Esperanto Music: Jxomart kay Natasxa

These days, I've been listening a lot to Esperanto music. Esperanto is an artificial language created at the end of the nineteenth century, designed as a universal second language. The language boasts numerous books, magazines, a few movies (notably Incubus, starring William Shatner), and some excellent music. My favorite group by far is Jxomart kaj Natasxa (Jx = the "s" in pleasure, j =y, sx =sh).

Both members of the duo have beautiful voices that are accompanied by acoustic guitar. The songs all have memorable, catchy melodies. And if you take the time to learn enough Esperanto to understand the lyrics, you'll appreciate the wide range of topics that the couple sing about, ranging from interesting love ballads (which tend to be positive and life-affirming) to Filineto (Daughter), a song about their filineto with the baby's voice in the background.

Full versions of many of the duo's songs can be downloaded in MP3 format from their site. Everything they sing is consistently good, but I'd recommend listening to Stulta Am' (Stupid Love), Fervojbileton Mi Acxetos (I'll be a train ticket), and Jen Estas 30 (You're 30 now.) I personally like Amu Min (Love Me)--largely because of the excellent lyrics.

Other links: website, discography.