(Kingston, Ontario, Canada)

Several months ago, I posted some links to videos for songs that I have encountered while traveling.  This time around, I’m including links to fun songs I first heard in Canada but would likely be categorized as “international music”.

The first clip is from a brilliant, brave and highly respected South African musician named Johnny Clegg.  He formed his first band (“Juluka”) with another musician named Sipho Mchunu and became a thorn in the side of the Apartheid regime.  Juluka was racially integrated at a time when the separation of races was actually legislated in South Africa.  Clegg went on to form the band “Savuka” and also recorded under his own name but he always maintained racially-integrated bands.  He has produced an impressive body of work in both the Zulu and English languages (generally in the same song)…and he also has a Ph.D. in Anthropology!

My wife and I have seen him (and met him!) in concert twice.  Attending a Johnny Clegg concert is like going to the best university seminar ever, as Clegg provides intelligent commentary on his music and his home country.  Although he enjoyed some commercial success in the 1980s (most notably with “Scatterlings of Africa” from the movie “Rain Man”), I think his latest album “Human” is his most diverse and interesting work yet.   Here’s a track from that album called “Asilazi”:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lpn85PlORt4&spfreload=10

If you lived through the 1980s, you undoubtedly remember a song called “Africa” by Toto.  It was a huge hit although Toto’s connection with Africa remains somewhat unclear.  I recently came across an unusual cover version of “Africa” – it is by a band called Tukuleur that has roots in Senegal.   There are two important twists to the cover version:  the verses are rapped and all of the lyrics are in French.  The lyrics and video (filmed in Senegal) are quite positive; check it out here:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1Vvx3WdYOo

Senegal has a rich history of music.  Youssou N’Dour was one of the first to be heard in North America but Baaba Maal has also enjoyed some success here.  I was unsure whether a song described as “Senegalese salsa” would work, but it does!  Here’s Baaba Maal’s “African Woman”:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZV38a-xlB0k

I bought a CD called “Rock Peruano” on my last night in Peru.  I was looking for a compilation of Peruvian rock/pop music and a helpful record store employee in Lima said that this CD would provide a good cross-section of music from the 1990s.  I bought it without listening to a single note.  When I got home, I found the very first track to be the most compelling.  The Spanish lyrics are about Peruvians who have moved to other countries but it is not necessary to understand the lyrics to enjoy the song.  Here is a link to “Cuando Pienses En Volver” by Pedro Suárez Vértiz:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eF9h2i3YDvI

It may seem strange to categorize music from Los Angeles as “international music”.  However, the songs of Ozomatli arise from a collision of musical influences from around the world.  Many of Ozomatli’s songs contain both Spanish and English lyrics, while at least one is in Spanglish!  Unfortunately, they don’t necessarily make videos for their strongest songs, so I’ve selected an odd song in Spanish about poultry.  Here’s “La Gallina”:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GyOs50NE8u4

My last major trip is just over a week away and I’ve decided to include one more clue:  I’m going to a place where the weather is almost guaranteed to be horrendous!  It definitely won’t look like the photo at the top of this blog…which was taken two summers ago on the Baltic Sea near Helsinki, Finland.