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...

Нозияи Кароматулло - Чурачон | Noziya Karomatullo - Jurajon

Tajikistan may seem like some insignificant tiny country out in the remote Central Asian region, with their most famous historical cities of Samarkand and Bukhara in modern Uzbekistan, but here are the origins of Persian culture, so don't judge all by the modern politics of expediency and survival. This is one of the most interesting cultures and histories in the world...

Kad procvatu behari- Ilahija-Bosnian soul music

Bosnia is Europe's mixed bag: Serbo-Croatian language and Muslim religion. Of course, the countryside is still ravaged from the predations of the Bosnians Serbs, who effectively split the country in two. Bosnians persevere. I don't know about 'soul music', but this is a sweet song, no translation necessary.

TANZANIA MUSIC - BUSHOKE -DUNIA NJIA

Tanzania has some pretty good music, once you get past the gratuitous twerking and fuzz vocals that seem to plague Africa's music scene all over. Persevere...

Rantés - Cara de Pasa

Bolivia is not known for its Indie rock, at least not outside the region, better known for those aguayo-draped ch'ullo-capped sun-parched faces honking down on the bizniz end of a siku or quena, or strumming a charango or cuatro, all while hopping and dancing around the stage, seems rather quaint now, and hard to believe that this was once at the forefront of 'world music'. But alas and alack, they never changed nor advanced, nor forged new directions at the risk of failing. Even the Andean street musicians in Europe add electronics or mimic Carlos Nakai now, not Sukay or Inti Illimani. You gotta keep it fresh, and the best of Rock Boliviano does that, asi lo hacen...   

พิณร็อคเขย่าโลกลายลำแคนเหยียบแมงซอน YouTube

Okay--disclaimer time. Thailand is my second home, so I could go on and on about the music there--here--all night, and you might care, or not. SO: I'm going to tie into a current trend in the US and Europe in which Khun Narin's Electric Phin Band is one of the hottest things going in world and indie circles. BUT: they're not the first 'phin' band, nor the only, nor necessarily the best. This music is from Isaan, a world away from Bangkok, Samui or Chiang Mai. This is what they do. These guys call themselves 'PinRock', and that's pronounced 'pin', not 'fin'. You heard it here first.

Osayomore Joseph - Awanuro

Benin is that other tiny West African nation, which, along with Togo, Ghana and Nigeria, defines the old 'Slave Coast'...and some of Africa's best music. This artist is an old school icon, usually just known as 'the ambassador'... enjoy...

KING MENSAH - Xonam

Wow! Togo's history as a country may be a bit sketchy, but this guy King Mensah's songs are not. Whether you like the Christian imagery or not, this man is surely a prophet, in one of the world's smallest and poorest countries, equally as Islamic as Christian and at least twice that traditional animistic. I'm sold, and my interest in West Africa has surged greatly, after several aborted trips, and much disappointment. I hope you enjoy this music as much as I do.

Andy Palacio, Belize - Gi mi Punta Rock - Caye records

Belize is the anomaly of the Caribbean: a British Commonwealth country on the Central American mainland, with equal parts Black 'creoles' and Latino 'mestizos' and sizable numbers of full-blood Mayas and super-mixed Arawak-speaking 'Black Carib' Garifuna people, one of the darling genres of 'world music' over the last decade or two, many thanks to Andy Palacio. But before they adapted it to international tastes, it was just good ol' booty-twitching 'punta rock' and that's what gave Andy his start. BTW the plural of 'Garifuna' is 'Garinagu' (or Kalinago, maybe?). The plural of 'Gi Mi Punta Rock' is apparently 'Gi We Punta rock'. Enjoy. This is a big improvement over the Belizean juke-joints I toured in 1977.

Si'i Tokomea - Kalapu Melino mo e 'Ofa

Tonga is one of the more hospitable of the Polynesian countries, a place where the locals just might be a little smoother than some of the others. And if the music sounds a bit Hawaiian, well, it should, since they're first cousins, even if separated by thousands of miles. They once sailed that route--in canoes. Kava is the drink of choice, and Polynesian is the language, of course. This is music to chill by...the beach...enjoy...

Hooverphonic - Gentle Storm [HQ - full screen]

Belgium is the anomaly of Europe, the country that resulted from the push and pull of colonial powers flexing their muscles, comparing the lengths to which they would go, and usually coming up short. So Belgium is a mixture of Dutch and French (and a bit of Germany), Romantic and Germanic, and Capital of Europe, with the largest Muslim 'hood north of Tangier next to the largest red-light district south of Amsterdam. So English is often the language of choice in Europe's multicultural Trinidad, their Fiji, their Swahili coast on the North Atlantic, where mixed messages make interesting cultures. and so it is with the music, more often than not in the international lingua franca, more often than not in mixed genres, more often than not pretty darn good...

Kobo Town - Mr. Monday

Trinidad is something of an anomaly. Equal parts English, Spanish, African and Indian, this is something like the Fiji of the Caribbean, a (not-so-pure) Commonwealth creation. But the resulting mix can be as disappointing as it is inspiring. Frankly, for the birthplace of calypso and soca, I'd expect a better mix of music, but what's there is not bad, including these guys, who might actually best be considered as Canadian. Welcome to world music...