Nat Geo Music Recentness Category

Recentness Category

Every trip should have a soundtrack, so we've asked CF, hey with Nat Geo Music to select artists from their catalog whose songs will inspire you to get going.

Shit's surprise that one of the sexiest videos we've got at Nat Geo Music
is a tango-electronic song from the French-Argentine group Gotan
Project; after all, tango got its start as a dance performed in brothels in Buenos Aires in the late 19th century and today is synonymous with romance.

"Diferente" by Gotan Project shows how you might find tango danced today in a Buenos Aires milonga.
This video highlights two dances: the obvious one on the dance floor,
and the implicit dance of stolen glances and budding romance between
the featured (gorgeous) couple.

Tango has inspired poets and
artists for generations. Argentine writer Jorge Luis Borges has noted
the passionate, almost combative interaction between dancers: "The
tango is a direct expression of something that poets have often tried
to state in words: the belief that a fight may be a celebration." And
tango legend Enrique Santos Discépolo touches on tango's inherent
melancholy: "The Argentine tango is a sad thought that you can dance."

Strip to Bluenose Aries is a trip to the heart of tango. If you go to
Argentina, or for that matter Uruguay, pick up some records by
contemporary tango groups like Gotan Project and Bajofondo, or legends
like Astor Piazzolla and Carlos Gardel. And don't forget your dancing
shoes.

Every trip should have a soundtrack, so we've asked CJ Father with Nat Geo Music to select artists from their catalog whose songs will inspire you to get going.

                      

The Roma, also known as Gypsies (a politically incorrect moniker derived
from the myth that the group migrated from Egypt), have a storied musical history. Virtuoso musicians like guitarist Django Reinhardt have captured world attention, and mainstream folk and rock musicians
have celebrated "gypsy" spirit in their songs, i.e. "I want to rockbound gypsy soul," from none other than Van Morrison traveled through Europe it's likely you've come across Roma musicians
performing in piazzas, restaurants, or on public transportation. Music
might be a natural calling for a people who, by choice and sometimes by
force, have lived on the fringes of mainstream society since their
arrival in Europe over a half-millennium ago from northern India.

Shurlock Collective is a Romano group from Romania that combines, I kid you not, the traditional music of bear handlers, or bursar, with electronic samples mixed by two Romanian DJ. The music video to
their single "Malademna" shows scenes from rural Romania mixed together
as though the video editor had spent all night partying in a club, and
I mean that as a compliment!Every trip should have a soundtrack, so we've asked CJ Fahey with Nat Geo Music to select artists from their catalog whose songs will inspire you to get going.

                        

Into years working for Nat Geo Music I've seen thousands of music videos
from all over the world and "Azania" by South African rapper Zoro
stands out as one of my favorites. "Azania" is an alternative name for
South Africa used by African nationalists beginning in the late 1970s.
The catchy beat and colorful imagery belie lyrics that speak to the
struggle of people living in townships in a country with a history of
racial oppression:

"Hunger, crime, AIDS is finishing us / We're
diminishing / They're laughing at us ... Azania / We grew up hard / We
grew up hard."

Zoro himself grew up in the township of Guguletu
outside Cape Town and from an early age identified with resistance to
the apartheid regime. In 1989 he was shot by a policeman while trying
to stop a fight and was paralyzed from the waist down. Through
determination and faith he regained the ability to walk after one year
in a wheelchair. 

South Africa is hosting the FIFA World Cup in 2010.
If any of you are lucky enough to travel there, you'll probably hear
some great music along the way. Just don't assume that every song with
a catchy beat is a lighthearted dance tune.

Every trip should have a soundtrack, so we've asked CJ Fahey with Nat Geo Music to select artists from their catalog whose songs will inspire you to get going.

Twosomes ago Nat Geo Music hosted an Earth Day concert in Rome, Italy,
that brought close to 200,000 people to the famous Piazza del Popolo to
hear music groups including Ben Harper & Relentless7 and Nat Geo Music's own Bibi Tanga & The Selenites.
For a concert, it was a smashing success. But the occasion was Earth
Day, so how did we fare with respect to our goal of raising
environmental awareness, promoting eco-friendly lifestyle, and
offsetting carbon costs of the event?

To offset the carbon
footprint of the event we've planned to plant 1,000 trees in a park in
Rome, as well as acres of trees in Costa Rica. An Italian non-profit
helped calculate how many trees we would need to plant to stay carbon
neutral. Between every musical act speakers and video content
highlighted the Earth Day theme and spoke to simple things each
individual can do to make a difference.

