Assimilation of local music in prog and rock...

Swan Song wrote: Mexican stuff (especially the track "Maria"): LA PURA REALIDAD

I come from Lebanon, and I live in France, and I think this subject is a bit delicate.

Incorporating local folk into your music can quickly become cliché if you haven't really absorbed the folk music in its sounds and rythms. You can't just say, "I'm from France, I should put in some accordeon in my songs...".

I think the best way to incorporate folk music in your composition, is to be able not to think you really are!
The fact that you WANT to incorporate traditionnal elements into your music can make it artificial. You have to compose with the folk music as an inspiration just like others.

Moreover, it won't be the same if you're playing jazz for example or prog. In prog in particular, this issue is more delicate (as is every note...). You have to work with precision and be able to chose the right moment and the right mood, with the right orchestration.

In jazz, your choices are more varied. You can have a theme that's close to your folk music, and put in a local instrument for an improv or to play a theme. That's how you can easily have guest musicians come in, do their thing without any preparation.

In France, people don't tend to mix, because french music has a very different state of mind compared to UK/US culture. Songs are moslty based on the lyrics, and musically there has never been something really "French" if not some french rock or old songs with some accordeon.

In Lebanon, you can find for example composers who made classical arabic music in the seventies that are now playing jazz with a big folk influence (I'm thinking of Ziad Rahbani an essential Lebanese pianist).
You can also find "oriental" rock and metal, but they quickly sound cliché, as the incorporation of folk music is a bit "forced".

Dean wrote: The only band in my country to do it with any finesse was Gryphon, who incorporated traditional instruments and musical style.

I was thinking Gryphon too - however, surely Blackmores Night would qualify, given their fusion of proggish folk with traditional instrumentation & styles

[edit]

Or is the caveat here your use of the phrase "with any finesse"?

Edited by Jim Garten - January 09 2009 at 11:28

Cabezas de Cera has some very interesting ethnic influences, you can find them here on PA.

mono wrote: In Lebanon, you can find for example composers who made classical arabic music in the seventies that are now playing jazz with a big folk influence (I'm thinking of Ziad Rahbani an essential Lebanese pianist). You can also find "oriental" rock and metal, but they quickly sound cliché, as the incorporation of folk music is a bit "forced".

Let's not forget Rabih Abouh-Khalil, who also originally is from Lebanon. He plays oud and flute (though lately only oud). He spends his time in Germany and France these days though (he speaks perfect German, without any accent).


Edited by BaldFriede - January 09 2009 at 12:49

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

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...

Ripaille and Malicorne,Ame Son also

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!)

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.