Laos, Argentina, Estonia, Georgia: Weekly Ukulele World Tour

Today’s Ukulele World Tour brings two new language additions : Lao or Laotian and Estonian. You will see that the number of flags on the World Tour Index is increasing steadily (the index is visible on the right hand side when you are inside a World Tour post and you can click on the flag of any country to see all related posts). Don’t hesitate to send me links to ukulele videos in other languages! I need all the help I can get to carry on documenting the ukulele spread around the world.

Other international ukulele news include the fact that a YouTube ukulele channel has been created in Georgian. No ukulele videos in Georgian as per yet but the aim of the channel UkuleleGeorgia is to make the ukulele known to people in Georgia in their own language.

Let’s hope this will make many Georgian ukulele converts who will, some day, upload Georgian songs performed on the ukulele. I just love the look of the Georgian alphabet. Seeing ukulele written უკულელე makes it all the more exotic.

We’ll also be travelling to Argentina, the United-States (including Hawaii) and France.

1. Country: Laos /Language: Lao (Laotian)

Lao music played by Luke and Ey with cheerful villagers from near Thakhek in south-central Laos.

2. Country: Argentina / Language: Spanish

Argentinean band Las Taradas perform El  Reloj (The Clock) live in a bar

Another lively latine song, Santa Marta tiene tren , performed live by Las Taradas.

3. Country: France / Language : French

Benoît et la Lune perform their folk rock song La Fleur et l’Étoile live.

4. Country: United-States / Languages: English, French, Spanish

I wish boredom would inspire more people the way it does Michelle Blades.  As usual, she fingerpicks her baritone playfully (and skillfully) to a simple song she improvises in 3 languages.

5. Country: Russia / Language: Estonian

The first words I hear in Estonian…

Rrrrrosalina is beginning to play the ukulele and performs an Estonian song, Juulikuu Lumi (Snow in July), with, she says, a heavy Russian accent. I don’t know either Estonian or Russian so I’ll take her word for it. She has a lovely voice all the same.

6. Country: United-States / Language: Hawaiian

A demonstration of falsetto voice by MrHawaiian59 who performs a traditional Hawaiian song, Aloha Ka Manini, on a 6-string Kamaka tenor ukulele.