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== Before 1987 ==
== Before 1987 ==


Although many musicians and composers before them had written and/or performed music that combined western musical styles with influences from non-Western musical traditions, much of the credit for the popularisation of World Music and the rapid expansion of Western mass-audience interest in non-Western music must be accorded to [[The Beatles]], and especially to [[George Harrison]].
Prior to the 1960s many musicians and composers had written and/or performed music that combined western musical styles with influences from non-Western musical traditions, and specialist labels like [[Nonesuch Records]] in the US released albums of non-Western folk and indigenous music, but very little of this music ever reached levels of mass-market acceptance that rock'n'roll, pop and jazz snd country music enjoyed in Western countries.


Altlthough they were by no means the only people to attempt to fuse Western popular music with music from other cultures, much of the credit for the popularisation of World Music and for the rapid expansion of Western mass-audience interest in non-Western music must be accorded to [[The Beatles]], and especially to [[George Harrison]].
⚫
In 1965, during a tour of America, Harrison was introduced to the Indian [[sitar]] by his friend [[David Crosby]] of [[The Byrds]]. Thanks in part to his experimentation with [[LSD]], Harrison soon became profoundly interested in Indian music, culture and spirituality and began taking sitar lessons from Shankar.


⚫
In 1965, during a tour of America, Harrison was introduced to the Indian [[sitar]] by his friend [[David Crosby]] of [[The Byrds]]. Thanks in part to his experimentation with [[LSD]], Harrison soon became profoundly interested in Indian music, culture and spirituality and began taking sitar lessons from renowned Indian sitar virtuoso [[Ravi Shankar]].
⚫
Harrison broke new musical ground in the pop scene when he played a [[sitar]] on John Lennon's landmark song "[[Norwegian Wood]]", from their [[1965]] LP ''[[Rubber Soul]]''. This was the first widely-known western pop song to use a sitar in its arrangement, and for many listeners it was undoubtedly the first time they had ever heard the instrument. "Norwegian Wood" sparked a major craze for the sitar, for the classical music of [[India]] in general and for the work of sitar master [[Ravi Shankar]] in particular.

⚫
Harrison broke new musical ground in the pop scene when he played a [[sitar]] on John Lennon's landmark song "[[Norwegian Wood]]", from their [[1965]] LP ''[[Rubber Soul]]''. This was the first widely-known western pop song to use a sitar in its arrangement, and for many listeners it was undoubtedly the first time they had ever heard the instrument. "Norwegian Wood" sparked a major craze for the sitar, for the classical music of [[India]] in general and for the work of Ravi Shankar in particular.


In the wake of the song's release, the sitar became one of the most "in" sounds in pop music for several years, and an American guitar company even manufactured an electric sitar-guitar designed to simulate the sound of the sitar.
In the wake of the song's release, the sitar became one of the most "in" sounds in pop music for several years, and an American guitar company even manufactured an electric sitar-guitar designed to simulate the sound of the sitar.

Revision as of 13:18, 19 January 2006

You must add a |reason= parameter to this Cleanup template – replace it with {{Cleanup|August 2005|reason=<Fill reason here>}}, or remove the Cleanup template.

World music is, most generally, all the music in the world (Bohlman 2002, Nidel 2004, p.3), but is more specifically all music genres that are not part of mainstream popular music or classical music from North America or Western Europe, and has some kind of "ethnic" component. The word connotes traditional or folk music from the third world, European popular and folk music with influences from the third world, and traditional music especially (but not only) from the third world. The term is used primarily as a marketing/classificatory device, sometimes referring to any kind of foreign music, especially in a foreign language. Succinctly, "local music from out there" (fRoots magazine, quoted in N'Dour 2004, p.1). The academic study of world music is called ethnomusicology.

