| World music | |
|---|---|
| Stylistic origins | Unofficially coined in 1982 (France) - Officially coined in 1987 (France, United Kingdom) |
| Cultural origins | Traditional elements were born in the global spectrum of indigenous culture; Fusion with contemporary music elements |
| Typical instruments | Traditional and modern stringed (electric and acoustic), wind, percussion and plucked tonged instruments, keyboards and electronic synths |
| Mainstream popularity | Moderate to strong and steadily increasing |
| Fusion genres | |
| Worldbeat | |
World music is a term with widely varying definitions, often encompassing music which is primarily identified as another genre. This is evidenced by world music definitions such as "all of the music in the world", "somebody else's local music" or "non-western music". World music in its classic definition is a term for music such as the traditional music or folk music of a culture that is created and played by indigenous musicians and is closely related to the music of the regions of their origin.[1] The term was originally intended for ethnic-specific music, though globalization is expanding its scope; it now often includes hybrid sub-genres such as World fusion,Global fusion, Ethnic fusion[2] and Worldbeat[3][4] These terms may also be considered sub-genres of pop music, illustrating that the term world music refers to music that is also classified under other genres.
The term has been credited to ethnomusicologist Robert E. Brown, who coined it in the early 1960s at Wesleyan University in Connecticut, where he developed undergraduate through doctoral programs in the discipline. To enhance the process of learning, he invited more than a dozen visiting performers from Africa and Asia and began a world music concert series.[5][6] The term became current in the 1980s as a marketing/classificatory device in the media and the music industry, and it is often used to classify any kind of non-Western music.
There are several conflicting definitions for world music. One is that it consists of "all the music in the world", though such a broad definition renders the word virtually meaningless.[7][8] The term also is taken as a classification of music that combines Western popular music styles with one of many genres of non-Western music that are also described as folk music or ethnic music. However, world music is not exclusively traditional folk music. It may include cutting edge pop music styles as well. Succinctly, it can be described as "local music from out there",[9] or "someone else's local music".[10] It is a very nebulous genre term with an increasing number of sub-genres that fall under the umbrella of world music to capture musical trends of combined ethnic style and texture, including Western elements (examples noted in this section).
World music may incorporate distinctive non-Western scales, modes and/or musical inflections, and often features distinctive traditional ethnic instruments, such as the kora (West African harp), the steel drum, the sitar or the didgeridoo.
Music from around the world exerts wide cross-cultural influence as styles naturally influence one another, and in recent years world music has also been marketed as a successful genre in itself. Academic study of world music, as well as the musical genres and individual artists with which it has been associated, can be found in such disciplines as anthropology, folkloristics, performance studies and ethnomusicology.
In the age of digital music production the increased availability of high-quality, ethnic music samples, sound bites and loops from every known region are commonly used in commercial music production, which has exposed a vast spectrum of indigenous music texture to developing, independent artists. These influences proliferate quickly in a web-based music industry that is now percolating as a much larger, predominantly self-promoted menu, via an increasing number of indie-artist-friendly, streaming internet options, such as Last.fm, Rhapsody, Live365, Jango Artist Airplay and ReverbNation. An amalgamation of roots music in the global, contemporary listening palette has become apparent, which weakens the role major entertainment labels can play in the cultural perception of genre boundaries. As a result, definitions of the genre have become particularly varied, and determined by particularly wide-ranging and varied opinions.
