WORLD MUSIC

One of the best ways to learn about another culture is through its music.  That is why each day, when we begin class, you hear a piece of music from the country, region, or time period that we are studying that day.  Much of what you hear in this class can be categorized as World Music.  Over the past decade, this category of music has become more and more popular within the United States.  As its name implies, World Music encompasses music from around the world.  It includes not only traditional music but also musical hybrids or mixes from numerous cultures.  As you can imagine, lumping all the music of the rest of the world into one category like World Music makes it a difficult category to get a handle on.  On the other hand, it leaves plenty of room for exploration. 

You will find below, numerous links to World Music sites.  Some are informational, some are online radio stations, some link you directly to a particular artist's site, and some are links to on-line world music stores (for those of you who always ask where you might buy some music like this).  Have fun exploring!!!

Chris Smith's World Music Course:   An excellent place to start.  Chris Smith teaches a class in World Music at the University of Indiana and this is his class site.  It is an excellent primer to the history and artists of many styles of music from around the world.  He also has some interesting world music links.

The World from Public Radio International:   The World is a radio program of news and feature's from around the world.  It ends each show with a five-minute segment devoted to World Music.  This is a list to text and Real Audio of these segments.   A great way to hear many different kinds of music and have it explained to you.

Afropop Worldwide:   Another radio program from Public Radio International that highlights African influenced music from around the world.  Excellent discographies from each are provided along with some history.  You can listen to the show every Friday night at 8:00 pm on 91.5 FM.

World Music Radio:  This radio station out of San Diego is the first all-World-Music format station in the U.S. and they provide a live web-cast (available if you have Real Audio).  The site also provides some good links and features.

Putumayo:  A record label devoted to World Music.  They produce some of the best quality world music compilations which always come with detailed histories and explanations of the artists.  There is much good information as well as music samples at this site.

Luaka Bop Records:   Another music label devotes to World Music.  There is much good information as well as music samples at this site.

Rootsworld-      Online world music magazine.  Excellent reviews of current and past releases.

Ear Drum-   World Music radio online with an excellent links section to many world music record labels.

Tim's World Music Page-  Lots of good links to world music on the Internet including links to artists, radio stations, and online stores.

Arabic Music Directory-  Geographically oriented guide to the musical styles of the Arabic world