world fusion | World Music Central

Events Showcases

Babel Music XP 2026 Reveals Official Selection

World Music Central News Room December 12, 2025 No Comments Ahmed Eid & Ilyf Article15 Babel Music XP Babel Music XP 2026 Bandua Broua By The Sket Quintet Celia Wa Cocanha Djazia Satour Ducasse Etenesh Wassié Etyen & Salwa Jaradat Grand Ensemble Filos Gregory Dargent Groove&Inner Spaces Isam Elias Jawhar L'Antidote La Litanie Des Cimes & Mah Damba Lavinia Mancusi Lindigo Meryem Koufi & Mehdi Haddab Miksi Ondéla Re#Encounter Rebecca Roger Cruz Sonoras Mil Sskyron & Dj Dan Super Parquet Tengerton Vitu Valera world fusion world music

World music showcase and conference Babel Music XP has revealed the lineup for the 2026 edition. The event will take place from March 19 to…

Matt B standing in the middle of a rural path.

Music videos

Matt B’s Remarkable Intercontinental collaboration on New Single “They Know”

World Music Central News Room December 12, 2025 No Comments Matt B world fusion world music

Grammy Award winner Matt B recently appeared in a cross-continental collaboration titled “They Know”. This new single brings together Rocky Dawuni (Ghana), Wouter Kellerman (South…

The cover presents a woman with pale skin, dramatic eye makeup, and glossy black gloves against a black background. She holds an ornate circular frame that glows with warm light around the title The Ring. The band name Ashavahishta appears below.

Album reviews

Ashavahishta Channels Rumi On Trance-Driven The Ring

Angel Romero December 12, 2025 No Comments Ashavahishta Balochi music trance music world fusion world music

Ashavahishta – The Ring (X Dot 25 Music, 2025) World fusion trance group Ashavahishta released its new album The Ring on October 31, 2025. The…

Wesli - Makaya cover artwork. A photo of Wesli smiling.

Album reviews

Wesli’s Impressive ‘Makaya’ and The Echo Of Revolt

Angel Romero December 10, 2025 No Comments Afrotronix André Desilets Caribbean music David Charbonneau David Mobio Donald Dogbo Emmanuella Michel Etienne Lebel Gaya Sanya Michel Elie Guy Khé Haitian music Jean François Ouellet Joaquin Diaz Karl Henry Bréseaux Kattam Laraki Cote Kokou Damawou Lasso Sanou Marilyn Felix Martin Lizote Martine Labbe Mathieu Van Vliet Maxime Saint Pierre Michel Medrano Brindis Moïse Matey Yawo Namouri Cissé Nicolas M’Tima Nicolas Therrien Noel Mpiaza Balu Pascal Laraque Rachel Therrien Ronald Nazaire Sara Renelik Sika Valmé Sylphir Charest Ti Fane Stéphanie Séjour Watson Joseph Wesli world fusion world music

Wesli – Makaya (WUP, 2025) Makaya, the expansive and awe-inspiring 24-track double album from Haitian-Canadian singer, guitarist, and folklorist Wesli stretches to nearly one hour…

The two musicians stand against a blue metal wall adorned with a geometric border. One holds a trumpet, the other a traditional string instrument.

Album reviews

Rabab Meets Trumpet: Sangat Intertwines Sikh & Sufi Lines

Angel Romero December 8, 2025 No Comments Sangat world fusion world music

Sangat – Sangat (2025) Afghan American rabab virtuoso Qais Essar and Sikh American trumpet player-singer Sonny Singh released their joint debut album Sangat recently. The…

A swirl of deep blue and violet surrounds a burst of orange, with scattered black marks. The lower right corner presents the artist’s name, Shane Shanahan, above the title Audacity (Live) in modern lettering.

Album reviews

Shane Shanahan’s Audacity (Live) Rallies An All-Star Ensemble

Madison Quinn December 6, 2025 No Comments Shane Shanahan world fusion world music

Shane Shanahan – Audacity (Live) (Bright Shiny Things, 2025) Percussionist Shane Shanahan released Audacity (Live), a project that highlights his cross-cultural collaboration. These stem from…

A riverside scene fills the cover, where two people travel in a long wooden canoe across still greenish water. Soft reflections ripple beneath them, and a tree-lined shore stretches in the distance. Yellow lettering announces Djékady above and Benkan below.

Album reviews

Djékady’s Innovative ‘Benkan’ Intersects Malian Heritage and American Roots

Angel Romero December 5, 2025 No Comments Djékady world fusion world music

Djékady – Benkan (Bright Shiny Things, 2025) Benkan introduces Djékady, a superb six-piece ensemble co-led by Malian balafon maestro and singer Balla Kouyaté and American…

A weathered man in a wide straw hat sits against a sun-bleached green wall while sipping coffee from a white cup. The title Latin Café 2.0 and the artist name “Malamañoso” appear in stylized lettering on the left.

Music videos Single reviews

Tasty Menu

Tom Orr December 3, 2025 No Comments Latin American music Latin jazz Malamañoso world fusion world music

An array of Latin American music styles are seamlessly fused on “Latin Café 2.0,” a cool/warm/hot piece of work by Malamañoso out of Italy.

The cover of Sanctuary by the Chicago Immigrant Orchestra features an upward view of a massive tree, its twisting branches stretching toward the sky. Set against a deep purple border.

Album reviews

Charming Cross-Cultural Teamwork, Chicago Immigrant Orchestra’s ‘Sanctuary’

Angel Romero December 2, 2025 No Comments Chicago Immigrant Orchestra world fusion world music

Chicago Immigrant Orchestra – Sanctuary (Wahdude Music, 2025) Chicago Immigrant Orchestra has released Sanctuary, an eclectic, boundary-blurring album focused on preserving folk songs rooted in…

ODUCHU — Nostalgia cover artwork. The album title and artist in white lettering over a green background.

Charts

Tuvan Duo ODUCHU Tops 2025 Russian World Music Chart

World Music Central News Room December 2, 2025 No Comments Alexandra Arbatskaya Alexey Kruglov Anna Hoffman Arkady Kirichenko Arkady Shilkloper Chuvash band DIVA Ensemble “Lestvitsa”"Ensemble Krasnaya Gorka Folk Ensemble “Ere-Chuy”Ivan KIT Karina Kozhevnikova NUKER Nytt Land Oduchu PEVCHAYA Pyotr Talalay Russian music Sergey Letov Tatyana Kalmykova Tatyana Molchanova Trio “Zalessky Jazz”Tuvan music Vladimir Volkov world fusion world music Zhenya Wind

The Russian World Music Chart (RWMC) has announced its Top 10 Russian world music albums of 2025. Nostalgia by ODUCHU took the No. 1 spot.…