World music is generally agreed to be traditional, folk or roots musics of any culture that is created and played by indigenous musicians or that is "closely informed or guided by indigenous music of the regions of their origin" (Nidel 2004, p.2). The broad catergory 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. In recent years, common access to global communication among artists and the general public has given rise to a phenomenon named "cross-over" music. Musicians from diverse cultures and locations can readily access music from around the world, creating a melting pot of stylistic influences. While communication technology allows greater access to obscure forms of music, it also presents the risk of musical homogeny blurring regional identity.

Before 1987

Prior to the 1960s many musicians and composers had written and/or performed music that combined western musical styles with influences from non-Western musical traditions, and specialist labels like Nonesuch Records in the US released albums of non-Western folk and indigenous music, but very little of this music ever reached levels of mass-market acceptance that rock'n'roll, pop and jazz snd country music enjoyed in Western countries.

Altlthough they were by no means the only people to attempt to fuse Western popular music with music from other cultures, much of the credit for the popularisation of World Music and for the rapid expansion of Western mass-audience interest in non-Western music must be accorded to The Beatles, and especially to George Harrison.

In 1965, during a tour of America, Harrison was introduced to the Indian sitar by his friend David Crosby of The Byrds. Thanks in part to his experimentation with LSD, Harrison soon became profoundly interested in Indian music, culture and spirituality and began taking sitar lessons from renowned Indian sitar virtuoso Ravi Shankar.

Harrison broke new musical ground in the pop scene when he played a sitar on John Lennon's landmark song "Norwegian Wood", from their 1965 LP Rubber Soul. This was the first widely-known western pop song to use a sitar in its arrangement, and for many listeners it was undoubtedly the first time they had ever heard the instrument. "Norwegian Wood" sparked a major craze for the sitar, for the classical music of India in general and for the work of Ravi Shankar in particular.

In the wake of the song's release, the sitar became one of the most "in" sounds in pop music for several years, and an American guitar company even manufactured an electric sitar-guitar designed to simulate the sound of the sitar.

In 1966 Harrison developed this musical synthesis further with the highly original song "Love You To" (from the seminal Revolver LP), which featured an innovative arrangement consisting solely of Indian instruments, performed by expatriate Indian musicians living in London. The peak of his explorations in this new genre was the epic six-minute track "Within You, Without You" (1967) from Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, which was recorded at the EMI studios in Bombay by Harrison and an ensemble of Indian musicians. Harrison also used Indian instruments and musicians extensively on his soundtrack for the 1968 film Wonderwall.

Although not quite as influential as Harrison's work, the song "See My Friends" by The Kinks is another Western pop song of that period that shows the unmistakeable influence of Indian music. According to The Kinks' Ray Davies, it was inspired by a stopover in India during the band's first trip to Australia in 1965, when during an early-morning walk, he heard local fisherman singing a traditional chant, part of which he incoorprated into the song's sinuous melody line.

In 1968 Rolling Stones guitarist Brian Jones recorded The Master Musicians of Joujouka in the village of Joujouka in the North of Morocco. Jones died the following year but the LP was released in 1971 on Rolling Stones Records. This collaboration between Jones and the Sufi trance masters is generally regarded as being the first "World Music" album.

The origins of the term World Music in relation to the selling of this type of music began in 1982 when World Music Day (Fête de la Musique) was initiated in France. World Music Day is celebrated on the 21st of June every year since then. On Monday 29th June 1987 a meeting of interested parties gathered to capitalise 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 which he had fallen in love with listening to artists from Southern Africa, including Ladysmith Black Mambazo and Savuka. But this project and the work of Peter Gabriel and Johnny Clegg amongst others had to some degree introduced non-western music to a wider audience and this was an opportunity which could not be ignored.

Before 1987, although World Music undoubtedly had a following and with this potential market opening up, it was 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. They were eyeing the Jazz and Classic markets, watching them develop a cross-over audience and decided that the best way forward would be to collective strategy to bring the music to a wider audience.

After 1987

At the outset of the 1987 meeting, the musician Roger Armstrong advised why something needed to be done; "(He) felt that the main problem in selling our kind of material lay with the U.K. retail outlets and specifically the fact that they did not know how to rack it coherently. This discouraged them from stocking the material in any depth and made it more difficult for the record buyers to become acquainted with our catalogues."

