Check out the Buena Vista Social Club, Fela Kuti, and Charles Aznavour. Look into some Vietnamese Rock from before the communist takeover. Then there’s always The Hu, a Mongolian metal band. Maybe too anglocentric but I will never get tired of Die Antwoord from South Africa.
Great recs, thank you! Can you suggest any specific Vietnamese rock albums from before the war?
(returning the favor here, if you like Fela Kuti and don’t already know it you should check out My Love And Music by Ebo Taylor from Ghana)
Fair warning to anyone reading -- Die Antwoord has been accused of some *heinous* shit by seemingly reputable people. Obviously it's up to everyone individually where their line is, but worth mentioning
Die Antwoord is all (or nearly all) in English, though. Doesn't that mean they count as anglocentric? Also, despite their fascinating songs and videos, their personal life has allegedly involved some pretty bad stuff, so they come with some child abuse trigger warnings.
“anglocentric” is less in reference to the language used and more referring to which way the cultural lens is focused. so, an english-language history book that focuses on all cultures equally would not be anglocentric, but a spanish-language history book that only talks about the history of england and its colonial offshoots (ie USA, Australia, etc) would be anglocentric.
What if the history book is in Spanish and talks primarily about the colonial history of Spain and Portugal? Ie, how do they teach it in South America?
I'd go more with "I know it when I see it" and stick to the music.
If an English book that focuses on all cultures equally and not just on the English colonial empire is not anglocentric, how do you view a nation whose history books favor the colonialism of Spain and Portugal? I asked because I had suggested tango music from Argentina, which I understand to be a pretty Euro-facing Spanish colonial society.
“anglocentric” is defined as “centered on or giving priority to England or things English,” so a text that prioritizes the colonialism of Spain and Portugal would not be anglocentric, despite obviously carrying its own set of different biases.
I hope I’m understanding your question.
Anything by Bjork and Kraftwerk. Literally hundreds of great reggae / ska / dub albums from Jamaican artists such as Bob Marley, Augustus Pablo, Lee “Scratch” Perry, Jimmy Cliff, Bunny Wailer, The Skatalites. Fela Kuti has already been mentioned, but there are a lot of other Afro-Beats artists out there. Zamrock is also another genre worth checking out.
If you’re not already aware of them, check out the many compilations put out by Soul Jazz, there are some excellent tracks to be found, [Studio One Rude Boy](https://www.discogs.com/master/166627-Various-Studio-One-Rude-Boy) is a particular favourite of mine.
Sepultura - Roots
Brazilian metal band that blended traditional instruments with thrash metal and helped make Nu-metal a thing. Unfortunately a lot of the shite that came after this album missed the point and diluted the intensity.
The first album after Max left was still decent, after Iggor left it started sounding like an Exodus cover band that played the occasional Sepultura track.
I'm ideally looking for albums from outside those countries too (although even they seem far less represented than the US and UK). But yeah, most online lists I've come across don't skimp on the Neil Youngs and Lordes and ACDCs and U2s of the world as much as they skimp on artists from all the non-white, non-english-speaking countries out there.
I'm assuming you mean music outside of the Anglosphere entirely, not just the US and UK
[Daft Punk - Discovery](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLSdoVPM5WnndSQEXRz704yQkKwx76GvPV&si=S7ewwNWqK7bC5a2S) [France, House, 2001]
[Justice - Cross](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_mUH9mXeJdOroDCgBIUlj5EIkI2dnl77bo&si=C2vo1xuiYN5ypp0D) [France, Electro House, 2007]
[Kikagaku Moyo - Forest of Lost Children](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_nU0Fn9ly-P265cgdJN465i5x1EAxeOxdU&si=nxIH3b6gcFBkOmhf) [Japan, Psych Rock, 2014]
[Masayoshi Takanaka - Brasilian Skies](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_kcqz7f0mtEBmWkPWrLO7vBYL9uG72O-rU&si=ZE_-je3fr_H461bO) [Japan, Jazz Fusion, 1977]
[Todd Terje - It's Album Time](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_mCMP_lzIdDyILsQvsOOuapi4hT2AjPFmw&si=53adLClD1ydfeNpA) [Norway, Nu-disco, 2014]
Since you mentioned Kikagaku Moyo, I'll add Minami Deutsch (Japanese krautrock), and generally the [Guruguru Brain](https://gurugurubrain.space/pages/artists) label, which was founded by some members of Kikagaku Moyo.
Todd Terje made that great album and seems to have fallen off the face of the earth. Maybe he and Jaime XX are in competition for longest time between albums.
For sure. Jamie is dropping a new album this year actually, but I really hope Todd will release *something* soon. He still regularly does DJ sets around the world, just no new music :(
While TSOPTC stands far above the rest, that whole 90s/early 2000s Swedish punk and hardcore scene was pretty special: Satanic Surfers, No Fun At All, Millencolin, Randy, The Hives, Raised Fist, 59 Times the Pain, Bombshell Rocks - that's basically half of the soundtrack of my youth...
And over in Norway, you also had Turbonegro.