Similar terminology between distinctly different sub-categories under primary music genres, such as world, rock and pop can be as ambiguous and confusing to industry moguls as it is to consumers. This is especially true in the context of world music, where branches of ethnically influenced pop trends are as genre-defined by consumer perception as they are by the music industry forums that govern the basis for categorical distinction. Academic scholars tend to agree that, in today's world of consumer music reviews and blogging, global music culture's public perception is what ultimately distils a prevailing basis for definition from genre ambiguity, regardless of how clearly a category has been outlined by corporate marketing forums and music journalism. The world music genre's gradual migration from a clear spectrum of roots music traditions to an extended list of hybrid sub-genres is a good example of the motion genre boundaries can exhibit in a globalizing pop culture. The classic, original definition of world music was in part created to instill a perceived authenticity and distinction between indigenous music traditions and those that eventually become diluted by pop culture, and the modern debate over how possible it is to maintain that perception in the richly diverse genre of world music is ongoing.[11][12]
Examples of popular forms of world music include the various forms of non-European classical music (e.g. Japanese koto music, Indian raga music, Tibetan chants), Eastern European folk music (e.g. the village music of the Balkans) and the many forms of folk and tribal music of the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Oceania and Central and South America. The Breton musician Alan Stivell pioneered the connection between traditional folk music, modern rock music and world music with his 1970's album Renaissance of the Celtic Harp.[13]
The broad category of world music includes isolated forms of ethnic music from diverse geographical regions. These dissimilar strains of ethnic music are commonly categorized together by virtue of their indigenous roots. Over the 20th century, the invention of sound recording, low-cost international air travel and common access to global communication among artists and the general public has given rise to a related phenomenon called "crossover" music. Musicians from diverse cultures and locations could readily access recorded music from around the world, see and hear visiting musicians from other cultures and visit other countries to play their own music, creating a melting pot of stylistic influences.
While communication technology allows greater access to obscure forms of music, the pressures of commercialization also present the risk of increasing musical homogeny, the blurring of regional identities, and the gradual extinction of traditional local music-making practices.
Since the music industry established this term, the fuller scope of what an average music consumer defines as "world" music in today's market has grown to include various blends of ethnic music tradition, style and interpretation,[14] and derivative world music genres have been coined to represent these hybrids, such as World fusion, Global fusion, Ethnic fusion or Worldbeat. Good examples of hybrid, world fusion are the Irish / West African meld of Afro Celt Sound System,[15] the pan-cultural sound of Aomusic[16] and the jazz / Finnish folk music of Värttinä,[17] each of which bare tinges of contemporary, Western influence—an increasingly noticeable element in the expansion genres of world music. World fusion / Worldbeat / Ethnic fusion / Global fusion can also blend specific indigenous sounds with more blatant elements of Western pop. Good examples are Paul Simon's Graceland album, on which South African Mbaqanga music is heard, Peter Gabriel's work with Sufi singer, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and the Deep Forest project, in which vocal loops from West Africa are blended with Western, contemporary rhythmic textures and harmony structure.
Depending on style and context, world music can sometimes share the New age music genre, which is a category that often includes Ambient music and textural expressions from indigenous roots sources. Good examples are Tibeten bowls, Tuvan throat singing, Gregorian Chant or Native American flute music. World music blended with New age music is a sound, loosely classified as the hybrid genre, Ethnic fusion.
The sub-genre World fusion is often, mistakenly assumed to refer exclusively to a blending of Western jazz fusion elements with world music. Athough such a hybrid expression falls easily into the World fusion category, the suffix "fusion" in the term World fusion should not be assumed to mean only jazz fusion. Western jazz combined with strong elements of world music is more accurately termed, World fusion jazz, Ethnic jazz or non-Western jazz.[18] World fusion and Global fusion are nearly synonymous with the genre term Worldbeat, and though these are considered sub-genres of popular music, they may also imply universal expressions of the more general term, World music.[19] Throughout the 70s and 80s, fusion in the jazz music genre implied a blending of jazz and rock music, which is where the misleading assumption is rooted.[20]
Although it primarily describes traditional music, the world music category also includes popular music from non-Western urban communities (e.g. South African "township" music) and non-European music forms that have been influenced by other so-called third-world musics (e.g. Afro-Cuban music), although Western-style popular song sourced from non-English-speaking countries in Western Europe (e.g. French pop music) would not generally be considered world music.
