I’ve noticed that when meeting a foreign person, mentioning that you like a beloved artist from their country is one of the best way to create a good vibe.
Which revered artist/group (not necessarily musician) from your place should I learn about?
A few examples I’m thinking about (correct me if I’m wrong):
| Country | Artist |
|---|---|
| Argentina | Carlos Gardel |
| Australia | Powderfinger |
| Austria | Mozart, Falco, Thomas Bernhard |
| Beligum | Jacques Brel, Stromae |
| Brazil | Raul Seixas, Zé Ramalho |
| Cabo Verde | Cesária Évora |
| Canada | Leonard Cohen, Céline Dion, Gordon Lightfoot |
| Egypt | Umm Kulthum |
| France | Daft Punk |
| Germany | Kraftwerk, Die Ärzte, Franz Kafka |
| Iceland | Björk |
| Italy | Elio e le Storie Tese |
| Malawai | Evison Matafale |
| Mali | Salif Keita |
| Scotland | The Proclaimers, Sean Connery |
| Sweden | Astrid Lindgren |
| USA | Dolly Parton |
Edit: Spent my Saturday morning vibing, adding the “consensual” suggestions to the table.
Technotronic, from Belgium, had that 1989 techno anthem, Pump Up the Jam.
Switzerland
DJ Bobo or Patent Ochsner.
[Double comment to avoid editing the other] This album (Kayah and Bregović) can be used for two countries, if you want - as the singer (Kayah) is from Poland, and the instrumental is from Goran Bregović, from Bosnia and Herzegovina.
I usually have a hard time answering questions like this. For me, art is art; I don’t really care if the artist in question pays or paid taxes to the same government as I do.
That said, I guess that either Zé Ramalho or Raul Seixas would be good bets. Other better known artists are a bit more divisive, or stuff that you’d only hear if you’re into a specific style (often regional).
Another possibility would be literature, more specifically Machado de Assis. Because even people who hate him (due to his pedantic writing style - the guy is from late 1800s, but harder to parse than Shakespeare) usually admit that he’s good.
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I usually have a hard time answering questions like this. For me, art is art; I don’t really care if the artist in question pays or paid taxes to the same government as I do.
I understand what you mean, but my question is about which artist you think your compatriots would be happy to hear about on average to show them that you have some interest in their culture.
but my question is about which artist you think your compatriots would be happy to hear about
I answered it, alongside the part that you’re quoting: Zé Ramalho (singer), Raul Seixas (singer), Machado de Assis (writer).
Raul Seixas in special would be my first bet.
In Argentina it must be Carlos Gardel - the most prominent exponent of Tango. You can walk around a corner in Buenos Aires on a Sunday to find a bunch of people dancing tango … all dressed up to the nines (sorry!). It’s amazing. Beautiful country and such an elegant city.
Depends on the crowd, so here are a few options in the order of my preference:
- The Kovenant (Not to be confused with Covenant. They’re swedish and awful)
- Dumdum Boys
- Postgirobygget
Honorable mention: Circus Maximus. They’d be ranked on top of this list if I believed that the random norwegian you ran into had ever heard of them.
Not Kaizers Orchestra for Norway?
They’ll work too. They skipped my mind as I’m not a big fan of theirs.
+1 for proclaimers. However I’m from Kirkcaldy (Raith fan) so it feels tough to agree on something.
How about Sean Connery?
Depends who you ask, I think. I’m not much of a fan, personally.
Billy Connolly would be a good shout too I think.
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Carlos Brilhante Ustra was a man who put rats in women’s vaginas. He shocked pregnant women until they miscarried. He was a torturer who is in the trash can of Brazilian history, not someone to joke about.
The only artist I would personally get excited about if someone foreign knew of them is the author Thomas Bernhard (Austria), but he was famous and infamous for hating Austrian culture and it wouldn‘t go over well with many others here I suppose.
So I posit some more widely liked people: Mozart, Falco or Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Falco :
Rollerblading in jeans while wearing sunglasses at night and also rapping in two languages and still not being caught by the polizeiYes
Belgium , you can go for “Stromae” if you want to appeal to a younger public :-)
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Germany: Boris Brejcha
When I spent a little time in Malawi, people always loved it if you recognised Evison Matafale’s music.
For Austria, you can mention an old internationally known classic, falco
or e.a.v.
these will never have you out of place
I’m American but when I visited Iceland everybody loved Björk and loved talking about Björk. She’s like a national icon
