Even before I learned my native tongue, Gujarati, I knew the language of the groove. Shoulders swaying and arms reaching up of their own accord, head bobbing as the music slowly worms into your bloodstream.
Fortunately, this is a universal experience. Spanning boundaries and languages. This is the first edition of DelMundoJamz, where you get recommendations from languages outside of the one we converse in. Find some of my recommendations for songs to chill with or dance in a dreamy haze.
“Diya” by Abdul Hannan and Shahmeer Raza Khan
What a perfect song to begin with! The cassette clicking and the slow introduction are just two reasons why this song absolutely sweeps you away. Hannan and Khan bathe you in a swirl of beats, instruments and overlaid vocals. Hindi music is a little too close to my heart and singing about a lover as meri jaan (my life) is my weakness. This is not to disparage the artists and their work, of course! Perhaps, we may explore how the song continues to build tension and releases it most satisfyingly or maybe how the end seems to come just a little too early. All I know is that the guitar riff has successfully made a rent-free home in my brain.
Little by Little by The Marías
Sandwiching Spanish with some English lyrics, The Marías has covered me in their music. In a way, I am surrounded by their voices. I enjoy voices being layered and harmonized over each other, especially in this song. The simplistic nature of its lyrics in comparison to its multi-layered harmony makes the song incredibly easy to listen to. Whether it is the slow drums and the atmospheric drone resembling keeps the floating voice grounded. It is a song someone would place a montage on top of as a couple slowly makes their way through the day, filling it with intimate mundanity. And as a river flows meandering through land, the artist’s voice creates paths into the listener’s ear. I would recommend checking out other songs by The Marías because this is just the beginning.
17 by Froukje
A synthesizer moment is where it's at, even when the song is in Dutch and is actually about how she has been with this person for 17 days and all she hopes is that they stay. Songs that render people to simpletons shouldn’t be so catchy. Froukje leverages the breaks in the beat to almost rap at the listener, but it almost feels like a rushed plea, unwilling to bother the listener or her new love. The verses flow easily into the chorus, with her producer building mini-tensions across the whole song. Her voice, though? That’s what keeps you there. The contrast between the hard consonants and the vocals softened by layers creates that exciting feeling of push and pull. I don’t know how this stumbled into my playlist, but I am glad it did.
Ma Meilleure Ennemie by Stromae and Pomme
So, with everyone who watched “Arcane,” I, too, was reduced to a puddle of tears when this song played on the show. I have no idea what these French artists are singing, but did it stop me from learning the lyrics? NO! When I did find out what they meant, the scenes from the show were made crystal clear and the urge to bawl increased tenfold. Now, all I do is think about the choral elements slowly filling up the background as the refrain, “ Je t’aime, Je te hais” (“I love you, I hate you”), rang over and over. And even after seeing an ungodly amount of edits featuring this song, I am still not sick of it. I only find more reasons to listen to it.
Singularity by Kim Taehyung from BTS
As I was foraying into the world of Korean pop, I realized that some of this space is not meant for my feeble music taste. However, my friend put me on to this song– maybe it is the underrated bass in the background as Taehyung serenades the listener, but the song is captivating. The long holds on the notes and the slow croon pulled me in. I may have heard this song for years but there is still a charm that seems to reverberate from its core. The lyrics sing about identity and putting the weight of your true self out there. This would be the perfect song to groove to, swaying into the dark of the night.
