World Music

Two artists in the world music genre that I have heard in the recent past and who I feel are really experimental and make some great music are The Idan Raichel Project and Sa dingding.

The Idan Raichel Project

While recent headlines are dominated by news of conflict and war in the Middle East, an Israeli musical collaborative has achieved success by looking beyond intercultural differences and celebrating the value of diversity. Infusing a blend of traditional Ethiopian folk music, Arabic poetry, Yemenite chants, Biblical psalms and Caribbean rhythms, The Idan Raichel Project has created an unparalleled musical experience that has taken the world by storm. The music of the Idan Raichel Project is available worldwide through the record label Cumbanch

Sa dingding

With her unmistakable unique voice and distinctive musical vision, Sa Dingding represents an original creative passion affected by ethnic diversity and shaped by a modern China. As the first artist in her country to sing in Sanskrit and even in an entirely self-created language-otherwise its in Mandarin or Tibetan - she beautifully combines traditional Chinese fold music with Western electronica and influences of classical and soul. As a singer, musician, composer and choreographer, Dingding owes her original style to an intriguing background and array of diverse interests. Born in Mongolia to a Mongolian mother and Chinese father, she was fascinated by ethnic-minority music styles from a young age. "Before we start to talk," she says with philosophical ponder, "we know how to sing." She is a multi-instrumentalist, playing the zhen (a Chinese zither with 25 strings),Chinese drum, Chinese gong and horse-head fiddle (a bow-stringed instrumental with a scroll carved like a horse’s head). Her musical mentors include the famous Chinese music producers Zhang Hong Guang and He Xun Tian. By 1998, her curiosity in Buddhism, Dyana Yoga and Sanskrit unleashed her creative spirit and pushed her musical boundaries. Buddhism taught her to express with her heart and connect with nature, the meditations of yoga built up her inner peace and spiritual being, and learning Sanskrit encouraged her to create her own language, where new words formed from emotions evoked by music. She is also well versed in Tibetan chanting and chorus singing in the near-extinct Lagu language. Her secret to honing so many disciplines is solemnity. “Loneliness is the best way for me to become more creative,” she says.

Video Credits: Jacobbogie, Dearsunny