Music From Around The World Sounds Sweet

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.

If you are interested in hearing some Tibetan chants, Japanese koto or Indian raga, all are increasingly booked to play for Western audiences. Offered up, tribal music from the Middle East, Asia, Central America and Africa are proliferating. Reggae as been assimilated so deeply into the mainstream it almost seems like an American roots style instead of Jamaican.

With this hybridization, the genre has had to expand its classification and there are now labels such as World Fusion, Global Fusion, Ethnic Fusion and Club Beat. These terms may be considered sub-genres of pop, rock and jazz. It has gone beyond its pure roots to embrace a more diverse, broader approach with more depth.

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.

There are many web sites dedicated to this genre and one of the better ones, The World Music Network, can begin your musical appreciation voyage. On this site you will find out the latest styles causing excitement, be able to access an archive the best indigenous groups and purchase CDs or MP3s. You will find links to radio stations. With stunning photography, this is user-friendly, professional site.

If those old Rolling Stone records are wearing thin, if you have heard Led Zeppelin one too many times, if you think Pink Floyd could use another brick in the wall, expand your horizons with exhilarating music from around the world. A jolt of unexpected rhythm may be just the thing to get your mojo working, your fingers snapping and your heart pumping. Globalization has its perks.

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