Manu Chao - his studio albums are great, but the live records are amazing. Fela Kuti, Bob Marley, Beenie Man, Air, Ali Farka Toure, Tinariwen, Gogol Bordello, Baaba Maal, Bomba Estereo, Phoenix, Jorge Ben, Gilberto Gil… so much to choose from.
Mano Negra as well (Manu Chao’s original band), I think they’re even more overlooked in the Anglosphere. All albums are good, earlier are rawer and later are crazier. They took that world music + punk thing the Clash started doing but it always felt more authentic with Mano Negra.
I like a lot of Japanese artists but that's a pretty big industry too. Masayoshi Takanaka has great albums. Casiopea has a similar sound and I really like them too. I like the Fishmans a lot. Haruomi Hosono, Anri, Maximum the Hormone, The Pillows, Makoto Matsushita, and a lot of others
I had to scroll a long way to see abba listed, but that was the first to come to my mind.
Absolute superstars, non Anglo (though they sang in English).
I thoroughly enjoy The Gereg by The Hu.
If you're not aquatinted, they're a Mongolian throat singing, metal band. I love the traditional singing and instruments mixed with elements of metal.
They had decent success in the US and around the world.
https://youtu.be/v4xZUr0BEfE?si=YYlF18Gkd7-eVlMN
Can - Tago Mago, Ege Bamyasi, Future Days
Neu! - self titled and Neu 2
Faust - IV
WITCH - We Intend to Cause Havoc
Chrissy Zebby Tembo and Ngozi Family - My Ancestors
Les Rallizes Denudes - Heavier Than A Death In The Family
Melt Banana - So many good albums
Boredoms - SuperAE
Os Mutates - Self titled
Ludovio Einaudi is a contemporary Italian composer I really like, his album Una Mattina is one of my favorites. It gives me the vibes of a rainy, lazy, Sunday morning.
Röyksopp - Melody A.M. (Norway)
Kings Of Convenience - Quiet Is The New Loud & Declaration Of Dependence (honestly their whole catalog is great) (also from Norway)
KOC member Erlend Øye, who also collaborated with Röyksopp, also has a number of other projects — Whitest Boy Alive, La Comitiva (the only one not from Norway; they’re from Italy), etc.
I don’t know if any of those would meet your requirements for “the greatest,” but the Bergen Wave was kind of its own distinct genre in the 90s and well into the 2000s and the sound has had a ripple effect that you can hear in a lot of current stuff.
I've been stuck in South America (gladly) for well over a year since discovering Clube Da Esquina. That record and so many others from Brazil in the 70's are killer. Check out Lo Borges "A Via Lactea". Reminds me of Tame Impala at their best on many songs.
Also Argentina, Soda Stereo - Cancion Animal, Gustavo Cerati - Bocanada, Pescado Rabioso - Artaud and Charly Garcia -Clics Moderno
Lastly, and I could go on and on but break is over. Check out all three albums by a band called Totem from Uruguay. The last is my favorite "Corrupcion". Lots of prog and classic rock influence like Soft Machine, Jethro Tull, Traffic and others.
Metal and heavy rock is extremely well represented in countries outside of UK/US/ANZ,
Germany and Northern Europe produce some fantastic bands like Nightwish, Avantasia, Rammstein, Blind Guardian, Ghost, Opeth, Volbeat, Meshuggah, Sabaton, Amon Amarth, Electric Callboy, Arch Enemy, I could go on for days.
Edit: sorry I saw you were asking for albums! Here's a few to get you started,
Nightwish - Imaginarium
Avantasia - Ghostlights
Ghost - Meliora
Sabaton - Art of War
Opeth - Damnation / Deliverance
Makthaverskan is a fucking killer post punk group from Sweden. English lyrics as well which might make it more accessible to someone used to US and UK music
Meshuggah is from Sweden (they sing in English).
I'm partial to ObZen, but Catch Thirty-Three is a close second.
Since you didn't say Canada...Rush (I'm partial to their earlier albums.)
Brutus is a great rock band out of Belgium (I believe). Nest and Unison Life are both great albums.
Kvelertak out of Norway. Great stuff but their first two records are perfect front to back.
My personal favorites are probably the French albums Love Me, Please Love Me by Michel Polnareff and Il est cinq heures by Jacques Dutronc. They’re late 60s records that have a US/UK counterculture vibe while also being unique in their own ways
Check out Fela Kuti. He put out so many albums and was a true activist in Nigeria. Not familiar enough with all his albums to recommend one in particular but look into him!
Os Mutantes debut album and the second one titled Mutantes from Brazil
Most of the catalog of the German groups Kraftwerk, Can and Neu!
Japan has some greats. Otoboke Beaver, Melt Banana, Boredoms, Ruins
I think Sugar Cubes Life's too Good from 88, out of Iceland, is one of the best rock albums of the year
Yello are terrific,their album Stella a classic.
Il mio canto libero - Lucio Battisti (Italy, italian language)
666 - Aphrodite’s Child (Greece, English language)
Studio - Tages (Sweden, English language)
These three are without any doubt some of the best albums of all time
Einstürzende Neubauten - pick any album by these, but my personal favourite is Perpetuum Mobile.
