Language(mix)

Dr Neil Speirs writes: Learning another language. It’s not something that native English speakers do enough of, far from it. But if we dared to try, what would soundtrack our efforts? That’s what I started to imagine while learning the conjugations of ‘chuchoter’ the other evening. Still seduced by the last few dewy drips of another romanticised summer adventure across continental Europe, I wondered. What melodies could inspire my learning and what melodies would be inspired by learning?

Of course language learning doesn’t just happen in a class room but also when you go out and employ it. So, while travelling along a Mediterranean coast breathing in the deep turquoise blue of the ocean or atop an alpine peak looking at what seems to be forever, I’m learning. I’m also living. 

And living needs music.

So here it is, evidence that the English speaking world did not create the only music that matters. Maybe you listened to poor MW reception late at night to hear continental radio stations playing the latest hits. Maybe you like to join the dots to italo disco or let the sun fall to Balearic vibes or maybe you just like some deep tech house.

This is not a mix in the sense that it blends seamlessly; it’s really a compilation, a collection. All of it was inspired, written and produced in a non-English speaking country. It’s all performed by non- native English speakers. But it’s not a complete history of non-English speaking music, far from it.

What language are you going to learn?

Dr Neil Speirs est un rêveur. His days are sound tracked by 100 thousand melodies and colours.