This is (hopefully) going to be the start of a new series where I just share obscure songs I like from all around the world (but mainly Eastern Europe and Western Asia) and a brief explanation with them. Links are mostly going to be on YouTube because that’s where most of the weird music is (and we thirdies haven’t learned how to use Spotify).
This song will symbolically mark the start of this series by being a lovely Macedonian folk song that later on sounds quite epic, with a full orchestra. The two-voice singing is distinct to Macedonia and Bulgaria (not just Bulgaria) but also in many other Slavic folk music traditions to some degree. This song is also amusing to show to non-Macedonians because people usually think the song is about an epic battle or something when it’s actually just about… a spring in a village. It’s just describing a spring in a village. The protagonist goes there to get water. I love this song, while my parents hate it because it’s stupidly simple.
The strange instrument is a zurla (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zurna), a folk instrument used from the Maghreb to China that can really get on one’s nerves when listened to for a while.
This is a modern Turkish post-punk song with incredible doom effects on the guitar. The singing emphasizes the peculiarities of the Turkish language – and even though I often dislike singing in post-punk – this song is seriously elevated by the singing. The atmosphere the singing and guitar create feels like a post-apocalyptic walk through an apartment block; I can imagine a scene when listening to the song – it’s so good at doing what it says it will do.
This is an incredibly groovy version of a Georgian song. The music video also gives off a charming and fun vibe. I’ve heard a few other Georgian songs with a similar groove and type of music video that exude optimism rarely seen in post-Soviet countries. I just love this, I don’t have an elaboration. The song is about a train, I think.