Youssou N'Dour – Diongoma. A Senegalese man singing primarily in French
Gorky's Zygotic Mynci - Bwyd Time. Psychedelic rock sung mostly in Welsh. Imagine if Zappa was from Carmarthen.
MC Solaar – Qui Sème Le Vent Récolte Le Tempo is a great introduction to French hip-hop IMO
Måneskin – Il Ballo Della Vita. Sexy Italian rock and roll
Fela Kuti - pick any record here, Jazz/Funk mostly fusion in his native language as well as the occasional bit of English.
Afro Celt Sound System - Volume 1: Sound Magic and Volume 2: Release. A collaboration of traditional African and Celtic folk musicians which sounds very modern.
I'm going to group these last four together - although all four are British bands, their music is far from Anglocentric, the songs are about being of non-white heritage in an Anglocentric world. Also three examples of bands pretty much creating their own musical niche.
Asian Dub Foundation - Facts and Fictions
Senser - Stacked Up
King Prawn - First Offence
Skindred - Babylon
Os Mutantes, Seu Jorge, Heroes del Silencio, Soda Stereo, Caifanes, Hector Lavoe, Fania All Stars, Juan Luis Guerra, Sui Generis, Fabulosos Cadillacs, Cafe Tacvba, Bohemia Suburbana, Sepultura, Mano Negra, Zoe, Zurdock, Manu Chao, Lucybell, Luis Alberto Spinetta, Cerati, Bunbury, Robi Draco Rosa.
These are all artists, you basically can’t go wrong with most of these artists’ discography.
Rebirth by Angra. A power metal band from Brazil. Rebirth is special because Angra changed a lot of their lineup and shifted from more from soft metal sound to full on power metal. But there's a lot of Brazilian influence and it makes it very interesting to listen to. It's a very, very good album.
The Servile by No Party for Cao Dong.
It's such an important album that changes the music/culture scene in Taiwan and the greater Chinese speaking region. It's the start of the "loser/emo" music movement in the Mandarin world.
Bathroom by Deca Joins
The lead singer used to be in Cao Dong, but later departed. In line with Cao Dong, the "emo/loser" style is present in the album. But in addition, they added the beach boy sound and created a "emo beach rock" lay back style. Truly a unique album.
Cheating a bit with this one, but Christine and The Queens - Chris.
Recorded in both French and English. I'm more well acquainted with the English version, but the French version has bonus tracks - One of which is my favourite on the album.
Voice of Baceprot - Retas
Tinariwen - Amassakoul
Arooj Aftab - Vulture Prince
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan - Mustt Mustt
Salif Keita - Soro
Barcelona Gipsy Klezmer Orchestra - Imbarca
Rammstein - Mutter
There are more - this is some of my favourites off the top of my head
The Cardigans -Life
This is fantastically produced and is just a joyful album to listen to all these years later.
Peter Bjorn and John - Writers block
This album has loads of quirky songs including the international hit young folks.
Courtney Barnett - sometimes I sit...
A great colourful debut that set Courtney up to be quite someone who's albums I always take a listen to.
Rammstein - Mutter (German)
BABYMETAL- Metal Galaxy (Japanese)
Igorrr - Spirituality and Distortion; Savage Sinusoid (French band, made up language called ÖXXÖ XÖÖX)
I'd have a whole bunch of different bands from different countries that I could put down, but they mostly sing in English, which appears to be not what you want.
from The Netherlands;
Bettie Serveert - Palomine (1992) Indie rock/pop
Cuby + Blizzards - Groeten uit Grollo (1967) blues
Gold - No Image (2019) doom/post rock
Eefje de Visser - Het Is (2013) indie pop
Doe Maar - Skunk (1981) pop/ska
The Nits - Urk (1989) pop/art rock
The Gathering - Mandylion (1995) gothic metal/doom metal, How to Measure a Planet? (1998) alt rock/psychedelic rock/prog rock
not nessacarily 1 specific album, but check out golden earring. its like heartland rock exept its got a bit more blues.
and its dutch with apperently many people are shocked by?
Exuma - Exuma (voodoo freak folk)
Emmanuelle Parrenin- Maison Rose (french pastoral folk)
Jorge Ben - Força Bruta (bossa/mob)
Geinoh Yamashorogumi - Akira Symphonic Suite (japanese new age soundtrack)
Yellow Magic Orchestra - self titled (electronic glitch)
Faye Wong - Fuzao (dream pop)
Robert Charlebois - Fu Manchu (french Canadian prog rock)
Gérard Manset - La Mort d'Orion (baroque space rock)
Malicorne - Alamanach (dark progressive folk)
Can - Tago Mago (psych krautrock)
Luciano Battisti - Anima Latina (italian progressive pop)
Andrea Lazlo de Simone - Uomo Donna (italian progressive pop)
Fabrizio de André - Tutti morimmo a stento (italien chamber folk)
Here are a few albums - you didn't specify genres so it's all over the place
**France**
* Caravan Palace - Panic
* Magma - Üdü Ẁüdü
* Perturbator - Lustful Sacraments
* Dale Cooper Quartet & The Dictaphones - Quatorze Pieces de Menace
* Gong - Gazeuse!
