Esperanto Music HistoryKore
Tue 20 Dec 2022
Continuing our look at 2000s Esperanto music, Kore is a band from France, led by Kris Spitzer, who released two albums: Kia Viv' in 2000, and Tielas Vivo in 2007 - the latter consisting of two parts in two different styles.
Dolchamar
Sun 20 Nov 2022
Dolchamar (originally Dolcxamar) is the name for Patrik Austin’s Esperanto music projects. Three studio albums were released under this name, as well as a non-album single and contributions to three compilation projects, but the only common factor is Austin himself: each album is produced in a different musical style, by a different group of musicians.
The Mystery of La Verda Stel'
Tue 25 Oct 2022
Updated: Tue 22 Nov 2022
Firstly I must apologise for the nearly two-month hiatus in posts. Since about mid-August I’ve been alternately too busy and too ill to do any writing or research. I have a couple of half-finished artist profiles on my to-do list, which I hope to get to soon - but I have been slightly sidetracked by a very mysterious puzzle, which I had somehow overlooked until it was brought to my attention last week by my friend Joop Kiefte.
Duo Espera
Wed 31 Aug 2022
Today’s post is in part a request for help - because although I’ve spent a good amount of time researching the history of Duo Espera and their album Jen Nia Mondo, I’ve not been able to find out all the details. I’d almost go as far as to say that if you wanted to produce something to frustrate future researchers, you could scarcely do better than to replicate the liner notes on this album, which provide just enough information to hint that there is more to be found, but not quite enough to actually make it possible to find anything useful.
Team
Wed 24 Aug 2022
Team is one of Slovakia’s most commercially and critically successful rock bands, with a career spanning over forty years and eleven albums. A complete history of the group was published in book form (in Slovak) in 2012 (TEAM - Príbeh Hudobnej Legendy by Daniel Hevier); so for this article we will focus on their origins and Esperanto activities.
Krea-Sono Records
Wed 17 Aug 2022
Krea-Sono Records was an Esperanto imprint of the Scottish independent label West Records, named after its founder and director, James (Jim) West. A total of four Esperanto records were issued by the imprint, all featuring either the poetry of William Auld or the folk music of Margaret Hill.
Tutmonda Muziko
Fri 12 Aug 2022
Unusually for an Esperanto group, the Tutmonda Muziko project was not launched by Esperanto speakers or even by musicians, but by an independent producer who assembled a team to bring his idea to life. Gunter Koch, a police officer from Stuttgart, discovered Esperanto in the 1980s and wanted to find an opportunity to promote the language more widely.
Ni Kantu en Esperanto
Wed 10 Aug 2022
To start off a blog on the history of Esperanto music, it would perhaps make the most sense to start at the very beginning, with the earliest release. Unfortunately, it’s hard to pin down exactly what the first ever Esperanto record was - the earliest surviving reference appears to be the Oficiala Jarlibro de la Esperanto-Movado 1931, which lists six records, all 78rpm discs. I’ve not been able to find out a huge amount of information about any of these early releases, so let’s jump ahead a little and look instead at the first LP: Ni Kantu en Esperanto.