New Sounds from Denmark: Seven - Vinnie Who

Now I know what you're all thinking, and yes this is yet another post about wonderful Scandinavian music. Once again I have travelled to Denmark in search of cool new tunes, and boy have I struck gold. This however was almost completely by accident, and with all new/old discovery posts - there's a story to go with it:

Sunday night - November 9th. A seemingly normal evening until I logged onto Facebook to discover a new post from Soundvenue (which is safe to say served as my bible back in 2010) with a link to the new single from Denmark's Vinnie Who (aka Niels Bagge Hansen). What followed was 3 minutes and 31 seconds of pure dreamy bliss that made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside, but also reminded me of lazy summer evenings and that feeling you get when you've had a couple of glasses of wine and become very affectionate towards everything. With vocals that I can only describe as creamy and a beautiful melody that almost sends you to sleep (but in a good way), 'Seven' is fast becoming my favourite single of the year and is a sharp contrast to the more pop-py, disco synth-y sounds that can be heard on his first album. It's a welcome change. Of course, not to say I don't love the likes of 'Remedy' et al. but sometimes it's nice to have something softer to listen to, y'know?

'Seven', I believe, is the first single from the third Vinnie Who album, due out in early 2015, and if it's anything like that, I can't wait. Of course, as with all good things those of us who live outside of Denmark and continental Europe will probably have to wait 6 months or so to be able to listen to it - let alone buy a physical copy. However, I have high hopes and I'm sure it'll be fantastic. For those of you who want a slice of the action right now, 'Seven' is available to listen to on soundcloud via the Soundvenue website and will be available to purchase worldwide from Friday 14th November. Enjoy. 

How To: Learn A Language

So. You've just booked that dream two-week holiday to Sweden but discovered you know absolutely no Swedish. What do you do? Although the majority of the world does speak some level of English, going abroad and knowing none of the language can seriously limit your range of activities and make you appear an ignorant tourist, and no, shouting in English does not magically make the person on the receiving end understand you. Asides from the obvious holidays, there are millions of other reasons to learn a new language. Maybe you want to woo your new French colleague or buy some exciting new treats from the Polish delicatessen on the corner? There are also numerous health benefits to learning a language as it has been proven that multilingualism can help prevent the onset of Alzheimer's disease by about 4 years. It's also a pretty impressive skill to have. I myself have been learning at least one language for about 10 years now. I started in primary school aged 8 with Spanish, and then progressed to French and German once I started secondary school. I've dabbled with various other languages along the way: Danish, Russian, Japanese...I even studied Latin at GCSE (I don't recommend it), and now i'm considering moving abroad to either a French or German speaking country to further improve my skills,

Learning a new language, whether it be the first one outside of your mother tongue or your 20th, can be incredibly rewarding and even more so if you teach yourself it. I'm a huge advocate for teaching yourself things. You can go at whatever pace you like and spend a week learning the words for various foods if you can't remember them. You don't need to worry about that know-it-all in the class who takes every opportunity to remind the rest of the group how easy they're finding it. Everything's down to you. There are downsides to it though, it's easy to get caught up in other things and forget that you're supposed to be learning Serbian since you have no structure and no classes to attend or homework to hand in. Juggling work and your everyday life and still finding time to sit down with your notes can also pose a problem for learners of whatever age, unless you're retired and have all the time in the world. It can also be quite hard to find people to practice speaking with, unless you happen to know someone who can already speak the language. (Alternatively, persuade one of your friends that they want to learn this language too, it can be your secret code.) In order to make your journey to bilingualism easier, I've complied a list of some handy tips that I use to learn new languages and help with the ones I'm already studying. Of course, some of these will vary according to where you live, your age, and whether or not you speak another language already, etc, etc.

