Playlist: Not in English

For this playlist we have picked out some great tracks from around the world - and this time, none of them are sung in English (well there might be the off word or two snuck in there). Don't let that stop you listening, as they are all great tracks. What's more, we have traversed six decades and a wide range of genres to bring these to you.

1. Hinds: Mala Vista

Photo: Far Out / Hinds

Madrid pair, Carlotta Cosials and Ana Garcia Perrote, were back to the original Hinds duo for fourth (and currently most recent) album, 2024s Viva Hinds. They sing in a mixture of Spanish and English, but this one, Mala Vista (Bad Eyesight) is one of the few tracks that is sung all in Spanish. It is a relationship heartbreak song, all about a selfish person - the "Madrid city rat".

Hinds: Mala Vista (audio only)

2. Otoboke Beaver: I Am Not Maternal

What could be better than a bit of Japanese punk, I hear you ask? Well, look no further. Otoboke Beaver, the all female band named after an infamous Osakan hotel, met at Ritsumeikan University in Kyoto back in 2009. They have been touring internationally since 2016 and went full time in 2020. They have got to the point where they have opened shows for Green Day, Red Hot Chili Peppers and the Foo Fighters. Their fast paced songs are inspired by the traditional Japanese comedy style Manzai and the lyrics often critique the social role played by women in Japanese society. I Am Not Maternal is one such song, and leads off 2022 album Super Champion.

Otoboke Beaver: I Am Not Maternal (live on KEXP, 2022)

3. Nena: 99 Luftballons

Nena was the West German band, but also the stage name for lead singer Gabriele Kerner, who memorably (if you are of a certain age) had a massive global hit in 1983 with 99 Red Balloons. That had been was a re-working of their German language song 99 Luftballons, with slightly different lyrics and therefore slightly different meaning. Interestingly, the English version did not chart in the U.S. but the German one did. The German one did get played in the UK occasionally and was just as good - it is a somewhat depressing song though, and apocalyptically all about balloons that get mistaken for UFOs and are shot down by fighters, which then starts a war.

Nena: 99 Luftballons (official music video)

4. Katarsis: Tavo akys

Nobody expects much (I hope), musically speaking, from the Eurovision Song Contest. Usually it's several hours of pleasantly diverting cheese; ranging from the vaguely listenable to the downright awful. So, when (very) occasionally an act pops up that is actually quite good, you do tend to notice it! Katarsis, the 2025 entry from that hotbed of rock, Lithuania, was one such recent entry. This is the vehicle for singer / guitarist / songwriter Lukas Radzevičius, and despite actually being talented, they only managed 16th spot - proving (as if that was needed) that talent has little bearing on who does well in this competition.

Katarsis: Tavo Akys (official Eurovision video)

5. Gwenno: Tir Ha Mor

Gwenno has had an interesting pathway through the world of entertainment. She is the daughter of a Cornish poet and Welsh choir singer. She appeared as a cast member of Michael Flatley's Lord of the Dance as a teenager, acted in Welsh soap, Pobol y Cwm, and was in the indie band the Pipettes. But in more recent years, she has made her name singing electropop songs mostly in Welsh and Cornish. Tir Ha Mor (Land & Sea) is a Cornish song from 2018s Le Kov (Place of Memory). It is a song about Cornish identity and its landscape and was especially inspired by the artist Peter Lanyon.

Gwenno: Tir Ha Mor (live on Later, 2018)

6. France Gall: Laisse Tomber Les Filles

Isabelle Gall, better known as France Gall, is another musician with a fascinating background. Born in Paris, her father was a lyricist for Edith Piaf and Charles Aznavour, and her mother was a singer. She would go on to win the 1965 Eurovision for Luxembourg and be known for her work with Serge Gainsbourg; as a teenager, she was a part of the yeyé (yeah yeah) pop scene. Laisse Tomber Les Filles is a 1964 track written by Gainsbourg and would provide her with a big hit in her native France.

