A huge part of the musical journey that I'm on is about breaking through that box of American music that I grew up on. Well, since I'm an 80s kids, American and new wave pop from England and Europe.
That really limited tunnel vision that was Top forty radio. Even the more experimental AOR radio, while sometimes allowed music from other cultures to be broadcast (shout out to Abraxas by Santana for being an absolutely life changing album), it also wasn't the best for ethnic, or gender, diversity.
Each week of CSOTD, at some point, I have to make a choice to look out past these fence lines and shoot for something global, unique and also cool.
Ado is a Japanese pop singer who rose to prominence for her powerful vocals and unique blend of J-pop, rock, and Vocaloid-inspired styles. She first gained widespread attention in 2020 with her debut single "Usseewa" (うっせぇわ), which became a viral hit and marked her as a voice of Japan's disaffected youth.
Bulgarian folklor is actually known as "Le Mystère des Voix Bulgares" (The Mystery of Bulgarian Voices) in the West, or the Bulgarian State Television Female Vocal Choir. This is one of the most internationally recognized Bulgarian folk ensembles, though there are many professional and amateur Bulgarian folk choirs. Bulgarian folk singing is renowned for its distinctive vocal techniques including, powerful, open-throat singing, dissonant harmonies and complex rhythms.
"Kaval Sviri" (Каваль свири) is one of the most famous songs from this tradition. The title means "The Kaval Plays" in Bulgarian, referring to the traditional wooden flute common in Bulgarian folk music. The lyrics tell a story of a shepherd playing the kaval (flute) in the mountains, with the melody evoking pastoral imagery and the expansive feeling of mountain landscapes.
