There is nothing better than compiling playlists for your study abroad trip. It is easy to go listen to your go-to artists and genres but you will be surprised how different music can be in the context of a different culture and country. As an arts student, I’ve always been very enthusiastic and fascinated about what we listen to in our free time and what genres are the most popular ones in their respective countries.
German Hip-hop or “Deutschrap” along with "Schlagermusik" and pop the most popular genre in Germany and all three genres couldn’t be more different from each other.
In Japan and Korea K-pop is dominating the hitlists and the dance styles are having a more growing popularity even in the United States through social media platforms such as TikTok or YouTube. That doesn’t mean that there isn’t also stunning classical music from these countries or even composed music for mainstream Oscar winners such as the movie “Parasite.”
French music has always been more on the melodic and melancholy side, but French rap gained more popularity than ever especially for the younger generations, while older generations gravitate more to “chanson,” which is a type of folk music.
In Italy, opera music is the most culturally fascinating music genre. However, the majority of the population gravitates more towards Italian pop music which is the case with several Western countries such as the United States.
European countries' culturally rich music has been influenced by their adjacent country's music and styles which makes it fascinating to observe how unique they are from each another.
We are excited to roll out our Country Playlists over the next few blogs! I put together playlists for your trips to Germany, France, Japan and Indonesia. So be sure you sign up for here or sign up for our newsletter on our Study Abroad website to get my blog and playlist in your inbox "fresh off the press."
Curious what you could possibly listen to in Germany? Let's start with my home country!
Travel Playlist Germany:
Depending on which city you travel to whether it is Berlin or Munich there are certainly even cultural differences between the music styles in those states. While Munich is more traditional and tends to gravitate to “Schlagermusik,” Berlin is more dominated by pop, hip-hop, and electronic music that we can see in various clubs in that city. There are many famous hip-hop or “Deutschrap” abd pop artists that have won popularity in Germany.
“Cro” is one of these artists and his most popular track “Einmal um die Welt” (“Once around the world”) is the perfect travel song. Energetic, fun, and makes you want to look forward to more.
“Helden,” the German version of “Heroes” by David Bowie, can’t be missing in a playlist like this as he has shaped the 80's of Berlin. It’s a song about lovers who are separated from the Berlin Wall, giving people poetic hope. Those images are incredibly striking.
“Bilder im Kopf” ("Pictures in Head") by Sido is another vibe rap song with provocative lyrics and creates, as the title says, vibrating images about a photo album he goes through. Another perfect striking traveling symbolism.
Check out the playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5tsEeapukYLRUy3YQQP17r?si=4bf58de3eb0d4ae1
The next time you’re on the plane for your study abroad trip this playlist will accommodate you for the specific country to travel to. (Disclaimer: There will be songs that are associated with a particular country, but are not strictly in their language.)