Breaking the Music Language Barrier
If you were to take a look at your music library right now, how many songs are sung in a language other than English? While many of us may believe that we listen to a diverse selection of genres and artists, upon further inspection, reality may paint a different picture.
From July 15th to 27th in 2022, 96% of songs on Spotify’s Top 50 - Canada Chart were sung in English. In comparison, France's popular music chart consisted of 24% English, 4% Spanish and 72% French. Japan follows a similar trend, containing 18% English, 6% Korean and 76% Japanese songs. Comparing the top music charts in Canada to those in other countries, it is clear that English music is overrepresented. While 31.7% of Canada’s population speaks a language other than English, it is shocking that these statistics are not mirrored in music interest.
Not only does listening to strictly English music hold you back from discovering new artists and genres, but it also fosters a subconscious framework that divides good from bad music based solely on the lyrical content. This may be rooted in the idea that you should understand a song's lyrics to enjoy it, the general anglocentric musical inclination, or the lack of visibility for non-English artists.
“While the promotion of English artists is understandable and important, their over-saturation has created a culture that lacks variety.”
Although understanding the lyrics to a song may allow the listener to make personal connections to the subject matter, other elements of a song serve the same purpose. The belief that a song's appeal depends primarily on its lyrical content devalues the potential for the same connections to be made through vocal inflection, melody, tempo, sampling, beats, and instrumentals. For example, this myth can be debunked with the massive popularity of Bossa Nova in the 1960’s. Many of the Bossa Nova tunes that consistently topped American charts were sung in Portuguese, and yet did not take away from the genre's popularity or foreigner’s understanding of its subject matter around nature, women and leisure.
Non-English songs and genres have gained popularity with English speaking audiences in the past, but ultimately English favouritism is the default. Anglocentric ideals of English vocals can be seen in breakout hits being re-recorded in English to further connect to a western audience. For example, ‘99 Luftballons’ by Nena was re-recorded as ‘99 Red Balloons’ in 1984 to reach an English audience more effectively than the original German recording. The translation between the original and re-recorded version, despite topping charts, abandons the original message of the song. There is so much wonderful music that has been disapproved of by language-centric perspectives, making it essential to break through the mental barriers that prevent us from connecting with, and appreciating, non-English music.
Aside from the cultural norms that have discouraged listening to non-English music, the minimal visibility of non-English artists contributes to their sparse representation in Canadian popular music. Discovering English-speaking artists is easy as they are consistently showcased on Canadian radio stations, streaming services and live events. While the promotion of English artists is understandable and important, their over-saturation has created a culture that lacks variety. Although international artists such as Bad Bunny and BTS have gained attention on the western music charts, their popularity is more representative of their global impact rather than Canadian popularity. As a result, trying to discover non-English music becomes a more complex, confusing and time-consuming process. Through my own path of extending my musical tastes to include non-English discographies, I have discovered some methods to make the discovery process more simple and enjoyable.
Artist and Genre Association
Having a premeditated understanding of genres and artists you enjoy listening to makes it easier to discover similar music made by non-English artists.
For example, if you like funk music such as Roy Ayers and Funkadelic, you may want to look further into funk artists such as Libyan-Egyptian musician Hamid Al Shaeri or French Musician Laurie Destal. A quick Google, Youtube, or music database search as mundane as “Japanese Funk Music” or “French Funk Musicians” will uncover various playlists, artists and compilations that you might enjoy. For example, through my own research I discovered Arabic Funk, Turkish Punk Rock and Venezuelan Soul Jazz, which all have released compilation albums on Spotify to showcase artists and songs that fit the specific genres.
Top Chart Browsing
Global or national top 50 popular music charts can help you discover new non-English music as well. Although the perception of pop music charts has not always been positive, these tracks have been widely enjoyed by the masses, and that might be for a good reason. For example, while browsing Guatemala’s popular music charts, San Lucas by Kevin Kaarl stood out, reminding me of Gregory Alan Isakov with a similar soft acoustic guitar and melancholic vocals.
Related Artists
Once you have found an artist that you enjoy, you might want to dig deeper. Speaking on Spotify specifically, browsing ‘related artists’, ‘artist radio’ and ‘artist playlists’ is a great resource for discovering new music. For example, when exploring 60s French pop, I started listening to Francois Hardy. From Francois Hardy, I then found Brigitte Bardot and France Gall. Although this is a general technique for discovering all types of music, concentrating on specific artists you enjoy can make exploring music you wouldn’t normally be exposed to less time-consuming.
Friends
In preparation for writing this article, I found my friends to be a great source for recommendations. As I asked around for non-English song recommendations, I was flooded with many amazing songs from around the world, such as Ecchymose by Palatine and Tu Jaane Na by Atif Aslam. To accompany this article, I have attached a playlist that contains 100+ of some of my friends and I’s favourite songs in a variety of languages, genres and eras. From the 1963s hit Sukiyaki by Kyu Sakamoto to CANDY by ROSALIA released in 2022, this playlist is a good starting point to discover new non-English artists and songs.
It can be challenging to overcome the musical language barrier due to the near-invisibility of non-English musicians, strong emphasis on lyrical interpretation, and anglocentric music preferences. Developing broader knowledge of the significance and talent non-English artists offer, in addition to challenging our western perceptions regarding non-English music, is the goal. Whether you wish to venture outside your comfort zone, expand your musical tastes, or simply discover music you enjoy listening to, I hope my words have encouraged you to try it out.
For you may discover that music is the ultimate universal language.
Header by: Rida Chaudhry
