Music and Us

Hi! This is last blog post of this class. I’ve had a lot of writing my own blog as well as reading everyone’s blog! I had to really think about what cultures to choose. There are so many to pick from. I learned a lot from the cultures I chose and hopefully you will too! 

The first culture I am going to talk about is about the Māori people. They are indigenous Polynesian people. The Māori people came to New Zealand between 1320 and 1350 through canoe voyages. I chose the band Alien Weaponry to show how they bring their culture into more modern music. Their songs are a mixture of English and Te reo Māori. I wanted to show you their song “Kai Tengata”. The song is about Hongi Hika, a Māori war leader. He played a big part of the musket wars in New Zealand. In the video you can see Tā moko. Tā moko is the tattoos you see on their bodies. It is an important part of their culture. Each tattoo design is unique to the person. It is a part of their identity. 

The second culture I wanted to talk is the traditional music of Spain. I chose Spain because being a classical guitar major I play a lot of their music. Flamenco guitar also plays a big role in their music. I don’t have any experience playing Flamenco, but I have always wanted to try.  They style of Flamenco guitar is very technical and not easy to learn. Spanish music played a big role in the development of western classical music. One of my favorite composers from Spain is Francisco Tárrega. He was born in Villarreal, Spain, 1852. One of my favorite pieces by him is Estudio in E Minor. 

The next one I want to talk about is the band Casiopea. They are a Japanese jazz fusion band. Jazz is a popular genre in Japan. Most people think of jazz as mainly an American genre. Jazz came to Japan around 1910 through passenger ships between the Philippines. The Philippines was an American Colony at the time. During World War II, Jazz was considered “enemy music” because it was American. They even tried to ban jazz music by the destruction of jazz records. The band Casiopea was formed in 1977. They have released over 40 albums. I enjoy listening to the keyboardist the most. The video I’m going to show you is Casiopea and T-Square (Another Japanese jazz fusion band) performing together. 

Lastly, I am going to talk about the Indian metal band Bloodywood. They are from New Dehli, India, formed in 2016. Their music has a mix of metal, rap, and traditional Indian music. They use more modern instruments such as guitar and bass, but they also incorporate traditional instruments such as the dhol (double sided drum) and flute. In the video I’m going to show you can see one of the members playing the dhol. One of my favorites by this band is their song “Gaddaar”. The band says “It's a song that's aimed at a complete separation of religion and politics across the world. Everyone deserves equal rights and equal treatment at the hands of their governments no matter who and how they worship. We've seen the use of religious and divisive politics globally in recent years and it needs to be spoken about”. 

I hope you enjoyed my examples! I had a lot fun exploring different cultures and how they incorporate traditions into modern music. I was already familiar with these bands/composers but I hadn't dove into the history behind them.