"Music is the universal language of mankind." -Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Saturday, October 24, 2015

Maluma



Maluma is a singer from Columbia. His genre is Latin pop and he specializes in a reggaeton sound. As a musician, Maluma is a talented vocalist and singer. Since the ripe age of 17, Maluma's music has been aired on Columbian airwaves. Today, his music is growing in popularity on an international level.

Musically speaking, Maluma utilizes a lot of fast-paced tempos and repetitive rhythms. As a result, his music is very catchy. The tune is easy to follow and his tone is very smooth. This can be compared to a variation of an American pop artist. Maluma relies heavily on dynamics and trilling to add emphasis to important sections of his songs. A great example of this effect can be heard in "El Tiki."




Maluma is a very respectable artist who performs most of his pieces solo. These pieces all involve unique elements and utilize them in the best ways possible. As a result, Maluma's talents do not go unrecognized. He has been accredited with many awards- all of which he obtained at a young age.

For more information:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maluma_(singer)


Shonen Knife



Shonen Knife is a garage-band style rock band. Their relatively unedited sound attracted a lot of attention and allowed them to spiral to fame outside of their homeland.  Most notably, this band scored an opening gig for the popular '90s grunge band Nirvana. According to Billboard, Matt Groening is even a super-fan of the group.



 This all-girl Japanese band embraces a pop-punk style. Their unique style is clearly portrayed in more than just their music. As you can see above, the music video for "It's a New Find" is very loud and exciting. In fact, this video almost reminds me of the music video for another '90s/ early 2000s rock band, Faith No More ("Epic.") Japanese influence is clearly present in their videos and songs, but comparisons like this show just how similar rock is around the world. Japanese bands and American bands have a lot more in common than you'd expect. As a result, I struggle to see why international rock bands are not as well known as American bands.

Reference: http://www.billboard.com/photos/428864/40-countries-top-musicians-a-gallery/17