Alex Boye

Alex Boye is a British-born singer, but his genre is purely Africanized. His gorgeous vocals and talented composition skills were showcased brilliantly in his most recent album. On this album, you will hear what I think to be the greatest cover of Frozen's "Let it Go" ever created.

This unique cover utilizes a children's choir and common African themes. The music video is a glorious interpretation of the song and Frozen's playful storyline. Although many people have developed a strong distaste for this song and its film, I believe that Alex Boye created a masterpiece. This international artist blew me away with his creative take on this Disney hit.

The children's choir harmonizes for acapella style background vocals, while Alex Boye's chanting compliments the lead girl's voice perfectly. The acoustics for this recording are absolutely astounding. Listen carefully for the instrumentals and the way that they work with the vocals to add chilling effects- pardon the pun, to an already thrilling vocal piece. This song is challenging enough in its original form, I do not see how anyone could surpass this cover. Internationally, this video has received much recognition. This may differ from my usual theme, but I think that this is a worthy exception. Winter is fast approaching, and this song could quite possibly be your next seasonal favorite! The timbre, rhythm, and dynamics will give you chills.

(I apologize for the puns...)

Edith Piaf

In the past, I have focused on current artists who are not prevalent in the international music industry. For today's featured artist, however, I will be focusing on an international superstar from the 1940s. Edith Piaf experienced much turmoil in her personal and professional life. Despite this, she is one of France's most well-known and critically acclaimed singers.

Edith's extreme range and vocal ability is reflected in the seriousness and professionalism of her music. She utilized vocal effects such as trilling, big band style ballads, drastic dynamics, and progressively dramatic pauses. Her skilled enunciation made her French very clear to both foreign and native listeners.

Hits such as "Padam Padam," "La Vie En Rose," "La Foule," and "Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien" made her a household name across the world. She is best known as a French Cabaret star. Cabaret music was France's crown jewel between the '40s and '60s. As such, she was a key element in France's revival on the international stage.

The songs previously listed show her extensive vocal ability. "Padam Padam" is a wonderful example of her dramatic flare in certain songs, while "Non Je Ne Regrette Rien" shows her ability to channel an inspirational tone. Power was always her best quality. Each of her songs, no matter the emotion elicited, show exactly how strong she was vocally. She was the definition of a powerhouse.

Edith's strongest quality can be heard clearly in "Padam Padam." If you listen carefully to the recording below, you will be able to hear her extreme ability to sustain notes for extensive periods of time without faltering. This legend will go down in history as one of the world's greatest musicians.

Sources of Inspiration: Font

The font used for the title of Disney's film Princess and the Frog attracted my attention while watching it earlier today. This text is very unique and attention grabbing. I really like the "magical" effect this font provides. It is grand and very fitting for the film's style/ basis. This text could be applied to my blog because it would drastically improve upon the current text's visibility and attraction. Title texts should be very powerful because they are typically the first things we see when we enter a webpage. My current title font is sufficient, but not overly impressive. To make a substantial difference, I would use a font similar to this on my blog.

September Girls

The September Girls are an Irish pop-punk band. This band draws from the historic talent Dublin has produced over the years. Interestingly enough, their name came from the Bangles' cover of "September Gurls." Their unique riff style, guitar techniques, and high energy beats combine to form a gothic style and affect their image/ sound directly. Several different genres and eras of music combine to form their distinctive sound.

As a band, the September Girls have gained strong positive reviews from critics. Their song "Heartbeats," is a good example of why they deserve this recognition. The ethereal vocals and fuzzy guitar riffs give this tune an odd, yet satisfying, sound. It tells a tragic tale of unrequited love. The September Girls have mastered the art of combining powerful lyrics with an even more powerful sound.

Sadly, their noise pop style is uncommon in today's popular culture. This band has yet to receive international publicity and support that they deserve.

Sources of Inspiration: Color

My blog focuses on international music, as such, I look at a lot of different cultures and locations. These locations are often featured in the travel magazines that are common today. I have noticed an interesting trend among these travel magazines. Many of them feature many shades of blue. Whether this is to accent a skyline, or draw attention to a body of water, blue fills the covers and pages of several travel magazines. Interestingly enough, the complimentary color for text is often yellow. The brightness and warmth of this color contrast from the blue pleasantly enough to draw attention, but not distract from the image. This color combination could easily be utilized on my blog, as well. I might not focus on travel specifically, but international music is often a subject of interest in these catalogs. The connection might be a stretch, but it certainly exists. Its purpose would transfer very well to my blog and add a comforting color scheme that readers would appreciate.

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