Jehovah's Witnesses of the drone
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Don’t Call It World Music is a free, independent and curated roundup of music news. Each weekly edition of our newsletter features a handpicked selection of articles related to every kind of music, offering insights into genres from every corner of the globe.
Our mission is to provide visibility to a wide array of issues, musical traditions, artists and genres that are underrepresented or overlooked in mainstream media, generate curiosity and drive traffic to original sources, particularly alternative and independent platforms.
jazzwax.com profiles Arsenio Rodriguez, hailed as "The Godfather of Salsa" , detailing his transformative contributions to Latin music, including making the conga drum central, adding the piano to the Son, developing the mambo horn concept, and creating the Son montuno, the rhythmic foundation of Salsa.
Son montuno?
Son montuno originated in eastern Cuba and is characterized by its use of the montuno, a repeated piano pattern providing harmonic and rhythmic foundation. It incorporates African elements, emphasizes the tres guitar and trumpet, introduces new instruments like the conga, and typically includes a call-and-response chorus section, forming the basis for later Latin music styles such as mambo and salsa.
Mixmag explores how Jamaican soundsystem culture profoundly shaped global dance music, tracing its origins in the late 1940s due to poverty and social exclusion, its evolution through ska and reggae, and its introduction to the UK by Caribbean immigrants.
The Guardian publishes the obituary of Russian composer Sofia Gubaidulina, who passed away at the age of 93. The article highlights her unique compositional style rooted in deep, emotional mysticism derived from her religious convictions and her fascination with musical and intellectual developments beyond the Soviet Union during the Khrushchev thaw.
Tracklib features a video that identifies iconic electronic music samples from 1990 to 2024and illustrates how sampling involves recontextualizing older recordings through techniques like chopping, pitching, and looping.
Afropop Worldwide details the evolution of simpa music, a neo-traditional dance music of the Dagomba people in Northern Ghana .
Simpa ?
Simpa is a traditional musical genre from Ghana, particularly associated with the coastal town of Winneba in the Central Region4 It includes songs that were composed to honor political figures and movements, such as Kwame Nkrumah and the independence movement in the 1950s and 1960s
"From late night sessions of frenetic drumming, singing and trumpets and teenagers shaking their 'waists' by the light of the moon, to hard-driving studio simpa tracks with drum machines, vst synths and auto-tuned vocals, simpa is an evolving neo-traditional popular music of the Dagomba people of Northern Ghana that is rarely heard outside of the region"
T P A reviews a three-CD compilation titled "Jingle Jangle Morning: The 1960s U.S. Folk Rock Explosion" that showcases the extraordinary creativity and variety within the Greenwich Village scene.
The Wire features an exclusive mix compiled by London-based experimental musician Ciaran Mackle that showcases his diverse influences and inspirations, ranging from folk to grime, reflecting his involvement in an experimental music scene that blends sound art, electroacoustics, and unconventional performance.
Skeptic discusses the lifecycle of subcultures, examining how subcultural styles are often embraced by the creative class due to the premium placed on authenticity and the perceived defiance of mainstream society. The article suggests that subcultures, including groups like hipsters, surfers, bikers, and punks, are seen as sincere rejections of inauthentic "plastic fantastic" kitsch.
Liberation School analyzes the political dimensions of Boogaloo and Salsa music, positioning them as more than just dance genres but as cultural expressions deeply intertwined with the struggles of marginalized Nuyorican and Latin American communities.
MyJoyOnline celebrates Agya Koo Nimo, meticulously detailing the life and significant contributions of this esteemed Ghanaian musician.
It highlights his pivotal role in upholding palm wine music and original Ghanaian highlife through his Addadam Agofomma ensemble.
Palm wine music?
Palm-wine music is a West African musical genre that originated among the Kru people of Liberia and Sierra Leone in the 1920s, characterized by its soothing melodies, acoustic guitar-based sound, and storytelling lyrics. It combines local African rhythms and melodies with influences from Trinidadian calypso, featuring gentle vocals and simple chord progressions.
New Books Network features a podcast episode that delves into the book, "Punjab Sounds: In and Beyond the Region," exploring the multifaceted relationship between sound and the construction of the Punjab region.
Free Library presents Sophie Drinker as a pioneer in women's music history, highlighting her research into the historical role and exclusion of women in music, which led to her book Music and Women.
RVA Mag champions Sister Rosetta Tharpe as "The Godmother of Rock N Roll," advocating for her overdue recognition in music history . The article her groundbreaking fusion of gospel with the raw energy of blues and swing.