Paris is one of the great European capitals for world music. For many years, the city has attracted numerous musicians from former colonies in West Africa and North Africa. This thriving scene is aided by the fact that there are many concerts and institutions that help promote the music.
Algerian and Moroccan music have an important presence in the French capital. Hundreds of thousands of Algerian and Moroccan immigrants have settled in Paris, bringing the sounds of Amazigh (Berber), raï, and Gnawa music. Algerian raï also found a large French audience.
The West African community is also very large, integrated by people from Senegal, Mali, Ivory Coast, and Guinea. They have introduced manding jeli music, mbalax and other styles.
One origin of the term was the initiation of World Music Day (Fête de la Musique) in 1982 in France. World Music Day has been celebrated on 21 June every year since then. On Monday 29 June 1987 a meeting of interested parties gathered to capitalize on the marketing of this genre. Arguably popular interest was sparked with the release in 1986 of Paul Simon's Graceland album. The concept behind the album was to express his own sensibilities using the sounds he had fallen in love with while listening to artists from Southern Africa, including Ladysmith Black Mambazo and Savuka. This project and the work of Peter Gabriel and Johnny Clegg among others had, to some degree, introduced non-Western music to a wider audience. They saw this as an opportunity which should not be ignored.
Before 1987, world music had a following but it was still difficult for interested parties to sell their music to the larger music stores. Although specialist music stores had been important in developing the genre over many years, the record companies, broadcasters and journalists had been finding it difficult to build a following because the music, itself, seemed too scarce. However, they were aware that the jazz and classical markets had developed a crossover audience and decided that the best way forward would be to have a collective strategy in order to bring the music to a wider audience.
At around this time, Cultural Co-operation started the Music Village Festival. A regular series of free world music festivals which are running to this day. A network of world music artists was also created to help promote their work.
At the outset of the 1987 meeting, the musician Roger Armstrong advised the reason why something needed to be done:
[He] felt that the main problem in selling our kind of material lay with the UK retail outlets and, specifically, the fact that they did not know how to rack it coherently. This discouraged [the retail stores] from stocking the material in any depth and made it more difficult for the record buyers to become acquainted with our catalogs.[21]
The first concern of the meetings was to select the umbrella name that this "new" music would be listed under. Suggestions included world beat and prefixing words such as "hot" or "tropical" to existing genre titles. World music won after a show of hands, but initially it was not meant to be the title for a whole new genre, rather something which all of the record labels could place on the sleeves of records in order to distinguish them during the forthcoming campaign. Afterward they agreed that despite the publicity campaign, this wasn't an exclusive club and that for the good of all, any label which was selling this type of music would be able to take advantage.
Another issue which needed to be addressed was the distribution methods which existed at the time. Most of the main labels were unhappy with the lack of specialist knowledge displayed by sales persons which led to poor service; there was also a reluctance amongst many of the larger outlets to carry the music, because they understandably liked larger releases which could be promoted within store. It was difficult to justify a large presentation expense if the stock going into stores was limited.
One of the marketing strategies used in the vinyl market at the time was the use of browser cards, which would appear in the record racks. As part of the world music campaign it was decided that these would be a two color affair designed to carry a special offer package; to aid the retailer a selection of labels would also be included, presumably for shelf or rack edging.
In an unprecedented move, all of the world music labels coordinated together and developed a compilation cassette for the cover of the music magazine NME. The overall running time was ninety minutes, each package containing a mini-catalog showing the other releases on offer.
By the time of a second meeting it was becoming clear that in order for the campaign to be successful, it should have its own dedicated press officer. The press officer would be able to juggle the various deadlines and also be able to sell the music as a concept to not just the national stations, but also regional DJs who were keen to expand the variety of music they could offer. The DJs were a key resource as it was important for "world music" to be seen as something which could be important to people outside London - most regions after all had a similarly rich folk heritage which could be tapped into. A cost effective way of achieving all this would be a leafleting campaign.