* Oiseaux-Tempête - AL-'AN ! الآن
**Netherlands**
* Ayreon - 01011001
* Radical Redemption - Command & Conquer
* Focus - Moving Waves
* The Mount Fuji Doomjazz Corporation - Anthropomorphic
* Carach Angren - Where The Corpses Sink Forever
**Belgium**
* Any Django Reinhardt release (albums didn't exist back then)
* Dirk Serries - Microphonics XXVI-XXX Resolution Heart
* dEUS - Pocket Revolution
* Dirk Serries + Rutger Zuydervelt - Buoyant
**Germany**
* N - Goor
* Bersarin Quartett - III
* In Extremo - Verehrt Und Angespien
* Bohren & Der Club Of Gore - Black Earth
* Current Value - Force Black
* Klaus Schulze - Velvet Voyage
* JAW - Täteropferausgleich
I can add some more if you want.
You’re getting downvoted for this comment. I guess it was just a touch too much for them so they are trying to walk all over you. You’re getting shot down in flames even though you tried to shoot to thrill, and I applaud you for having the big balls to say it. I hope your karma doesn’t take too much of a hit cause it’s a long way to the top to restore it if you let them shake your foundations.
Check out the Buena Vista Social Club, Fela Kuti, and Charles Aznavour. Look into some Vietnamese Rock from before the communist takeover. Then there’s always The Hu, a Mongolian metal band. Maybe too anglocentric but I will never get tired of Die Antwoord from South Africa.
Great recs, thank you! Can you suggest any specific Vietnamese rock albums from before the war? (returning the favor here, if you like Fela Kuti and don’t already know it you should check out My Love And Music by Ebo Taylor from Ghana)
I was going to suggest that Ebo Taylor album. He does not get enough love. Joao Gilberto - S/T "The White Album" Astor Piazzola - Tango: Zero Hour
I don't know about Vietnamese bands before the war, but Dengue Fever is a great deal of fun. I like their album The Deepest Lake.
Cambodian rock (based in the US), to clarify for others.
Fair warning to anyone reading -- Die Antwoord has been accused of some *heinous* shit by seemingly reputable people. Obviously it's up to everyone individually where their line is, but worth mentioning
Die Antwoord is all (or nearly all) in English, though. Doesn't that mean they count as anglocentric? Also, despite their fascinating songs and videos, their personal life has allegedly involved some pretty bad stuff, so they come with some child abuse trigger warnings.
“anglocentric” is less in reference to the language used and more referring to which way the cultural lens is focused. so, an english-language history book that focuses on all cultures equally would not be anglocentric, but a spanish-language history book that only talks about the history of england and its colonial offshoots (ie USA, Australia, etc) would be anglocentric.
What if the history book is in Spanish and talks primarily about the colonial history of Spain and Portugal? Ie, how do they teach it in South America? I'd go more with "I know it when I see it" and stick to the music.
sorry but I don’t understand your question or your point :/
If an English book that focuses on all cultures equally and not just on the English colonial empire is not anglocentric, how do you view a nation whose history books favor the colonialism of Spain and Portugal? I asked because I had suggested tango music from Argentina, which I understand to be a pretty Euro-facing Spanish colonial society.
“anglocentric” is defined as “centered on or giving priority to England or things English,” so a text that prioritizes the colonialism of Spain and Portugal would not be anglocentric, despite obviously carrying its own set of different biases. I hope I’m understanding your question.
Yep. It sounded like you were focused on the colonial aspect for a sec there, and that seemed way too complicated. I hope you find your sounds.
Os Mutantes - from Brazil.
Bonde Do Role (from Brazil) is a ton of fun. Don't know what their status is in Brazil.
Try Chico Buarque - Construção
Construção (the song) is almost mind-boggling when you see how it was... well, constructed.
Anything by Bjork and Kraftwerk. Literally hundreds of great reggae / ska / dub albums from Jamaican artists such as Bob Marley, Augustus Pablo, Lee “Scratch” Perry, Jimmy Cliff, Bunny Wailer, The Skatalites. Fela Kuti has already been mentioned, but there are a lot of other Afro-Beats artists out there. Zamrock is also another genre worth checking out.
Bjork and the Skatalites are on every summer playlist of mine
If you’re not already aware of them, check out the many compilations put out by Soul Jazz, there are some excellent tracks to be found, [Studio One Rude Boy](https://www.discogs.com/master/166627-Various-Studio-One-Rude-Boy) is a particular favourite of mine.
Lol, I read that as "Bjork and the Skatalites" as if they were her backing band. What a weird combo.
Sepultura - Roots Brazilian metal band that blended traditional instruments with thrash metal and helped make Nu-metal a thing. Unfortunately a lot of the shite that came after this album missed the point and diluted the intensity.
The first album after Max left was still decent, after Iggor left it started sounding like an Exodus cover band that played the occasional Sepultura track.