1. Use the internet. The internet is a fabulous resource for learning something new. There are thousands of websites dedicated to anything and everything so it shouldn't be too hard to find one to help your new language adventure. However, depending on what language you want to learn there will be various levels of resources available, and for various prices. For example, more websites have French resources than ones for Xhosa (I imagine). A quick Google of something along the lines of "learn Spanish" or "Spanish for beginners" should turn up many websites with helpful information. Personally, I like to use YouTube as many native speakers of various languages make videos explaining topics such as their alphabet and grammar to pronunciation and translation; and it doesn't cost anything to use it. Again, the amount of videos will vary according to the country and the number of speakers. There are also many other videos that explain how to learn a new language that could prove helpful if you need more guidance from more knowledgeable people than myself. 
2. Change the language of things you use everyday. Many smartphones, whether they be iPhones or an android alternative give you the option to change the language of your phone. Take advantage of it! I wouldn't recommend doing this just as you're beginning if you're learning a completely different language to ones you already know as it can be quite confusing, but if you already speak German well and are looking to learn Danish (two Germanic languages), why not! If you don't understand, you can always change it back (just so long as you remember how to). Following on from this, change the language of your Facebook account or another website you use often that gives you the option to change language settings. 
3. Download apps. Following on from point 1, there are many resources for phones and tablets that can help you learn a language. These are good as you can go over some key vocab or grammar on your way to work (provided you're not driving) or when you have a spare moment with nothing to do. Apps can vary from dictionaries to ones that give you the ability to make your own flashcards, and many others inbetween. Two favourites of mine are WordReference, an online dictionary that has an app for looking up words on-the-go and a German verb conjugator that has many verbs and has proved very very useful for written assignments. 
4. Listen to music and watch films or TV shows. Watching films and TV shows can be a great help when it comes to getting used to hearing a language and becoming familiar with the pattern of speech and pronunciation. It can however be daunting at first when you realise the people are speaking so fast that you can't understand them, but don't worry! Persevere and soon that'll be you too! Listening to music isn't just for pleasure, and although it may be nice to listen to some French songs once in a while it can really help you to learn a new language. Look up the lyrics, sing along, and maybe translate the songs that you really like, Not only will you not look stupid when you put on your favourite Croatian song at a party and someone asks you what it's saying, but you'll also be expanding your vocabulary. But learning a language isn't just about how many words you know and whether or not you know all the tenses; the cultural side is equally as important. and watching the latest drama series can also give you a picture of life in that country (depending on what it's about). Many films are available online, either on YouTube or via services such as Netflix, and music can be found all over the internet. 
5. Read. Read things in the language you're learning from day one. It may seem daunting, but you'll get through and feel so much better at the end of it. I'm not suggesting you go and buy all the works of that country's most prized author, there are things that are much cheaper and easier. Follow some twitter accounts that are in foreign languages, find a blog on a topic that interests you and read that, find a magazine and read that either online or in print form if you have an international newsagents nearby. The more the merrier. You don't need to read every word, skim over it, just get a feel for the style of how that language is written, and jot down any interesting words you think may come in later. Not only will your language improve, you'll be more clued up on interesting things too. Remember, you don't just have to read non-fiction texts. There are many short stories and poems that can be very easy to read too.
6. Try to talk to native speakers. This may be easier depending on where you live. For example, if you live in Spain but in a largely expat community where everyone speaks English and really want to learn Spanish, it shouldn't be too hard to find a Spanish person to talk to. If however, you live in America and want to learn Icelandic, it may be harder for you to find an Icelandic person to talk to. However, if you live in an area that many people move to from abroad, it shouldn't be too difficult. Take a trip to the expat area of your town or city, you may discover a new and exciting snack, make some new friends and be able to practice your language skills at the same time. 
7. Actually go to the country that they speak the language in. It may seem obvious, but there are many factors that can prevent this from happening depending on your age, where you live, and how much money you have. For people living in Europe who want to learn another European language it can be quite simple, especially if you live close to the border or if your country isn't that big. There are many train and road networks that make learning a language easier and can be inexpensive depending on the time of travel and the country you're in. Immersing yourself in the language is the best way to learn it, as you're forced to speak it and are hearing and seeing it everywhere you go. 

 Asides from these seven tips there are other things you can do to help you learn a language, such as buying various books to help you understand grammar, but these can often be fairly expensive and I wouldn't recommend doing so until you're certain that you really love the language and want to learn it more in-depth. Learning a language can also become expensive even without buying books, as many websites will ask you to sign up and pay a small fee in return for access to many services that may not be as good as you think. Language programmes such as Rosetta Stone may be helpful, but with prices up to £300 for a complete course it can sometimes be cheaper to visit the country of the language you want to learn and learn it by being surrounded by it. Remember that if you're intending on visiting another country alone to stay safe. In poorer countries kidnapping and pick-pocketing can be devastating for obvious reasons, and even if you want to explore the real country and not just the tourist hotspots, it's advised to not go out into "rough" areas and not to take unmarked taxis. 

Learning a new language is a journey in itself, from the day you learn how to introduce yourself to the day you finish reading your first novel. Remember that these things take time, you're not going to wake up fluent so keep going and don't give up! As cheesy and cliched as it may sound, the key to being good at anything is perseverance and knowing that it'll all be worth it in the end.