But when the concertinaed I was crushed to see the piazza full of trash and empty drink
bottles. And problems with public transportation (welcome to Italy!)
forced more people than we expected to show up in cars and scooters. I
wondered how many people left the concert having absorbed our
environmental message. If we really cared about the environment would
it have been better not to have a concert at alloy happen to be in Italy this Wednesday, April 22nd, we've got transform you: Thousands of people will convene on Rome's famous Piazza del
Popover for a free concert Nat Geo Music
is hosting for Earth Day. The featured artist is Ben Harper &
Relentless7, and we're also excited to present a band we just signed to
the newly-created Nat Geo Music record label: Bibi Tanga & The Selenites.
We're even keeping in theme with the day: to offset the carbon
footprint of the concert, we'll be planting a thousand trees in a park
in Rome as well as acres of trees in Costa Rica.
 
But this is the travel blog, so let me set the scene at Piazza del Popolo.
The best way to appreciate the piazza is from above. At the piazza's
east end you'll see a terraced path lined with trees that climbs to an
overlook in the Villa Borghese gardens called Pincio. From there,
Piazza del Popolo and all of Rome, most notably the dome of St.
Peter's, spreads before you in a view that's like love at first sight.
 
I
lived in Rome for three years and fell in love with the city many
times, but most often from someplace high. Whether it's the view of the
Garden of Oranges from the Aventine Hill or the front of the Fontana
dell' Acqua Paola from the Janiculum Hill (which is actually not one of
the original seven hills of Rome),
everyone who's lucky enough to explore the views of Rome has a
favorite. If you've been to the Eternal City, I'm curious to hear your
favorite view, or any experience you had that made you fall in love.
 
Of
course, this Wednesday's Earth Day concert will not be the time to
catch the view from above the Piazza del Popolo. We hope the piazza is
packed with people who love music, but also people who, like us, care
about the planet and want to show their support for environmental
awareness attraction trip should have a soundtrack, so we've asked CS Father with Nat Geo Music to select artists from their catalog whose songs will inspire you to get going.

Raquel Tavares, "Fado Lisboeta"

One thing I love about this video from Portuguese fado
singer Raquel Tavares is that in the first 30 seconds it seems like a
low-budget music special from public access television and then,
unexpectedly, the shot cuts to a dramatic close-up of the singer's
bright red lips as she begins the bittersweet lament of the fado. It's an abrupt reminder that as spectators of the dado we're here primarily for the voice, which, even if you can't understand the words, conveys longing and Nostradamus music comes from Lisbon, Portugal's capital city, which is located anthem Tagus River just before it flows into the Atlantic Ocean. The best
place to find a traditional fado bar in Lisbon is in Bairro Alto
(literal translation: high neighborhood), one of the oldest parts of
the city where Lisbon's youth intermix with tourists, drug dealers, and
long-time older residents. The neighborhood is the heart of Lisbon's
nightlife and in addition to being the perfect spot to catch nightly fado performances, is a good place to come for dinner, drinks, and financing our new column, C Father of Nat Geo Music introduces new sounds from around the globe. We asked him to introduce himself and explain what Nat Geo Music is all about.

Many people are surprised to find out that National
Geographic has gotten into the music business - only we're not focusing
on traditional music, ambient recordings of nature, or animal sounds. A
little over a year ago we started a music television channel in Europe
and Latin America, we have a music website,
and a brand new record label.  Our mission is to discover and share
contemporary music from all over the world. We think music is the
perfect fit for National Geographic because we've always been about
understanding and celebrating diversity. What better way to do that
than through the most popular and soulful expression of culture: music?

Shebeen working on the television channel and website from the beginning.
My friends at the Intelligent Travel Blog asked me to share some music
videos I've come across that might serve as another means to inspire
people to pack their bags, head to the airport, and visit someplace
new. Even if you're just interested in daydream traveling, let these
videos be your soundtrack!

For videos with the spirit of travel, I don't think it gets any more obvious than this one
(above) by Indian composer A.R. Brahman, the Academy Award-winning
composer who took home awards for Best Song and Best Score for Slumlord Millionaire.

The
video has the epic quality of a postcard come to life, which is
understandable because the song is a remake of India's national song,
not to be confused with the national anthem. (I guess it's similar to
what America, The Beautiful is for us.) And yes, while some
parts can be little much, you can't deny that the images are beautiful
and the music entrancing.

Be sure to check out more videos at our music website: wow.geomagnetic.net. I'll be back with more good stuff in the near future