7 songs that will transport your mind to different cultures and times

The world has many cultures and each one is beautiful and unique. We often miss out on how different cultures sound because we’re listening to the same music that everyone else is.

For a change, let’s listen to different cultures, how they sound and how different they are from each other. So scroll down and check them out.  

Saurian Exorcisms – Egyptian

Info – Saurian Meditation is a side project of Karl Sanders, the front man of underground band, Nile. This song is called the Elder God Shrines, It is a dark, scary journey through ancient Egypt.

Music – It is an instrumental piece with plenty of guitars and very Egyptian sounding instruments. There is also chanting and scary whispering in the background. Oh and by the way, you can listen to some absolutely spectacular acoustic guitar works in this song.

Feel – This song sounds like a complete Egyptian ritual, a summoning of some ancient spirit perhaps or an eerie sacrifice ritual, you decide.

Finntroll – Scandinavian/Finnish

Info – Finntroll is a lesser known folk metal band from Finland, this song is called Under varje rot och sten, it is an instrumental piece.

Music – Although their style of music appeals to only a niche category of metal heads, they do have some songs for everyone else. This song has very melodic strings, a couple of trumpets, soothing flutes and gentle but powerful percussions in the background.

Feel – Imagine giant war heroes coming back to a petite town after winning a mighty battle while listening to the first half of this song. The second half is celebrations, dancing around a bonfire types.

Melechesh – Mesopotamian/Sumerian

Info – Melechesh is a folk metal band from Jerusalem, this song is called A Greater Chain of Being.

Music ­ – These guys are different even in metal circuits, very few bands came even close to their style. Very raw, ancient and original. This song has mixed sounds, Jewish/Arabic maybe. Very soothing though.

Feel – Camels, cold desert winds, belly dancers (the ancient types), mirages and genies. Yup! That pretty much sums up this song.

Lagori – Indian

Info – Lagori is a rock band from Bangalore, India, their music is light and full of energy. This song is called Boom Shankar.

Music – The band’s style is somewhat of a blend of Indie Rock and alternative but you can hear the culture of modern India in the guitar scales subtly and more prominently in the vocal style and lyrics. Lagori are a bunch of fun enthusiastic and very talented musicians.

Feel – A day in modern India, busy streets, IT Parks and just everyday city life. Maybe even meeting a stranger in a metro/bus who asks you out to breakfast on a working day.

Mel’nitsa – Russian

Info – Mel’nitsa (Russian for Windmills) is a folk rock band founded by Natalia Hellawes, This song is called Travushka.

Music – The song is soft, melodic and has a very folkish tune to it. It has guitars, drums and some wind instruments too. But what stands out in this song is Natalia’s voice, even though one might not understand it, the voice will make you want to keep playing it over and over again.

Feel – Imagine morning dew, semi snow covered plants and old windmill houses, this song will paint the rest of the picture in your mind.

Blackmore’s Night – Celtic/European

Info – Blackmore’s Night is a project by Ritchie Blackmore (Guitarist, Deep Purple) and his wife Candice Night.

Music – All the songs from this artist are very Celtic sounding. Ritchie plays mandolin, domra and hurdy-gurdy while Candice does the vocals and plays chanter, cornamuse, shawm, rauschpfeife and tambourine.

Feel – Knights, watchtowers, vast green fields, maidens, ball dances and courting. Probably a Robinhood-ish feel too.

Falkenbach – Scandinavian/Viking

Info – Falkenbach is a folk metal band from Germany, but their lyrical genre and music style is very Viking-ish. This song is called Vanadis.

Music – All their albums have a very strong Viking sound to them such as war cries, Galleon ship horns and swords clashing. The vocals are harsh, but extremely melodic. They do have a lot of pipe instruments and some songs also have ancient percussions and strings.

Feel – Close your eyes and imagine sailing on a majestic Galleon under snowcapped mountains and starry skies.

So that’s our list of music from different cultures, do let us know if you’ve come across music that brings out a particular culture and we’ll add it to our list.

Also Read

Get to know the Penn Masala: An ‘A cappella’ group to drool over for more reasons than one

Here are 10 underrated EDM tracks to make your Saturday night party an insane one

7 Indian female DJs who are blazing dance floors with their hot tunes and sizzling looks