World Music roundup
The Best World Music Songs Right Now
Selecting a handful of tracks from such a broad field as world music inevitably reflects a particular viewpoint, but the songs below have each proven themselves as accessible entry points that reward repeated listening. They come from different traditions, decades and approaches, and have been chosen because each has something specific and identifiable to offer a listener who is new to the artist or region involved.
Youssou N'Dour and Neneh Cherry — 7 Seconds
"7 Seconds" (1994) is probably the most commercially successful collaboration between a West African artist and the mainstream European pop world. N'Dour's world music background meets Neneh Cherry's hip-hop-influenced delivery in a song about childhood and innocence. It reached number one in multiple European countries and introduced N'Dour's voice to audiences who might otherwise never have encountered Senegalese music. It remains a useful bridge between pop listeners and the deeper catalogue it emerged from.
Buena Vista Social Club — Chan Chan
"Chan Chan," written by Francisco Repilado (Compay Segundo), opens the 1997 Buena Vista Social Club album and remains its most recognised track. The song is built on a simple, endlessly repeating harmonic figure played against a slow, swaying rhythm that is characteristic of the son cubano style. Its unhurried confidence and Compay Segundo's weathered vocal make it an ideal introduction to older Cuban world music traditions for listeners accustomed to faster-paced recordings.
Miriam Makeba — Pata Pata
"Pata Pata" (originally recorded in 1967) is the most internationally known of Makeba's recordings. The song takes its name from a social dance associated with the townships of South Africa and uses a call-and-response vocal structure and hand-clapping groove that made it immediately accessible to listeners without any prior exposure to South African music. It was one of the first African popular recordings to achieve genuine international chart success.
Ali Farka Touré — Goye Kur
"Goye Kur" from Touré's 1976 recording is among the most direct illustrations of the pentatonic modal language that connects West African string music to the American blues. Played on a single-string violin and his own voice, it contains the same intervals, bends and tonal vocabulary that appear in early Delta blues recordings — audibly, without needing any theoretical explanation. For further recommendations, the albums guide and the newcomers' guide both offer starting-point playlists.
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