2freaky4church1 said:

There's about ten thousand American bands nobody has ever heard of, so there. Blame radio.

Sure Radio,

and american nationalistic arrogance.

but sure Radio

Australia- The Bamboos:

UK- Quantic Soul Orchestra with Alice Russell:

Scotland- Mouth Music:

From Columbia- Sidestepper

From Greece- Annabouboula

From UK/ India Bally Sagoo

UK- Omar

Pakistan- Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, one of the most amazing singers ever

Brazil- Djavan

[Edited 9/26/10 21:31pm]

wow, keep it coming guys!

Guinea, Africa- Mamady Keita is a mystical master of the djembe drum. The audio and video are a bit out of synch here so it'a a little bit weird to watch this but no shit, Mamady Keita can actually play the drum this way. Watch what happens around 3 minutes. Mind blowing.

Nova Scotia- Ashley McIsaac

Ireland- Emer Kenny, harpist and singer/songwriter

India/UK Nitin Sawhney with vocals by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan Nicolas Reyes of the Gipsy Kings

[Edited 9/28/10 23:48pm]

Here is one band that most Americans may not know about. Legendary band in many Asian countries and others around the world. Just saw them tonight live and they were amazing! Really enjoyed the addition of Sugizo who replaced Hide, after Hide's untimely death and since the band regrouped in 2007. If you haven't seen or heard them, check out X-Japan. Here is one of their classic songs on video:

I guess most people haven't heard (or maybe they might have since Coldplay's last album) of Jon Hopkins, some really good electro stuff...

A little something recognizable for people who liked the intro to Coldplay's last album...

Neversin.

I'd add Barry Adamson & Frank McComb 2 this list.

[Edited 9/29/10 7:01am]

purplethunder3121 said:

Here is one band that most Americans may not know about. Legendary band in many Asian countries and others around the world. Just saw them tonight live and they were amazing! Really enjoyed the addition of Sugizo who replaced Hide, after Hide's untimely death and since the band regrouped in 2007. If you haven't seen or heard them, check out X-Japan. Here is one of their classic songs on video:

fathers of vis-kei! i like their blue blood album... i'm more of a luna sea fan tho!

there's a reason they call Johhny Hallyday 'the greatest rock-star you've never heard of"...

not sure how well known she is in th US, but patricia Kaas comes to mind

from my own country, Belgium, our national prodigy... Jasper Erkens:

probably the biggest band in the history of my little country: clouseau

and in english:

enjoy!

Rockets

Children Collide

Tokyo Jihen / Shiina Ringo

Boom Boom Satellites

Ippu-Do

Zazen Boys

Nicola Conte

White Shoes & the Couples Company

Pizzicato Five before Nomiya Maki took on vocals:

purplethunder3121 said:

Here is one band that most Americans may not know about. Legendary band in many Asian countries and others around the world. Just saw them tonight live and they were amazing! Really enjoyed the addition of Sugizo who replaced Hide, after Hide's untimely death and since the band regrouped in 2007. If you haven't seen or heard them, check out X-Japan. Here is one of their classic songs on video:

I really couldn't tell with all the quick cuts but does this band have 2 drummers?

If not, that guy is amazing, totally killing that trap set.

I'm not much into hard rock but but I appreciate virtuoso musicians in any genre.

I'm really enjoying this thread but I'd like to ask if posters can please say what country the artists are from. Many do and a lot are obvious, especially the Japanese but there are some that I couldn't even begin to guess.

Rockets?

Children Collide?

White Shoes and Company?

kev1n said:

not sure how well known she is in th US, but patricia Kaas comes to mind

I'm in Australia, and my family used to be HUGE Kaas fans!

kev1n said:

there's a reason they call Johhny Hallyday 'the greatest rock-star you've never heard of"...

didn't know him, but my family were Sylvie Vartan fans too

DakutiusMaximus said:

purplethunder3121 said:

Here is one band that most Americans may not know about. Legendary band in many Asian countries and others around the world. Just saw them tonight live and they were amazing! Really enjoyed the addition of Sugizo who replaced Hide, after Hide's untimely death and since the band regrouped in 2007. If you haven't seen or heard them, check out X-Japan. Here is one of their classic songs on video:

I really couldn't tell with all the quick cuts but does this band have 2 drummers?

If not, that guy is amazing, totally killing that trap set.

I'm not much into hard rock but but I appreciate virtuoso musicians in any genre.

X-Japan has one drummer who is really amazing an can play the piano equally well. Their newest addition--Sugizo--is a virtuoso on guitar and violin. Check out his band Luna Sea--also great!