France Gall: Laisse Tomber Les Filles (audio only)

7. Runrig: An Ubhal as Airde

Runrig are almost certainly the most famous Scots Gaelic language band, forming in Skye in 1973 until their retirement in 2016. Formed around the MacDonald brothers, Rory and Calum, their classic lineup also included Pete Wishart - a good one for music nerds, as he also was in an early line-up of Big Country and later became an MP for the Scottish National Party. Anyway, back to the song - An Ubhal as Airde means The Highest Apple and is an emotional sounding ballad, becoming the first ever song to crack the UK charts that was sung in Scots Gaelic (reaching number 18).

Runrig: An Ubhal as Airde (official music video)

8. Nanook: Ingerlaliinnaleqaagut

A surprise band that caught me off guard when I was researching the Greenland playlist recently - Nanook are an indie-folk band that definitely deserved further listens. They formed in 2008 based around brothers Christian and Frederick Elsner, who refused an opportunity to sign with Sony as they only wanted to sing in Greenlandic. Ingerlaliinnaleqaagut is a standout track coming from 2020s Ilissinnut.

Nanook: Ingerlaliinnaleqaagut (official music video)

9. Vanessa Paradis: La Seine

Photo: Abaca

Vanessa Paradis was a star at a ridiculously young age, through her modelling and the surprise hit, Joe Le Taxi (1987). Sadly, since then she is perhaps better known for her relationships than anything else - first with Lenny Kravitz, then Serge Gainsbourg, and who can forget the fourteen year stint with the less than stable Johnny Depp. But besides all that she has done lots of film work - working over the years with Gerard Depardieu, Jean Reno and Jean-Paul Belmondo. Then there has been lots more music, and luckily much of it has been better than that first hit. Strangely, it was my daughter who brought to my attention that the singing side of things was actually rather good. La Seine is a song from the 2011 animated film soundtrack for A Monster In Paris (directed by Luc Besson), which she did in collaboration with Matthieu Chedid.

Vanessa Paradis (with Matthieu Chedid): La Seine

(official A Monster In Paris video)

10. Ricky Martin: La Copa de la Vida

Puerto Rico's Ricky Martin was already a huge star in Latin music circles long before Livin' La Vida Loca hit the charts in 1998. That song, in fact, was from his fifth album, and the first where he moved into English language singing. La Copa de la Vida was written for him by Luis Gomez Escolar, Desmond Child and Draco Rosa, and was after a request by FIFA for him to provide the official song for the 1998 World Cup in France. The result is a samba based Latin pop track, full of energy and positivity. The song got him on the charts in 60 countries and an appearance at the 1999 Grammy Awards.

Ricky Martin: La Copa de la Vida (audio only)

11. Calexico: Cumbia De Donde

Unusually, given that Calexico are one of my favourite bands, they haven't featured in these lists all that often. So, time to make amends. A key part of their sound is the blending of folk and rock, with sounds from across Latin America and especially Mexico. For the eighth album Edge Of The Sun, the line-up included Spanish guitarist Jairo Zavala, who shares vocal duties on this tribute to the Cumbia, with Joey Burns and Guatemalan guest singer Gaby Moreno Cumbia de Donde basically means 'Cumbia of where' - and sees the pair name checking a number of places that are associated with this musical genre.

Calexico (w/ Gaby Moreno): Cumbia de Donde (live on KCRW, 2015)

12. Plastic Bertrand: Ça Plane Pour Moi

Roger Jouret is a Belgian musician who became well known for a brief part of the late 1970s under the name Plastic Bertrand. Ça Plane Pour Moi has become something of a new wave classic over the years. Its driving fast paced tune is something of a pastiche of punk, with the title loosely translating as 'This Works For Me'. There has been an ongoing controversy around the record, with its producer Lou Deprijck claiming to be the singer (he was a co-writer of it too). It has gone through the courts several times, with Jouret winning, but he does appear to have come close to admitting a few times, that maybe he wasn't the singer after all. It is a nonsensical mess of seemingly random French words and phrases, with the odd bit of English thrown in. Whatever its meaning (or lack of), it is a wild and fun romp, and gave the Belgian a Top 20 hit in at least eleven countries.

Plastic Bertrand: Ça Plane Pour Moi (official music video)