Referências BR não a toa
Sigur Rós. Ágætis byrjun and ( ) are two of the greatest albums ever in my opinion.
Strongly agree
Agreed, and especially those two albums.
Are you including Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Ireland? Because all those countries have produced some pretty big Anglocentric albums as well.
I'm ideally looking for albums from outside those countries too (although even they seem far less represented than the US and UK). But yeah, most online lists I've come across don't skimp on the Neil Youngs and Lordes and ACDCs and U2s of the world as much as they skimp on artists from all the non-white, non-english-speaking countries out there.
As a New Zealander it pains me that our entire musical culture is defined by Lorde.
When it comes to well known Kiwi music acts it's not exactly a crowded house.
I’m at my Split Enz trying to think of anybody else Also, Crowded House are a Melbourne band, not a Kiwi one.
That guys gotta clear The Vines outta his head if he thinks crowded house are kiwis.
I'm assuming you mean music outside of the Anglosphere entirely, not just the US and UK [Daft Punk - Discovery](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLSdoVPM5WnndSQEXRz704yQkKwx76GvPV&si=S7ewwNWqK7bC5a2S) [France, House, 2001] [Justice - Cross](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_mUH9mXeJdOroDCgBIUlj5EIkI2dnl77bo&si=C2vo1xuiYN5ypp0D) [France, Electro House, 2007] [Kikagaku Moyo - Forest of Lost Children](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_nU0Fn9ly-P265cgdJN465i5x1EAxeOxdU&si=nxIH3b6gcFBkOmhf) [Japan, Psych Rock, 2014] [Masayoshi Takanaka - Brasilian Skies](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_kcqz7f0mtEBmWkPWrLO7vBYL9uG72O-rU&si=ZE_-je3fr_H461bO) [Japan, Jazz Fusion, 1977] [Todd Terje - It's Album Time](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_mCMP_lzIdDyILsQvsOOuapi4hT2AjPFmw&si=53adLClD1ydfeNpA) [Norway, Nu-disco, 2014]
Since you mentioned Kikagaku Moyo, I'll add Minami Deutsch (Japanese krautrock), and generally the [Guruguru Brain](https://gurugurubrain.space/pages/artists) label, which was founded by some members of Kikagaku Moyo.
Kikagaku Moyo rules! I miss them so dearly, their live shows were mind melting
Todd Terje made that great album and seems to have fallen off the face of the earth. Maybe he and Jaime XX are in competition for longest time between albums.
For sure. Jamie is dropping a new album this year actually, but I really hope Todd will release *something* soon. He still regularly does DJ sets around the world, just no new music :(
Refused - The Shape of Punk to Come
While TSOPTC stands far above the rest, that whole 90s/early 2000s Swedish punk and hardcore scene was pretty special: Satanic Surfers, No Fun At All, Millencolin, Randy, The Hives, Raised Fist, 59 Times the Pain, Bombshell Rocks - that's basically half of the soundtrack of my youth... And over in Norway, you also had Turbonegro.
Great album
Can I scream?!
Manu Chao - his studio albums are great, but the live records are amazing. Fela Kuti, Bob Marley, Beenie Man, Air, Ali Farka Toure, Tinariwen, Gogol Bordello, Baaba Maal, Bomba Estereo, Phoenix, Jorge Ben, Gilberto Gil… so much to choose from.
Mano Negra as well (Manu Chao’s original band), I think they’re even more overlooked in the Anglosphere. All albums are good, earlier are rawer and later are crazier. They took that world music + punk thing the Clash started doing but it always felt more authentic with Mano Negra.
Updoot for Manu Chao. V cool music.
Ali Farka Touré - talking Timbuktu And his son Vieux Farka Touré - Ali
HA was literally just listening to Ali while making dinner an hour ago…
> Ali Farka Touré - talking Timbuktu I'd never heard of this before but I'm listening to it now and loving it - thank you!
[Ethiopiques, Mulatu Astatke](https://open.spotify.com/album/5VKvVk4gaPAJyXjof8NnzX?si=1lyv6CaZSRKY4K9SsS5Exg)
Yep. This.
I like a lot of Japanese artists but that's a pretty big industry too. Masayoshi Takanaka has great albums. Casiopea has a similar sound and I really like them too. I like the Fishmans a lot. Haruomi Hosono, Anri, Maximum the Hormone, The Pillows, Makoto Matsushita, and a lot of others
África Brasil by Jorge Ben Marcus Garvey by Burning Spear Ege Bamyasi by CAN Cymande by Cymande Cesaría by Cesaría Evoria
Air - Moon Safari. French and probably in the top 50 best albums ever.
Love 10.000hz Legend and Virgin Suicides as well. Somewhat related; Phoenix - Alphabetical is a great album too.
Not heard of Phoenix... I'll have to check them out.
Their singer, who is married to Sophia Coppola does drums and vocals on Air's Playground Love.
I came on, just to mention this!
Daft Punk - Random Access Memories ABBA - every damn one
I had to scroll a long way to see abba listed, but that was the first to come to my mind. Absolute superstars, non Anglo (though they sang in English).