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, but '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. It only became a title for the genre after an agreement 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 colour 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 co-ordinated 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-catalogue showing the other releases on offer. This was a smart move as NME reader are often seen as discerning listeners and it was important step to get them on board.

By the time of that second meeting it was becoming clear that in order for the campaign to be successful, it should have its own dedicated press officer. They 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. They were seen as 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.

And so October of 1987 was designated 'World Music' month. A music festival, 'Crossing the Border' was held at the Town & Country Club, 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 Eighties 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 here on tour. They started off, like The Bhundu Boys, playing small clubs and pubs, but now many acts are so popular that they are packing out larger venues.

"The excitement and word-of-mouth appeal is backed up by radio - 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 on BBC Radio 3 and Charlie Gillett's show [1] on the BBC World Service to name but seven... and the demand for recordings of non-Western artists is surely growing. This is where the problems can start for the potential buyer of 'World Music' albums - the High Street record shop hasn't got the particular record, or even a readily identifiable section to browse through, it doesn't show in any of the published charts, and at this point all but the most tenacious give up - and who can blame them?"

'World Music' became prominent very quickly. Paul Simon acknowleged as much when he featured the Graceland musicians in his concerts. Today, mainstream music has adopted many of the features of world music, and artists such as Shakira and the members of the Buena Vista Social Club have reached a much wider audience. At the same time world music has been influenced by hip hop, pop and jazz etc. Some entertainers who cross over to recording from film and television will often start with World music; Steven Seagal is a recent example. World music radio programs these days will often be playing African hip hop or reggae artists, crossover Bhangra and Latin American jazz groups, etc.

Public radio and webcasting are an important way for music enthusiasts all over the world to hear the enormous diversity of sounds and styles which, collectively, amount to World Music. The BBC, NPR, and ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) are rich sources for World Music where it is possible to listen online as well as read about the artists and history of this genre.

The BBC presents awards for World Music artists every year:

Awards for World Music 2005

The hosts for the Awards for World Music 2005 Poll Winners' Concert were Eliza Carthy and Benjamin Zephaniah and the nominees were:

Africa

Asia/Pacific

Americas

Europe

Middle East and North Africa

Newcomer

Boundary Crossing

Club Global

Critics Award

Audience Award

  • Chehade Brothers
  • Enzo Avitabile & Bottari
  • Ivo Papasov (winner)
  • Mercan Dede

It is possible to listen to the sounds of all the nominees at the BBC webpage for the awards:

Some other artists featured prominently on the BBC's World Music websites

Some of the artists featured prominently on NPR's World music webpages

NPR's World Cafe

The NPR website for World Cafe says: "World Cafe showcases an eclectic blend, from rock and world music to folk and alternative country." [2]

ABC's Music Deli

Examples of some artists who have been featured on ABC's Music Deli:

Festivals

There are LOTS of World Music festivals and jazz/folk/roots/new age crossover events. Only a small selection can be represented here:

Music labels

Criticisms of the Genre

Some musicians and curators of music have come to dislike the term "world music." On October 3, 1999, David Byrne, aforementioned as the founder of the Luaka Bop music label, wrote an editorial in The New York Times explaining his digression. To many including Byrne, "world music" is a catchall name for non-western music of all genres. As such, it changes its own market. The labeling and categorization of other cultures as "exotic" is argued to attract an insincere consumership and deter other potential consumers. Critics of the term propose eliminating the category and integrating the records into existing "western" genres, be it folk, pop, jazz, classical, hip hop or otherwise.

See also

Sources

  • Bohlman, Philip (2002). World Music: A Very Short Introduction, "Preface". ISBN 0192854291.
  • N'Dour, Youssou. "Foreward" to Nickson, Chris (2004). The NPR Curious Listener's Guide to World Music. ISBN 0399530320.
  • Nidel, Richard (2004). World Music: The Basics. ISBN 0415968011.

External links

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