The next step was to develop a world music chart, gathering together selling information from around fifty shops, so that it would finally be possible to see which were big sellers in the genre — allowing new listeners to see what was particularly popular. It was agreed that the NME could again be involved in printing the chart and also Music Week and the London listings magazine City Limits. It was also suggested that Andy Kershaw might be persuaded to do a run down of this chart on his show regularly.
October 1987 was designated 'World Music Month'. A music festival, Crossing the Border, was held at the Town & Country Club in London, and it was the start of the winter season for both WOMAD and Arts Worldwide. The main press release stressed the issues inherent in the campaign.
Since the early 80s the enthusiasm for music from 'outside' Western pop culture has been steadily mounting. More and more international artists, many of whom are big stars in their own countries, are coming to England and North America on tour. They started off, like the Bhundu Boys, playing small clubs and pubs, but now many acts are so popular that they are filling larger venues.
Examples of radio shows that feature world music include World of Music on Voice of America, Transpacific Sound Paradise on WFMU, The Planet on Australia's ABC Radio National, DJ Edu presenting D.N.A: DestiNation Africa on BBC Radio 1Xtra, Adil Ray on the BBC Asian Network, Andy Kershaw's show on BBC Radio 3 and Charlie Gillett's show[22] on the BBC World Service.
World music radio programs these days often play African hip hop or reggae artists, crossover Bhangra and Latin American jazz groups, etc. Common media for world music include Public radio, webcasting, the BBC, NPR, and ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation). The scope of what is considered world music has increased. By default, non-region-specific or multi-cultural world music projects are often listed under the generic category of world music.
The generally accepted geographic standard for what designates world music is withstanding criticism for its universal asymmetry, where nearly every classifiable region under the term is defined, relative to Western music culture; primarily due to the fact that dominant corporate structures for music distribution and promotion originate in Western Europe and North America, as do the forums for establishing industry genre categories. Therefore, in market context, ethnic music is synthetically defined by a radius that extends from a Western center.
Some musicians and curators of music have come to dislike the term "world music". To these critics, "world music" is a parochial, catch-all marketing term for non-Western music of all genres. On October 3, 1999, David Byrne, the founder of the Luaka Bop music label, wrote an editorial in The New York Times entitled "I Hate World Music"[23] explaining his objections to the term. Byrne argued that the labeling and categorization of other cultures as "exotic" serves to attract an insincere consumership and deter other potential consumers.
The BBC Radio 3 Awards for world music was an award given to world music artists between 2002 and 2008, sponsored by BBC Radio 3. The award was thought up by fRoots magazine's editor Ian Anderson, inspired by the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards.
Award categories included: Africa, Asia/Pacific, Americas, Europe, Mid East and North Africa, Newcomer, Culture Crossing, Club Global, Album of the Year, and Audience Award. Initial lists of nominees in each category were selected annually by a panel of several thousand industry experts. Shortlisted nominees were voted on by a twelve-member jury, which selected the winners in every category except for the Audience Award category. These jury members were appointed and presided over by the BBC.[24] The annual awards ceremony was held at the BBC Proms and winners were given an award called a "Planet". In March 2009, the BBC made a decision to axe the BBC Radio 3 Awards for world music.[25][26]
In response to the BBC's decision to end its awards program, the British world music magazine Songlines launched the Songlines Music Awards in 2009 "to recognise outstanding talent in world music".[27]
The WOMEX (The World Music Expo) Award was first introduced in 1999 to honor the high points of world music on an international level and to acknowledge musical excellence, social importance, commercial success, political impact and lifetime achievement.[28] Every October at the WOMEX event, the award figurine - an ancient mother goddess statue dating back about 6000 years to the Neolithic age - is presented in an award ceremony to a worthy member of the world music community.
Many festivals are identified as being world music; here is a small representative selection:
Spain's most important world music festivals are: