Faluma - Ai Sa Si (Suriname/Sranan Original)

Suriname is one of those collage countries defined by its ingredients: Native American, Dutch, East Indian, Javanese, and some Africans more African than Africa itself. Most of the best music is the local Afro-Carib hybrid genre 'kaseko', but there is some semi-tribal stuff that reaches even deeper than that for inspiration...

Boas Festas

Cape Verde is too easy, finding good music there, that is. So I could just pick something by Cesaria or Lura, or a single clip with many of CV's best all together. Enjoy...

Imiyalo

Swaziland is a tiny tucked away in a corner between South Africa and Swaziland. Who knew that they even an independent country, much less have some good music (and no shortage of gospel)?

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...