X Japan

Better than: A band that's been out of the business for most of the last decade has any right to be.

After the parade of former protégés who've hit American shores over the past few years, it's cool to finally see X Japan doing a tour of its own. The question is, can the band pull it off? With a singer who's been mostly out of the business for a decade and a drummer who's dealing with multiple health problems (including one that put him through surgery a couple of years ago) the odds would seem to be against it. And then there's new guitarist Sugizo - there's no question that he's brilliant, but he's also replacing a legend whose distinctive style was quite different from his successor's. With all the obstacles in its path, can this iconic Japanese rock outfit really still be the band that spawned a thousand imitators?

Richard Haick

Even though it's been a long time since X did a real tour, there have been a few one-off reunion shows, and the band seems to have worked through any rustiness issues. The integration of Sugizo is complete, too - although he took a few moments to shine on violin, he seems to have made the decision to allow his own personal guitar style to be subsumed for the greater good, and X still sounds like X, even without Hide.

How to describe that sound? A bit of hard rock, strong hints of '80s hair- and speed-metal, some heavy classical influences, and a lot of very emotional, tear-jerking ballads. OK, so the ballads aren't going to be everyone's cup of tea, but you have to give credit where it's due - Yoshiki is a hell of a piano player. In fact, musically, all of X was rock solid. Singer Toshi has a voice that people tend to either love or hate, but whichever camp you fall into, you have to admit that it's held up well over time. He was still able to hit those high notes, and he was able to sustain them too, something that's not always the case with vocalists once they hit their 40s.

Richard Haick

Though far smaller than the venues the members are used to, the rather opulent, elegant Fox Theater turned out to be a perfect setting for X Japan. It's a grown-up sort of band, headed by the most baby-faced elder statesman in the industry, and its sound is big and bombastic, made for arenas. It wouldn't seem right for the band to be in a dirty little club - it's too dramatic, too over the top - but the relative intimacy of Fox Theater represented a good compromise.

Last night's show felt like a family reunion. The audience was full of fans that had flown in from Japan, many holding cute little dolls as a tribute to much-missed former guitarist Hide. The crowd was a good mix of old and new - people in their forties mingled with teenagers, and it was sometimes hard to tell the difference without getting a close look at the faces. X Japan fans have been waiting a long time for this - the band broke up before it was able to do an American tour, and so there are a lot of American fans who never thought they'd get the chance to see X live. Those older fans may well have been the second-most thrilled group of people at Fox - some of them were too grown up and dignified to actually scream like teenagers, but nothing could put a damper on the overwhelming air of excitement.

Richard Haick

The happiest people in the room, though, seemed to be the band members themselves. Yoshiki was positively gleeful, hamming it up with a big smile and basking in the adoration of the crowd. There aren't many drummers who are real showmen, but this one certainly is - whether it was draping himself dramatically across his piano or banging the giant cymbal to the right of his drum-kit, he was clearly in his element, and the interaction between him and the audience was a beautiful thing to behold. That might have been the most striking thing about the whole show, how obvious it was that the audience still genuinely loves X Japan in that pure, intense way that people love their favorite band when they're in high school. To see that feeling radiating from so many adults was a moving experience.

Yoshiki wasn't the only one reveling in the moment. Singer Toshi was clearly happy to be back too, and even the more reserved Pata and Heath cracked a few smiles. The show also proved that adding Sugizo to the line-up was a good decision - you'd think it might not work, having two performers as showy and attention-grabbing as he and Yoshiki in the same band, but they played off of each other brilliantly, sharing the spotlight in a way that conveyed clear mutual respect for each other's considerable talents.

Richard Haick

Richard Haick

In the end that moment pretty much summed up the whole show. Both X Japan and its fans have been waiting a long time for this tour, and the band put on exactly the sort of show that fans wanted to see. But it wasn't a nostalgic, trapped in amber sort of performance - it was warm and full of life.

Richard Haick

Overheard in the crowd: Some women in the front row said they'd flown in from just outside Tokyo. Also heard were many chants of former guitarist Hide's name, which drummer Yoshiki later confessed made him tear up a little.

Did you know: This is the first American tour for X Japan, but if it goes well it won't be the last - Yoshiki stated that this tour is an "experiment". It's looking good so far.

baroque said:

[youtube](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0YIFCs6AxRI&feature=related){youtube]

old school japanese goth

and finally

JUN TOGAWA

i'm scared.

PoppyBros said:

baroque said:

[youtube](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0YIFCs6AxRI&feature=related){youtube]

old school japanese goth

and finally

JUN TOGAWA

i'm scared.

why?