World Music

A traditional Gypsy song (a scene from "Time of the Gypsies" the movie by Emir Kusturica, 1988)

I have never liked the term 'world music', because it puts into one box many different kinds of music that have absolutely nothing in common. Also, it very much reflects a West-centric kind of viewpoint. For the same reason I also feel uncomfortable about the term 'ethno'.

Besides, all the music in the world is world music.

I missed this thread first time round... Dissidenten have to be present! They do such stuff since the mid-seventies; actually they are something of an Embryo spin-off, but regularly active for 45 years now.

...and big fun 3 Mustaphas 3 (with Camel's Colin Bass):

 

A traditional song from Serbia.

Following up, here's the blues artist Paul Pena off the soundtrack (trivia: he was the writer of "Jet Airliner" made popular by the Steve Miller Band), mixing his blues with the throat singing.

 

And toss in a clip from the Hu:

AWESOME albums/suggestions, Steve! I love the Passion sources, soundtrack and film.

I concur with Pedro here: way before John Coltrane, The Beatles, Agitation Free, John McLaughlin, or Peter Gabriel and Micky Hart were coopting sounds, styles, ideas, and artists from outside the borders of their own countries there has been music. I remember feeling quite embarrassed for Peter Gabriel when I bought his first W.O.M.A.D. album to help raise money for his new "annual" music festival: many of the songs were so feebly influenced or representative of the music (and dancing) of the "world." I cringe to think of all of the music we're ignorant to from the traditions and explorations of the 7 billion people who aren't from the U.S. or U.K.--as well as to the number of bands that water down their own traditional music thanks to the forms and marketing constructs dictated by the Westernization of the world. Still, I am grateful to know the musics of bands like Los Jaivas and Antônio Carlos Jobim, Bob Marley and Reuben Blades, Fela Kuti and King Sunny Adé, Samite, Nusrat Fateh Ali Kahn, Adam Planck, Shakti, Sheila Chandra, Usted Ali Akbar Khan, OOIOO, Anda Union, Olga Kharitidi, Glen Velez and R. Carlos Nakai, Huong Thanh and so many others who have been accepted and promoted in my native US.