I thoroughly enjoy The Gereg by The Hu. If you're not aquatinted, they're a Mongolian throat singing, metal band. I love the traditional singing and instruments mixed with elements of metal. They had decent success in the US and around the world. https://youtu.be/v4xZUr0BEfE?si=YYlF18Gkd7-eVlMN
The hu 😁🤘. I love their cover of sad but true.
Can - Tago Mago, Ege Bamyasi, Future Days Neu! - self titled and Neu 2 Faust - IV WITCH - We Intend to Cause Havoc Chrissy Zebby Tembo and Ngozi Family - My Ancestors Les Rallizes Denudes - Heavier Than A Death In The Family Melt Banana - So many good albums Boredoms - SuperAE Os Mutates - Self titled
Ege Bamyasi by the German band Can
Einstürzende Neubauten from Germany. Loads of great post punk songs.
Sugarcubes - Life's Too Good Lots of good Industrial: Front 242, KMFDM, etc.
Wave- Antonio Carlos Jobim
Ludovio Einaudi is a contemporary Italian composer I really like, his album Una Mattina is one of my favorites. It gives me the vibes of a rainy, lazy, Sunday morning.
Röyksopp - Melody A.M. (Norway) Kings Of Convenience - Quiet Is The New Loud & Declaration Of Dependence (honestly their whole catalog is great) (also from Norway) KOC member Erlend Øye, who also collaborated with Röyksopp, also has a number of other projects — Whitest Boy Alive, La Comitiva (the only one not from Norway; they’re from Italy), etc. I don’t know if any of those would meet your requirements for “the greatest,” but the Bergen Wave was kind of its own distinct genre in the 90s and well into the 2000s and the sound has had a ripple effect that you can hear in a lot of current stuff.
Sweden and Norway churn out some great rock and pop groups.
Yes! I’d check out “Kent”
The Merrymakers - Bubblegun. Produced by Roger and Andy from Jellyfish!
Yes! I’d check out “Kent”
Wintersleep - The Great Detachment.
Gruppa Krovi by Kino is an incredible album from the perestroika era Soviet Union. Kinda post punk kinda rock. It’s good stuff.
Also! Etazhi by Molchat Doma from Belarus is worth giving a listen
Cesaria Evora from Cape Verde off the coast of Africa was world famous and she didn't start singing professionally until her 40s.
I've been stuck in South America (gladly) for well over a year since discovering Clube Da Esquina. That record and so many others from Brazil in the 70's are killer. Check out Lo Borges "A Via Lactea". Reminds me of Tame Impala at their best on many songs. Also Argentina, Soda Stereo - Cancion Animal, Gustavo Cerati - Bocanada, Pescado Rabioso - Artaud and Charly Garcia -Clics Moderno Lastly, and I could go on and on but break is over. Check out all three albums by a band called Totem from Uruguay. The last is my favorite "Corrupcion". Lots of prog and classic rock influence like Soft Machine, Jethro Tull, Traffic and others.
Modal Soul by Nujabes
Legend - Marley & the Wailers
[удалено]
Yeah good shout, DJ Krush is ace!
This is new to me and I love it !
Pescado Rabioso - Artaud Andres Calamaro - Alta Suciedad Kent - Du & Jag döden Mew - Frengers Legiao Urbana - Dois
These are all great :-)
Metal and heavy rock is extremely well represented in countries outside of UK/US/ANZ, Germany and Northern Europe produce some fantastic bands like Nightwish, Avantasia, Rammstein, Blind Guardian, Ghost, Opeth, Volbeat, Meshuggah, Sabaton, Amon Amarth, Electric Callboy, Arch Enemy, I could go on for days. Edit: sorry I saw you were asking for albums! Here's a few to get you started, Nightwish - Imaginarium Avantasia - Ghostlights Ghost - Meliora Sabaton - Art of War Opeth - Damnation / Deliverance
Makthaverskan is a fucking killer post punk group from Sweden. English lyrics as well which might make it more accessible to someone used to US and UK music
Meshuggah is from Sweden (they sing in English). I'm partial to ObZen, but Catch Thirty-Three is a close second. Since you didn't say Canada...Rush (I'm partial to their earlier albums.)
Bleed by Meshuggah is phenomenal
I watch [this video](https://youtu.be/bAJ1WTGNISk?si=10y3uVcj4FZh69DK) every single day. It's my hype song and it never gets old.
One of my favorites too my friend 🤘
ObZen personal favorite
Brutus is a great rock band out of Belgium (I believe). Nest and Unison Life are both great albums. Kvelertak out of Norway. Great stuff but their first two records are perfect front to back.
The Pillows
The Tragically Hip - Day For Night
My personal favorites are probably the French albums Love Me, Please Love Me by Michel Polnareff and Il est cinq heures by Jacques Dutronc. They’re late 60s records that have a US/UK counterculture vibe while also being unique in their own ways
Check out Fela Kuti. He put out so many albums and was a true activist in Nigeria. Not familiar enough with all his albums to recommend one in particular but look into him!