The New Statesman unveils a surprising narrative surrounding "The fascist afterlife of The Four Seasons" . The article centers on the Italian conductor Bernardino Molinari, who, after World War II, moved to Palestine and worked with the Palestine Symphony Orchestra. Molinari conducted "Hatikva" at Israel's declaration of independence in 1948, only to mysteriously return to Italy, where he was allegedly tried, convicted for his wartime activities, and died in isolation.
Positively Filipino examines the "Rise and Stall" of Visayan pop music (Vispop) in the Philippines. The article traces Vispop's evolution from pre-colonial musical traditions influenced by Spanish colonialism to its golden age in the 20th century and its subsequent decline due to the influx of American pop music.
Vispop ?
Vispop, is a genre of contemporary music primarily sung in the Cebuano language, popular in the Visayas and parts of Mindanao in the Philippines. It is characterized by simple melodies, emotional and poetic lyrics, and often incorporates a mix of Cebuano with English or Tagalog.
In The Muse presents an article focusing on how mariachi music was incorporated into American popular culture, using Disney's "Good Neighbor" policy era as a key example.
Glide Magazine presents an energetic snapshot of the punk band Minutemen in their prime, offering an "unadulterated front row view" of a 1984 performance.
It's Psychedelic Baby Magazine interviews Wolfgang Seidel about his new book Krautrock Eruption. Seidel offers a firsthand account of the cultural, political, and social forces behind Krautrock, emphasizing the youth's desire to break free from post-war Germany's constraints.
"When the term “Krautrock” appeared for the first time, it was seen as the insult it was"
Goldenplec presents an interview with Steve Diggle of the punk band Buzzcocks, reflecting on their history,and his perspectives on the Manchester music scene.
Midia Research analyzes the structural changes in Billboard's Top 10 hit songs between 2020 and 2025, considering the impact of streaming and social video.
The blog post highlights trends such as fewer young songwriters breaking into the top 10, the dominance of hip hop with increasing genre ambiguity, and top songs are reigning on the charts for longer periods.
Far Out features Bab L'Bluz, a Moroccan band blending blues and psychedelic rock with West and North African musical traditions like Gnawa and Chaâbi, as they select nine of their favorite albums, like Mahmoud Guinia, a leading figure in Moroccan Gnawa music and a master of the guembri.
Guembri ?
The guembri, also known as gimbri, sintir, or hajhouj, is a traditional three-stringed bass lute central to Gnawa music, originating from sub-Saharan Africa and now prominent in North African countries like Morocco. It consists of a wooden box covered with stretched camel or goat skin, featuring a hollowed soundbox and three strings made of gut or nylon, played by plucking and striking to produce deep, resonant bass notes and percussive sounds.
"He’s like the Jimi Hendrix guembri."
vice.com documents Berlin's feminist noise-punk scene through the lens of Georgian photographer George Nebieridze.
Music Is My Sanctuary features a conversation with Alex Coles, the author of the book "Fusion" around the idea that jazz fusion should be understood as a "process" of exploration and collaboration rather than a fixed genre.
In Situ examines the revival, trad-innovation, and institutionalization of Occitan music and dance in the Occitan valleys of Italy. The article discusses how music and dance became central to the Occitanist movement.
In Sheeps Clothing provides a deep dive into the extensive and innovative discography of Japanese musical visionary Yasuaki Shimizu. The article explores his explorations of Latin music, his compositions for commercials, and his later experimental and classical projects.
Stat Significant investigates the concept of an "ideal" song length by analyzing listener behavior data and recent trends in popular music runtimes. It concludes that the preferred track runtime is subjective and influenced by formative musical experiences and cultural norms, noting a recent homogenization of song lengths in popular music.
"Somehow, limitless cloud storage and infinite streaming selection have yielded a runtime uniformity comparable to the 1950s and the days of 78 RPM records."
Far Out Magazine presents an introduction to jazz fusion by listing five essential albums by Pat Metheny Group, Stanley Clarke, The Mahavishnu Orchestra, Herbie Hancock, and Miles Davis.
EPJ Data Science presents a research article that formally defines and measures "playlist coherence" in user-curated music playlists, focusing on the smooth transitions between tracks based on their sequential order. The findings suggest that longer playlists tend to be more coherent, while playlists with popular tracks or extensive edits show reduced coherence, offering practical implications for enhancing music recommendation systems.
