‘It’s always going to be hard to break into the Western music market if the song isn’t in English’
Charlie Tooke is a Theatre in Education student at The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama
Before knowing anything:
I really wish I could like this more than I do. It’s clearly Indian and I don’t know why but for some strange reason that really puts me off the music. I can’t explain to you why. I suppose I just don’t like the sound of world music and that’s all I can really hear when I listen to this. I know that sounds really conceited and ignorant but it’s true. I’m a fan of chart music, I can’t help myself. I don’t know why I’m supposed to care about this music? I think it’s always going to be hard to break into the Western music market if the song isn’t in English… But maybe that wasn’t the aim of the music. It’s just not my thing, I can’t really think of anything constructive to say because I didn’t understand it and I don’t know what it was trying to achieve.
After being informed:
Now I have to say, I’m really confused. He was collaborating with huge Western jazz musicians, why haven’t I heard of him? Although, I wouldn’t describe this as jazz music – more as world music. Even I have heard of Miles Davis and John McLaughlin (although I don’t know why, I don’t listen to their music), which just tells you if their American, we are more likely to know about them. I also did not even pick up on the drums during the song which is weird considering he’s a percussionist. It doesn’t change my outlook on the song, which I just thought was bad, but it does make me think that maybe I should learn to appreciate artists who aren’t English or American, because they are creating work alongside the non-Western musicians anyway.