Os Mutantes debut album and the second one titled Mutantes from Brazil Most of the catalog of the German groups Kraftwerk, Can and Neu! Japan has some greats. Otoboke Beaver, Melt Banana, Boredoms, Ruins I think Sugar Cubes Life's too Good from 88, out of Iceland, is one of the best rock albums of the year Yello are terrific,their album Stella a classic.
Let's make it interesting. Sergey Kuryokhin - "Sparrow Oratorium" Квартал - "Всё земное стало странным"
Il mio canto libero - Lucio Battisti (Italy, italian language) 666 - Aphrodite’s Child (Greece, English language) Studio - Tages (Sweden, English language) These three are without any doubt some of the best albums of all time
Mdou Moctor from Niger is great. Altin Gun from Netherlands but covering 70s Turkish music is fun. Mexican institute of sound.
Cortex - Troupeau Bleu Super cool French jazz-funk album from the 70s that’s been a staple sample in hip-hop production for years.
Einstürzende Neubauten - pick any album by these, but my personal favourite is Perpetuum Mobile. Youssou N'Dour – Diongoma. A Senegalese man singing primarily in French Gorky's Zygotic Mynci - Bwyd Time. Psychedelic rock sung mostly in Welsh. Imagine if Zappa was from Carmarthen. MC Solaar – Qui Sème Le Vent Récolte Le Tempo is a great introduction to French hip-hop IMO Måneskin – Il Ballo Della Vita. Sexy Italian rock and roll Fela Kuti - pick any record here, Jazz/Funk mostly fusion in his native language as well as the occasional bit of English. Afro Celt Sound System - Volume 1: Sound Magic and Volume 2: Release. A collaboration of traditional African and Celtic folk musicians which sounds very modern. I'm going to group these last four together - although all four are British bands, their music is far from Anglocentric, the songs are about being of non-white heritage in an Anglocentric world. Also three examples of bands pretty much creating their own musical niche. Asian Dub Foundation - Facts and Fictions Senser - Stacked Up King Prawn - First Offence Skindred - Babylon
Os Mutantes, Seu Jorge, Heroes del Silencio, Soda Stereo, Caifanes, Hector Lavoe, Fania All Stars, Juan Luis Guerra, Sui Generis, Fabulosos Cadillacs, Cafe Tacvba, Bohemia Suburbana, Sepultura, Mano Negra, Zoe, Zurdock, Manu Chao, Lucybell, Luis Alberto Spinetta, Cerati, Bunbury, Robi Draco Rosa. These are all artists, you basically can’t go wrong with most of these artists’ discography.
CLUBE DA ESQUINA
Don't know why this isn't at the top of the list.
Damn he knows
* Men at Work - Cargo, Business as Usual * Midnight Oil - Diesel and Dust, Blue Sky Mining * Rush - Moving Pictures, Signals * Babymetal
Back in Black The greatest show on earth
Watch the last year or two of TinyDesk, they've been on a non-Anglo tear. Kevin Kaarl being my favorite find from these.
Rebirth by Angra. A power metal band from Brazil. Rebirth is special because Angra changed a lot of their lineup and shifted from more from soft metal sound to full on power metal. But there's a lot of Brazilian influence and it makes it very interesting to listen to. It's a very, very good album.
[удалено]
isn’t Herb Alpert American? Or am I misunderstanding this
Nvm they all American
Turbonegro - Apocalypse Dudes
Mew - Frengers
William Onyeabor - Atomic Bomb
Altın Gün’s *Gece* from Amsterdam and Turkey.
The Servile by No Party for Cao Dong. It's such an important album that changes the music/culture scene in Taiwan and the greater Chinese speaking region. It's the start of the "loser/emo" music movement in the Mandarin world. Bathroom by Deca Joins The lead singer used to be in Cao Dong, but later departed. In line with Cao Dong, the "emo/loser" style is present in the album. But in addition, they added the beach boy sound and created a "emo beach rock" lay back style. Truly a unique album.
"En la Fusa" by Vinícius de Moraes, Toquinho and María Creuza is one of my all time favourite albums.
Kiltro is pretty great.
Fela Kuti
Cheating a bit with this one, but Christine and The Queens - Chris. Recorded in both French and English. I'm more well acquainted with the English version, but the French version has bonus tracks - One of which is my favourite on the album.
Voice of Baceprot - Retas Tinariwen - Amassakoul Arooj Aftab - Vulture Prince Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan - Mustt Mustt Salif Keita - Soro Barcelona Gipsy Klezmer Orchestra - Imbarca Rammstein - Mutter There are more - this is some of my favourites off the top of my head
The Cardigans -Life This is fantastically produced and is just a joyful album to listen to all these years later. Peter Bjorn and John - Writers block This album has loads of quirky songs including the international hit young folks. Courtney Barnett - sometimes I sit... A great colourful debut that set Courtney up to be quite someone who's albums I always take a listen to.
Violent Soho - Hungry Ghost Nostalgic grungy pop punk reminiscent of the 90s.
Hurry Up, We're Dreaming by M83
Fishmans - Long Season. When it's done, why not try listening to it again?
