Favourite world music?

I love the South African choral group Ladysmith Black Mambazo. Been a favourite since I was a teen. I like when they just do A cappella.

How about musically travelling to India? Ravi Shankar is well known performer and composer of Hindustani classical music and the use of the sitar. Here is one of his songs. (He’s also the father of Nora Jones.)

I quite like most of the Icelandic Folk Music that I’ve found on grooveshark.com. From there, I got into Jónsi (We Bought a Zoo) and others.

But my favorite first ‘world music’ was The Chieftains, and from them Saw Doctors.

Here’s a nice Gaelic Folk Song

These suggestions are really good.

Or were you asking about the genre of world music? If so, I’ll point you to anything on David Byrne’s Luaka Bop label.

Favorite genre that is quirky and deserves a listen – noise. Try the album Load Blown by the Black Dice. Also, krautrock is a wonderful genre – the band Can is excellent. Try Tago Mago or Ege Bamyasi.

Brazil has wonderful rhythms and music. One of my favorites is Missa Criolla, a religious piece. Their dance music and popular music is great too.

I don’t know any artists or track names but I’m very fond of Eastern European, Russian and Jewish folk music. It’s all so lively and makes me want to dance.

@downtide Klezmer – Jewish wedding music – is great and staging a revival in interest. Some great bands are the Klezmatics and the Klezmer Conservatory Band . As you say, it makes you want to dance.

As an aside, I dislike the term “world music” as it seems to lump everything in all together that should be very separate. What is there – Americana and British music and then “World music”; very Eurocentric. I’m not dissing the OP at all, I’m just dissing the accepted term.

This is one of my favorites. The Band name is Oi-Va-Voi

Blof from the Netherlands!

@Sunny2 I LOVE Misa Criolla but I’ve been lead to believe that it’s an Argentinian piece! Perhaps I was wrong but oh well!
and @janbb I completely agree, I think there needs to be a change in the accepted term for what this is about

@janbb Byrne agrees with you too. (as do I)

I like this music from Mali played on an instrument called the kora.

Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan from Pakistan

Todd Denman and Dale Russ especially cut number 15 The Lilting Banshee. Irish music.

Erhu Music from China. This instrument is kind of like a violin.

Indian Sitar in this clip played by Anoushka Shankar, daughter of Ravi Shankar and sister of Nora Jones.

Tahitian Drumming

Traditional Baharanatyam Indian Dance Music (the dancing is awesome too!)

Brazilian Jazz from the 1960’s (This clip is from Lalo Schifrin from 1962, but anything from Astrud Gilberto, Joao Gilberto, Stan Getz or Antonio Carlos Jobim is great)

Huun Huur Tu Tuvan throat singers.