, this is top 2-3 material: proper, and very solid dark wave with elements of gothic rock. The influences from pioneers of the genre like Clan of Xymox are very obvious. The vocals are low enough, as is common with dark wave songs, but not too low to get lost in the mix. Honestly, if this song was in English or German it would have topped the category (or at least be in the top 3). For now, it will have to do with a top 6 finish. Great selection, and obviously a band I will look into further.

In 5th place

The Hu-Wolf Totem

Selected by: @SineadSpears

Did I know the Artist: No

Did I know the Song: No

Language: Mongolian

Initial I thought I knew this band, but than I realised that I was thinking of Huun Huur Tu, an ethnic folk outfit that I knew from the 90s. Throat singing is a bit of an acquired taste, but I am a bit partial to it, mainly due to a Greek singer, Savina Yannatou, who has used it quite a bit in her career. This song by The Hu is very good. Would we call this folk metal? We could I guess. There are elements that remind me of the German folk bands that I used to listen to, like Faun, Schandmaul and Tanzwut. Here, of course, we have traditional Mongolian instruments that work to perfection with the throat singing. Mongolian is another language that I don’t find easy, but I think throat singing is ideal. And I expect that live they will be impressive to watch – they actually come to Dublin later this year, but unfortunately the date doesn’t suit me.

next up: bottom 3 and top 3, featuring

Bogey Lowenstein

Necro

Oscar Madison

Put It In H

rainbowtrout

Rikand