Foreign countries that influence your music creation

Needless to say Japan heads the top of the list. But what other ethnic influences can be found in your music?

I was just listening to Georgian folk music and I've always wondered how many people draw their inspiration from an unusual source. What are yours?

 

I kinda like Japan music, (especially Anisong a.k.a anime song) they influence me A LOT.. Japan makes music according to the theme, if the theme is sad. Japan makes sad music..

 

I know a musician who once composed the OST for Heroes of Might and Magic II: The Succession Wars. I'll never forget him using German lyrics from an opera singer in some of the songs he made for that game:

 

It's impossible for me to have just one influence. I hear music and if I like it enough I'll probably try to incorporate properties I enjoyed in future songs.

I think if someone picked a couple of my songs the folk influences they'd hear most often are Irish/Celtic/British Isle, Americana such as bluegrass and jazz, and even some Gypsy, Klezmer, and other East European motifs.

However my other major influence is classical music, which really wasn't dominant in one country. There are several eras of classical music, all very different, where different countries seemed to play dominance during. And to me, it has always been quite clear when a composer is French or German and when a composer is Russian (or that general area). The time periods between Baroque and Romantic (which is a huge time window) probably influence my music the most.

But really, it's all fair game. I like music.

 

As a bit of a history buff I usually ending finding world music as a result of the periods I've looked into.  I always like looking into what the music was like back then and what it's turned into now, it's surprising just how much of it carries over in some form or another.

As for specific countries: Turkey, Greece, Japan, Indonesia are all good ones to look up

 

Honestly, I pull from Western pop music (and I'm extending this to include any kind of "underground" or progressive stuff) more than anything.  I also tend to pull in a lot of 20th century composition stuff when I can.  Basically, I'll get really excited about a technique and try to work it in.  I don't specifically try to pull from other countries unless I'm trying to evoke that country, and even then it's just me using scales or rhythms from that country inside of an otherwise Western song.  For example: Japan and Egypt.

I do have one idea for a soundtrack that combines synthpop and gamelan that I get kind of excited thinking about, but I have, like, at least three major projects I want to do before that, haha.

 

Wanna join too.


Since a kid, I learn Malayan music, then I grew up I listened Western, Arabian, Japan, Korean (literally), Scottish (awesome bagpipe),..... so many. I'm interested to compose arabic song.

 

My music has a lot of celtic and chinese influences, though I do write some arabian music, all of my music has celtic attributes, and I write a lot of asian music.

 

I see a Japanese influence in most of mine, what songs I base it on depends on the mood and the key I want it in.