Ukulele & Languages

Different countries,
Different cultures
one common language... the ukulele.

Archive for May, 2009

30 2009

Ukulele : Nulla dies sine ukulele – Ukulele in Latin

Don’t be fooled by the title…  My only knowledge of Latin comes from Astérix and from the one lesson I have had in my life :

But not everybody is that ignorant. I have had quite a few crazy ideas myself (like writing Beatles lyrics with Greek characters when I was bored at school so that if I got caught it would seem I was studious) but this time I must admit I have been beaten. So here is a version of Love Machine (Machina Amoris) by Girls Aloud in Latin.

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27 2009

Ukulele : viva Mexico !

My last post on Northern countries seems to have affected the outside temperature greatly : it dropped from 32 degrees (Celsius) on Monday to a mere 18 degrees today… it’s about time to go back to warmer latitudes hence this post on Mexico.

32. Mexico (Spanish) – The Aristocrats

Thanks to Al from Uke Hunt for sending me the link to this video.
This is a song from Mexican songwriter Francisco Galibondo Soler also known as Cri-Cri called Los Caballitos.
Lyrics can be found here

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25 2009

Ukulele : A breath of fresh air from Northern Europe

The heat has been suffocating here for the past 2 days, so I’ve been looking at videos from the North to cool down a bit.
In order to avoid a nasty heat shock, let’s start by shifting just a few hundred kilometers northwards from here, to Belgium. Which brings a new language to my collection of ukulele songs.

31- Flemish - Frank

Thanks to TheWannabe90 from UU for pointing this video out to me.

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23 2009

The C.O.U.L.E (Lille and surroundings Ukulele Club) is three

A few weeks ago, after buying tickets for the Paris Uke Fest, I realised I hadn’t even checked the French ukulele forum. I just didn’t think about it at all. I started the ukulele after watching several videos by the UOGB (Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain) and therefore looked for information in English.

Word had not yet reached the vineyards of Burgundy that there was an active French Ukulele community, and that there were French bands and singers playing the ukulele. Ironically I discovered the French blog King David Ukulele Station (KDUS) on Ukulele Hunt.
It was about time I found out what was going on in the French Ukulele world, so I registered to the KDUS Forum. The first member to welcome me was from the C.O.U.L.E (Club Olympique d’Ukulele de Lille et ses Environs), giving credit to the reputation of Northern French to be cordial and warm-hearted.

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21 2009

Ukulele in French speaking countries

To be quite exact the title should have been “Ukulele in some French speaking countries”. Different places, different styles, as you will see from the videos below.
I didn’t find any ukulele video from any African French speaking country nor any from Guyane, Martinique or Guadeloupe so as usual, if you know any, please let me know.

Belgium and Québec
A video from a Ukulele Session. Saule (Baptiste Lalieu) is half Sicilian, half Belgian and has grown up in Belgium. Pierre Lapointe is from Quebec. They are singing a song called “Sur le Fil”.  There is also a piano song from Pierre Lapointe called “27-100 rue des partances”.

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