With the proliferation of a rapidly expanding global culture, music from around the world has taken on a new sophistication. Since the eighties when Sting, Paul Simon, Peter Gabriel and David Byrne showcased indigent styles in their recordings, roots music has come along way. Adding depth to Western popular tunes, appreciation for this genre has grown.
Often referred to as ethnic music, with a wide-ranging geography and instrumentation, it is not quite so easily categorized now. Musicians of wildly diverse cultures have managed to assimilate styles creating a profusion of sounds that have led to sub-categories. Compositions and harmonies have melded.
Appearing first in small venues, these international artists now fill large venues playing to increasingly sophisticated audiences. From there, CDs make their way into the record collections of an avid Western population intent of cultural enrichment. What was once an ethnic sound has become familiar with exposure.
Whether your taste is for Tibetan chants, Japanese koto, Indian raga, Jamaican reggae or the Celtic harp, it can all be found in record stores. Festivals abound in Europe, Canada and the United States. They showcase musical styles and rhythms that perhaps ten years ago no one had an understanding of. South America exports stylish bands that take America by storm.
This genre has become a hybrid of assimilated styles. We now see categories called World Fusion, Global Fusion, Ethnic Fusion and Club Beat that all have similarities but the various strains are fusing into separate idioms. And it is only just beginning. They crossover into new age, pop, ska, jazz, lounge and blues. Eastern European folk evolves into American country and western.
In Paris, always a cultural trend-setter, a large West and North African population has bestowed upon the city a diverse musical scene. Add in the Algerian and Moroccan influences and you have a lively mix. With strong support for the arts, Paris may be the world music capital as it was once the art capital. In the United States, Middle Eastern sounds are growing in popularity. South American rhythms are warmly welcomed. Sufi whirling dervishes tour regularly.
A great way to learn about what is being produced is by visiting the Internet. It is a great source of information on what is new and exciting as well as an archive of indigenous music. You can listen to a diverse collection of sounds, purchase CDs or MP3s, find out where the festivals are taking place this summer and expand your musical horizons in numerous ways. With stunning photography, you can do some armchair traveling.
If your sixties, seventies and eighties classic rock records are beginning to sound like, well broken records, leave your comfort zone and check out the exhilarating offerings from around the world. If you could use a new groove, find out what is happening in Peru, Ghana, North Africa, Bolivia, Brazil. Access to the global culture is definitely one of the perks of our ever expanding world.
Often referred to as ethnic music, with a wide-ranging geography and instrumentation, it is not quite so easily categorized now. Musicians of wildly diverse cultures have managed to assimilate styles creating a profusion of sounds that have led to sub-categories. Compositions and harmonies have melded.
Appearing first in small venues, these international artists now fill large venues playing to increasingly sophisticated audiences. From there, CDs make their way into the record collections of an avid Western population intent of cultural enrichment. What was once an ethnic sound has become familiar with exposure.
Whether your taste is for Tibetan chants, Japanese koto, Indian raga, Jamaican reggae or the Celtic harp, it can all be found in record stores. Festivals abound in Europe, Canada and the United States. They showcase musical styles and rhythms that perhaps ten years ago no one had an understanding of. South America exports stylish bands that take America by storm.
This genre has become a hybrid of assimilated styles. We now see categories called World Fusion, Global Fusion, Ethnic Fusion and Club Beat that all have similarities but the various strains are fusing into separate idioms. And it is only just beginning. They crossover into new age, pop, ska, jazz, lounge and blues. Eastern European folk evolves into American country and western.
In Paris, always a cultural trend-setter, a large West and North African population has bestowed upon the city a diverse musical scene. Add in the Algerian and Moroccan influences and you have a lively mix. With strong support for the arts, Paris may be the world music capital as it was once the art capital. In the United States, Middle Eastern sounds are growing in popularity. South American rhythms are warmly welcomed. Sufi whirling dervishes tour regularly.
A great way to learn about what is being produced is by visiting the Internet. It is a great source of information on what is new and exciting as well as an archive of indigenous music. You can listen to a diverse collection of sounds, purchase CDs or MP3s, find out where the festivals are taking place this summer and expand your musical horizons in numerous ways. With stunning photography, you can do some armchair traveling.
If your sixties, seventies and eighties classic rock records are beginning to sound like, well broken records, leave your comfort zone and check out the exhilarating offerings from around the world. If you could use a new groove, find out what is happening in Peru, Ghana, North Africa, Bolivia, Brazil. Access to the global culture is definitely one of the perks of our ever expanding world.
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