I first encountered the concept of “world music” in the early 90s when Johnny Clegg & Savuka appeared on SNL. I wasn’t immediately swept away.
But over the years I’ve been exposed to a wide variety of modern sounds coming from Africa, India, the Middle East, and beyond. My favorite American songwriter Paul Simon gave me more early exposure to African music, and my initial excitement about Vampire Weekend in large part was their incorporation of African flavors. Sometimes the DJs at the dance clubs and burner parties I haunted peppered in the intoxicating polyrhythms of world beat, and I started doing the same when I would spin at parties. The psychedelic scene I got into drew heavily from indigenous music from around the world. Then Katie ushered me into yoga and kirtan, and I started absorbing classical and modern Indian and Sufi music, at the festivals and from my bandmates in Bhakti Explosion.
This playlist continues to grow, and delights me every time I give it a shuffle. I hope you enjoy it too!