Name That Song!

January 20, 2013 12:18 AM

I've been looking for this song for years now, and I have no idea where to even start because I don't even know what language it is in. So, I'm hoping the HiveMind will be able to point me in the right direction. I've posted a sample here.

This seems to be some sort of tribal song sung by women? They sound very similar to Adiemus so I pored through most of their albums but still hadn't found it. I really suspect that it may be of those Pure Moods, New Age typish songs.

Would appreciate any leads I can get at all!

posted by rozaine to media & arts (5 answers total)

So, I mainly heard the Exodus Theme in that excerpt. Could it be some sort of Easy Listening cover of that? Movie themes get done over a lot, certainly.
posted by solarion at 12:31 AM on January 20

Aw it's not it =( The one I'm looking for has female vocals.

Thanks though! That's a nice track!
posted by rozaine at 7:14 AM on January 20

The tune seems a little familiar, but it doesn't jump right out to me.

My best guess right now would be Sweet Lullaby by Deep Forest, but the melody doesn't really match that well. (The Pure Moods version has a faster beat, btw.)

If it's not Sweet Lullaby, would you mind answering a bunch of questions? (Sorry for the interrogation, the 90s were rife with these kinds of songs and I completely understand why it's so much trouble to find.)

Are there discernible words, even if you're not familiar with them, or are they made up words like Adiemus? (I'm assuming it not just a vocal track with no words based on your info.) Are you firm on the melody, or is there room for interpretation? Do you know which part of the song this is? Beginning, chorus?

Do you remember the time period when you heard it? Mid-90s, late 90s, early 2000s? Do you remember if it was actually featured on a Pure Moods (or similar) commercial, or if it might have been on one of the Pure Moods albums?

When you say tribal, do you mean it uses vocals by native peoples (or samples of native peoples) or tribal as in which type of beat? Slow, mid-tempo or fast? Operatic? Any chanting? Celtic-flavored? Was it one female voice with an occasional harmony? Or a constant chorus with multiple voices?
posted by i feel possessed at 2:28 PM on January 20

Sure! That was a good guess by the way, but it's not it.

Yup there are discernable words but my best guess is that they are a native language, not something I've ever heard before (like any of the more commonly heard Asian or European languages). They don't seem made up. My best guess is that it may be Native American? Or Native South American? Or Filipino. But I've heard Tagalog before and it really doesn't seem like it but it's a possibility. At the end of the verse (that means exactly halfway through the sample) I think I heard something like "nahon nahon kayi kayi" but I tried googling that to death and couldn't find anything haha. The verse also starts with a "Machita" something somethinggggg haha but yeah I had no luck with that while googling.

I sang the verse and chorus.

I heard it in the late nineties. You know how some TV channels would begin only at a certain time in the morning? Before that, as filler, they'd play radio songs or other songs. They were playing this song, together with songs I'd heard before on Pure Moods (Sweet Lullaby, Return to Innocence, Yanni stuff, that kinda thing).

It might have been featured on a Pure Moods album! But I tried most of the songs and they didn't seem to fit. I'll try again when I get back later. But a Pure Moods album is the most likely place for it to turn up.

It uses vocals by native peoples. The beat is approximately 4/4 at around 60 beats per minute (going by Metronome Online). Very normal singing, just in a native language I don't recognise. First it's one female voice, then somewhere along the line she's joined by other females.

There's also a part in the song where the other singers join in in a delayed fashion. There's a word for this but it just escapes me at the moment. You know like in Row Row Row Your Boat (then someone else comes in with Row Row Row Your Boat while you sing Gently down the stream)? Like that. Delayed but in time.

Doesn't really sound like chanting? I'd say it's normal singing, just like Sweet Lullaby. Doesn't sound Celtic,where I'm assuming Riverdance-esque stuff sounds Celtic.

Thanks loads!!! I appreciate your effort so much!
posted by rozaine at 8:22 PM on January 20

There's also a part in the song where the other singers join in in a delayed fashion. There's a word for this but it just escapes me at the moment.

A Round.
posted by bongo_x at 9:30 PM on January 20 [1 favorite]