Assimilation of local music in prog and rock...

Jimbo wrote: Senni Eskelinen & Stringpurée band base their music on kantele - Finland's national instrument. Apart from that, I can't think of anything. To me, there are artists that sound distinctively Finnish (Pekka Pohjola, Uzva etc.), but if you'd ask me to explain my stance, I'm not sure I could give you a satisfying answer - you just feel it.

Moonsorrow also use the kantele on their Verisäkeet album :) Beautiful instrument!

Senni Eskelinen & Stringpurée band base their music on kantele - Finland's national instrument. Apart from that, I can't think of anything. To me, there are artists that sound distinctively Finnish (Pekka Pohjola, Uzva etc.), but if you'd ask me to explain my stance, I'm not sure I could give you a satisfying answer - you just feel it.

Toaster Mantis wrote: Isn't traditional Hawaiian music where slide guitar comes from? If that's the case, you guys have had quite the influence upon rock music...

Not sure about that.  I've always had the impression that blues slide and hawaiian slide developed seperately.  You never know though.

In my country, Hawaii, and if you don't think Hawaii is another country seperate from the U.S., come live out here and may I say, I would love to be there when you tell  that to the locals. OUCH... In any case in my country, there is no  "Local" rock, no roll, there is no Jazz no Prog no nothing but  the mindless pulsating rhytms of Hawaii's own "Jah-Waiian" scene( A : tropical "blend" of rap and Reggae,usually rapped in Pidgin English or some Polynesian language and with all due respect to Bob Marley, Rap and Reggae are two of the most nauseating forms of music to these ears) Traditonal Hawaiian music is quite nice and enjoyable with Slack Key guitar playing being a popular export of Hawaii and some reason I cannot hear slack key or traditional Hawaii folk ever being blended together with rock to form or create good prog... Some flavors were never meant to blend....

Oddly enough, Italian prog folk bands tend to incorporate elements of other traditions more than local ones - obviously with some notable exceptions, like Seventies bands Canzoniere del Lazio and Carnascialia. The most evident influence on Italian prog, however (like someone else already said), is opera, as proved by the 'theatrical' style favoured by many RPI singers.

Chilean bands like Los Jaivas, Congreso, Inti Illimani and others incorporate a lot of folk elements into their music, not only from Chile, but Latin America in general. These bands started (and were big) in the 60's/70's, so they kind of set a style for "progressive" music, so now a lot of jazz and prog bands do the same.

chaos8619 wrote: < ="-" ="text/; =utf-8">< name="ProgId" ="Word.">< name="Generator" ="Microsoft Word 11">< name="Originator" ="Microsoft Word 11"> In Romania there are some great bands that incorporate in their music specific Romanian folkloric elements and themes or instruments. Phoenix (who is present in PA) is probably the most know band, who blend in the ‘70is symphonic prog, hard rock and Romanian folk music and using popular instruments like “fluier”, “bucium”, “dube”, “toaca”, etc. Other great band from present is Negura Bunget who blend norwegian pagan raw black metal and romanian folklore (album Om is a great masterpiece). There are some others band who are not included in PA, like Bucium (etno-rock, folk-rock), Zdob si Zdub (a moldavian etno/hard-core/punk band very popular in Eastern Europe), Shukar Collective (electro-gipsy/alternative rock), Oviudiu Lipan Tandarica (the Phoenix drummers who blends rock, jazz, gipsy taraf and traditional romanian folkloric music), Domnisoara Pogany (who is one of the most interesting prog band from Romania, maybe it could be considerate on this site as instrumental eclectic prog) and so on. Who want to listen some of this bands or others, please contact me.

Yes, I agree, Phoenix and particularly the albums Mugur de Flieur, Cei ce ne-au dat Nume and Cantafabule are superb albums which incooperate traditional instruments and are based on folklore and poetry of Romania.  I would like to add Stepan Project ( a band formed by Ilie Stepan, former lead singer of Pro Muzica) which is difficult to categorize, I would say symphonic prog with pronounced folk influences).

The country in which I live, Greece, is influenced by the East as much as the West and there is certainly a lot of non prog folk bands around who play the bouzouki, clarinette and mandolin, but I think there isn't much experimentation in this field, musically speaking.  Generally speaking, the progressive rock scene in Greece isn't very big, bands which come to mind which have experimented with folk music are perhaps Purple Overdose and Dionisis Savvopoulos.  The former clearly have drawn from foreign folk prog bands like Jethro Tull, but I wouldn't say that the flute was a traditional instrument of Greece, nor would I describe them as being a folk band, more psychodellic.  Dionisis Savvopoulos has made use of traditional themes and instruments in his earlier albums and was clearly influenced by the prog scene at the time but I wouldn't say that his music was pure progressive rock (except the track "Mavri Thalassa," which is a classic!)

Ripaille and Malicorne,Ame Son also

memowakeman wrote: Swan Song wrote: Mexican stuff (especially the track "Maria"): LA PURA REALIDAD So you are from Mexico?

No but I appreciate hispanic/latin-american flavour to any form of art...

Toaster Mantis wrote: Hmmm. I remember reading that Dick Dale, that surf music guy, was of Lebanese descent and worked a lot of folk music from that country into music so a lot of surf is full of second-hand Lebanese folk influences! Is there any truth to this, and if yes do you think that falls into the category of "oriental rock" sounding forced and cliché?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Misirlou


Edited by DatM - January 10 2009 at 06:40