World Music Birthday

Did you know that twenty years ago, world music as a genre was born? Of course, world music has existed for much longer than that, but it did not have its own section in the music stores that is does today, outside of maybe something like “ethnic” or “folk” music. It started with a meeting in London of music industry people in 1987, who saw that international popular music needed a name and a market. Today, world music has both.

If you are new to world music but want to find out what it is all about, try some of HCPL’s world music recordings, such as Putamayo's North African Groove or Italian Cafe. Or be more daring and try some ghazals, such as As Night Falls on the Silk Road, or Amadou and Mariam's Dimanche a Bamako. These are just a small sample of our world music selection.