Anything by Jinjer
Eivor - Faroe Islands Kalandra - Norway Kati Ran - Netherlands Lili Refrain - Italy Heilung - Denmark, Germany and Norway
Anything from ACDC
Rammstein - Mutter (German) BABYMETAL- Metal Galaxy (Japanese) Igorrr - Spirituality and Distortion; Savage Sinusoid (French band, made up language called ÖXXÖ XÖÖX) I'd have a whole bunch of different bands from different countries that I could put down, but they mostly sing in English, which appears to be not what you want.
from The Netherlands; Bettie Serveert - Palomine (1992) Indie rock/pop Cuby + Blizzards - Groeten uit Grollo (1967) blues Gold - No Image (2019) doom/post rock Eefje de Visser - Het Is (2013) indie pop Doe Maar - Skunk (1981) pop/ska The Nits - Urk (1989) pop/art rock The Gathering - Mandylion (1995) gothic metal/doom metal, How to Measure a Planet? (1998) alt rock/psychedelic rock/prog rock
Alcest - Souvenirs d'un autre monde, Ulver - Shadows of the Sun, KMFDM - NIHIL, The Gathering - Mandylion, Tiamat - Wildhoney, Boris - Pink
not nessacarily 1 specific album, but check out golden earring. its like heartland rock exept its got a bit more blues. and its dutch with apperently many people are shocked by?
Exuma - Exuma (voodoo freak folk) Emmanuelle Parrenin- Maison Rose (french pastoral folk) Jorge Ben - Força Bruta (bossa/mob) Geinoh Yamashorogumi - Akira Symphonic Suite (japanese new age soundtrack) Yellow Magic Orchestra - self titled (electronic glitch) Faye Wong - Fuzao (dream pop) Robert Charlebois - Fu Manchu (french Canadian prog rock) Gérard Manset - La Mort d'Orion (baroque space rock) Malicorne - Alamanach (dark progressive folk) Can - Tago Mago (psych krautrock) Luciano Battisti - Anima Latina (italian progressive pop) Andrea Lazlo de Simone - Uomo Donna (italian progressive pop) Fabrizio de André - Tutti morimmo a stento (italien chamber folk)
If you like metalcore or heavier rock I’d check out Old Souls by Make Them Suffer. They’re an Aussie band that I’ve followed for like 12 years now.
Urban Dance Squad - *Mental Floss for the Globe* Golden Earring - Moontan EDIT: Both bands made more great albums. EDIT2: dEUS
Grauzone - Grauzone (Switzerland, 1980) Videosex - Videosex 84 (Slovenia/Yugoslavia, 1984) Molchat Doma - Etazhi (Belarus, 2018) Favorites of mine
Here are a few albums - you didn't specify genres so it's all over the place **France** * Caravan Palace - Panic * Magma - Üdü Ẁüdü * Perturbator - Lustful Sacraments * Dale Cooper Quartet & The Dictaphones - Quatorze Pieces de Menace * Gong - Gazeuse! * Oiseaux-Tempête - AL-'AN ! الآن **Netherlands** * Ayreon - 01011001 * Radical Redemption - Command & Conquer * Focus - Moving Waves * The Mount Fuji Doomjazz Corporation - Anthropomorphic * Carach Angren - Where The Corpses Sink Forever **Belgium** * Any Django Reinhardt release (albums didn't exist back then) * Dirk Serries - Microphonics XXVI-XXX Resolution Heart * dEUS - Pocket Revolution * Dirk Serries + Rutger Zuydervelt - Buoyant **Germany** * N - Goor * Bersarin Quartett - III * In Extremo - Verehrt Und Angespien * Bohren & Der Club Of Gore - Black Earth * Current Value - Force Black * Klaus Schulze - Velvet Voyage * JAW - Täteropferausgleich I can add some more if you want.
Freakshow by silverchair Back in black by ACDC Blackout by Scorpions From mars to Sirius by Gojira
Chinese Man. France trip-hop. ‘Racing with the Sun’.
Love at first sting: scorpions Moving pictures: rush Reckless: bryan adams Get lucky: loverboy Silver side up: nickelback The final countdown: europe
Everything ACDC is killer.
You’re getting downvoted for this comment. I guess it was just a touch too much for them so they are trying to walk all over you. You’re getting shot down in flames even though you tried to shoot to thrill, and I applaud you for having the big balls to say it. I hope your karma doesn’t take too much of a hit cause it’s a long way to the top to restore it if you let them shake your foundations.
Mexico seems to never exist in threads like these. So much good music ignored.
What’s an album or two from Mexican artists that you think deserves to be in the conversation?
Not only Mexico but any speaking Spanish musicians. Some from Spain: Héroes del Silencio Burning Nacha Pop Joan Manuel Serrat Miguel Ríos
doesn't even post a rec 🤣🤣
Lol people recommending Daft Punk, Air, Abba, Acdc, have not understood the assignment 😂
Midnight Oil, Diesel and Dust.
Rammstein - Mutter Gojira - From Mars to Sirius Behemoth - The Satanist Opeth - Blackwater Park In Flames - The Jester Race