I’ve noticed that when meeting a foreign person, mentioning that you like a beloved artist from their country is one of the best way to create a good vibe.

Which revered artist/group (not necessarily musician) from your place should I learn about?

A few examples I’m thinking about (correct me if I’m wrong):

Country Artist
Argentina Carlos Gardel
Australia Powderfinger
Austria Mozart, Falco, Thomas Bernhard
Beligum Jacques Brel, Stromae
Brazil Raul Seixas, Zé Ramalho
Cabo Verde Cesária Évora
Canada Leonard Cohen, Céline Dion, Gordon Lightfoot
Egypt Umm Kulthum
France Daft Punk
Germany Kraftwerk, Die Ärzte, Franz Kafka
Iceland Björk
Italy Elio e le Storie Tese
Malawai Evison Matafale
Mali Salif Keita
Scotland The Proclaimers, Sean Connery
Sweden Astrid Lindgren
USA Dolly Parton

Edit: Spent my Saturday morning vibing, adding the “consensual” suggestions to the table.

  • @Opafi
    8•10 months ago

    Just realised that this isn’t just about music. Those were all musicians or bands, but Germany of course has people from all trades.

    To universally loved artists I’d count

    • Janosch, a children’s books author. Love his work. Never met anyone who didn’t.
    • Franz Kafka. Like… Depressing stories? Dunno. It’s just that, despite his work being quite dark, it’s just pretty damn good.
    • Peter Lustig moderated a kids’ TV show, Löwenzahn. He eventually stopped due to his age and his successor does a good job, but he was just… Chef’s kiss, you know?
    • Michael Ende wrote what I guess would be some of the most famous German children’s books for older kids. The Neverending Story, for example. All his books are considered modern classics.
    • There are a lot of famous actresses and actors, but when it comes to being loved for their work without any attached drama, I guess Bjarne Mädel takes the cake. Tatortreiniger is brilliant and I haven’t heard anything negative tied to him.
    • Armin Maiwald und Christoph Biemann spearheaded the German kids show “Die Sendung mit der Maus” and are very much loved for their work.