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2.6.19World Music: Definition and Origin
There's no general agreement on what the term "world music" means exactly, except that it refers to folk music. World music used to refer to the indigenous music of developing or third world nations. However, a more accurate definition would include the folk music of all nations whose people, whether indigenous or colonizing, don't share the language of one’s own nation.
For example, Australians or Canadians would consider the folk music of developed countries such as Spain or Portugal to be "world music." And vice-versa.
The name “world music” may have originated with the first WOMAD festival (the World of Music, Arts and Dance), organized by Peter Gabriel and others, which took place in England in 1982. The proliferation of WOMAD festivals fired the musical imaginations of some Western pop musicians who began to incorporate elements of the traditional music of other nations into their own music.
One of the most famous and successful “world music” albums by an English-language artist is Paul Simon’s Graceland (1986).
So much for biological and historical context. On to the nitty gritty of technique. Yee-ha.