club giramayoro : ngoma ya ruhinda

Burundi has been said to be the unhappiest country in the world--but all is not lost. At least there's music, and the culture clubs. One day maybe Hutus and Tutsis will bury their hatchets...

jj - "Let Go" Secretly Canadian Records

Sweden has been so successful with English-language songs that no one sings in Swedish anymore. So I could easily post a song by First Aid Kit or Tallest Man on Earth or Lykke Li, BUT... I like this video...

Solo Dja Kabaco - Fatimata

Burkina Faso has some of the best music in the world, most of it unknown to me until now, diverse and immense. It even sounds good in minor keys...

KALTEHAND / NATASHA WATERS - PAGES

Switzerland is one of those strange European conglomerate countries, with four official languages, so no surprise that many, if not most, musicians there do their lyrics in English, with most of the rest in German. The decline of music on America has done wonders for music in Europe...

Stefka Sabotinova - Prituri se planinata (HD)

Bulgaria is an interesting country, originally settled by steppes nomads, now considered one of the most traditional of Slavic countries. It's nice to hear a traditional song that seems so refreshingly modern and 'indie'...(as featured in the movie 'Jesus of Montreal')...

The Seeds - Kebenaranku (Official Music Video)

Brunei is one of the world's great anomalies: an oil-rich Muslim kingdom on the edge of Borneo's jungle, which it shares with Malaysia and Indonesia. It's more interesting than you might think... (and no, I did not write this song; that's a different Hardee)...

Omar Souleyman "Salamat Galbi Bidek" - 2013 Nobel Peace Prize Concert

This is too easy, picking something interesting from Syria, but Omar's irresistible, and Syria's so screwed up. Enjoy...

Banda do Mar - Mais Ninguém

Foreigners who go to Brazil expecting samba and bossa nova might be surprised to find that the country has an indie rock scene as good as any. Not that there's anything wrong with Bebel Gilberto, but maybe something not so girl-from-Ipanemish would be nice. The lightness, the airiness, the breeziness, and the beachiness is still there...

丁丁與西西 - Beautiful

Taiwan is largely lost in the shuffle of China's latter-day dominance, but they're still there, and not going anywhere soon, I'd bet. As if it's not impressive enough that they and the mainland both even have a genre of indie music, it's even more interesting to note how different the two genres are, the mainland's harsh and punkish, Taiwan's softer and reflective. Music is the window to a nation's soul...

spoon guitar

Botswana never ceases to amaze. First there were Culture Spears, then Guitar Ronnie, and now the Spoonman (no, not Artis of Seattle fame). Is this where slide guitar originated? Who knows? Enjoy...