In which @Fin25 recommended this awesome modern track (and group) with amazing Indian influences that I had totally missed:
I love world music, but it’s often fleeting to my attention in this busy world and I lose track of tracks/bands that I like.
I find quite a lot on Qobuz… which is an awesome platform for world and Neo-classical.
There was another thread similar to this a few years, but a lot of it descended into discussing the term ‘world music’. I’m not interested in discussing the term please. ‘World’ works for me as an indication that the music will be interesting, authentic, traditional (or with major traditional influence) and that it won’t be commercial westernised music. Take it as a positive/compliment that many see the term ‘world’ as indicative of being superior to modern western music. Call it what you want. Let’s leave it at that.
With that said…
Recommend some of your favourite world/traditional/interesting/authentic/influenced modern music…
Don’t know if you’re familiar with the track that they’re covering, but it’s from a 1982 album by Charahnjit Singh that was one of the first to make use of the 303 as a primary instrument.
I love traditional music from South America, especially the harp based genres like Jarochos from Veracruz MX, and the high altitude stuff from Bolivia/Paraguay.
But this album is so good. Probably recorded in the early 70’s, El Polen went out to the jungle, found a brujo that was cooking up some Ayuhuasca and this was the result.
I wasn’t until I looked it up last night. It’s pretty epic! Thanks.
That’s pretty wild!
Which thread?
One thing I definitely prefer is modern contemporary recordings.
Any recommendations for more contemporary artists/recordings but still with strong traditional influence? I guess the cross-influences of the that original thread above might be applicable here.
I really like Persian (love!), South Asian, Caucasus, Mediterranean, Adriatic, Middle Eastern and North African influences.
I love rhythmic content, interesting vocal tones and traditional string instruments… and I’m a sucker for anything piano based (I’ll start another thread some time about contemporary/neoclassical piano!) but with interesting influences…
Although, having said that… I don’t want to put off recommendations of other interesting music.
Don't want to start a debate but at the same time...
… I do find the term “world music” a bit problematic - very ethnocentric, and possibly even more anglosphere-centric. I guess I mainly just remember how it was used in the 80s through 90s and even a bit in the early '00s. There was major label stuff made in England or the UK, with a few honourable exceptions from Germany and France (so long as it was sung in English) which was actual music, then basically everything else was labelled as “world music” - fine as a novelty, but only that unless featured on a Paul Simon record or something.
One of the great things about the internet is how it’s levelled all that out and it feels like music is music and things from all kinds of different places and eras are available on a similar footing. Probably if you’re younger than I am you’ll never have known anything else.
Anyway … to be fair most of the stuff that got called “world music” at the time was pretty great, I’ve been listening to this a lot recently:
And in more contemporary, the stuff coming out of East Africa on Nyege Nyege and Hakuna Kulala (also recommend looking up some of Otim Alpha’s live shows)
Kampire’s compilation is also well worth a spin for older party tunes across a range of styles:
Some early Banco de Gaia is world-influenced. Some more than others.
Here’s a couple:
That second one was the first world-influenced, ‘ambient dub’ track I’d ever heard and it took me on a decade long journey in that direction. Good times, but I don’t recall all the artists and tracks unfortunately. Have them around somewhere…
The ‘world’ bit is just sprinkled though.
Here’s a bit less-sprinkled (Talvin Singh selections):
ive been enjoying tunes out of Brazil recently. i havent done the necessary dive to be truly informed about its connection to traditional Brazilian music but i absolutely love the high energy shouting chants. its been reminding me of underground jersey club energy
maybe @Leonsarmiento can school me with some local knowledge
This compilation from Guadaloupe mashes up all kinds of styles and influences
There’s a few compilations of stuff from Cape Verde - the story goes that a ship carrying electronic instruments to Brazil ran aground there in 1968 and the authorities handed them out in schools, with fantastic results.
I understand as an uneducated and less cultured individual as I have been “corrected” by my peers. World music is probably problematic, but I didn’t know what else to say at the time as an anglosphere kid from that time period!
Here’s a recent favorite of mine from Japan where I’ve learned to call home and I think many of you might appreciate.
