Beyond the Horizon - Various Artists

When Charlie Gillett died back in 2010, he left behind a substantial legacy of music journalism, criticism, and promotion. In addition to writing books and magazine articles, Gillett clocked in many years as a DJ. At first it was Anglophone rock & pop music but, starting in the mid-80s, he began introducing audiences to music from around the world.

His Wikipedia biography says that he started spinning what became known as “world music” records in the 1980s on Capitol Radio’s A Foreign Affair program. In the mid-1990s he moved to BBC Radio and hosted various shows until his death with names like Charlie Gillett's World of Music, World on 3, and Sound of the World.

World music is a tricky thing. It’s not a genre but rather more of a musical neighborhood where singers and musicians from around the world can find a home. For me it’s music with non-American/non-English elements, in a nutshell. But this is a very nebulous concept as our cultural influence spreads its tendrils over the whole globe and the mixtures that result can be difficult to categorize.

For instance, I listen to a podcast from Radio Poland called Soundcheck featuring various Polish musicians. It is striking to hear Polish ensembles play jazz that is indistinguishable from that performed here by Americans and pop music that is no different from the stuff Miley Cyrus offers us save for the singing is in Polish.

Does this stuff count as world music? Or would that designation be reserved for the likes of Warsaw Village Band?

Beginning in 2000 and until 2009, Gillett curated the annual release of double CD sets featuring music from around the globe. Here we have the 2008 edition called Beyond the Horizon.

I cannot vouch for what Gillett played on his radio shows but here he presents the listener with pop music, for the most part. There are no Lomax-like field recordings of illiterate villagers who don’t know what the internet is playing songs that have been passed down since time immemorial on handmade instruments. This is slick pop music recorded in a studio with modern technology.

The first disc starts off with a series of upbeat tunes and “Els Nens Sense Memòria” by Almasäla is a highlight. An insistent electronic beat is adorned with flamenco guitar flourishes as singer Paloma Diaz wraps her sensual voice around the Catalan lyrics. A nice mix of new and traditional. “Ngamen” by Justin Adams and Juldeh Camara follows. Adams is a British guitar player whose often bluesy licks sit comfortably next to the Gambian instruments that Camara brings to the table to make for a wonderful melding of styles and sounds. Toumani Diabaté is a Malian virtuoso on the kora, a West African stringed instrument. His “Ismael Drame” is stately and beautiful and made me think of him as the West African Anthony Phillips.

Other highlights of the first disc are Gert Vlok Nel’s “Beautiful in Beaufort-Wes” with its intimate and slightly plaintive feel that brought Townes Van Zandt to mind, though not as doleful as the Texas troubadour. And there’s “Beyond the Horizon (Ofiq Artinda)” by Zulya whose enchanting voice is at the fore here as a simple plucked rhythm slithers along nicely.

The second disc begins with “Sunagaal” by Senegalese hip hop star Awadi. It’s a reminder of just how influential American culture is. He may not be rhyming in English, but the music is just like the hip hop streamed into countless headphones here. Axel Krygier, from Buenos Aires, contributes the intriguing “Dónde Estarás Hermanita”. He throws everything but the kitchen sink on top of a generally laid back beat that is accompanied by some energetic rhythm guitar. Horns give way to a chorus of singers which yields to a short diversion on tubular bells which, in turn, make way for some hectic xylophone.

“Ndeleng Ndeleng” from the legendary Senegalese group Orchestra Baobab features some great drumming which moves the song along as well as wonderful harmony vocals. Brazilian singer Céu sounds soulful and sultry on “Bobagem” with its simple beat and spare instrumentation.

All told, Beyond the Horizon features artists from 28 countries and, while I liked some songs better than others, I thought this was a nice set overall of pop songs from lands whose music does not make the hit parade here in the United States. Gillett penned the liner notes and he gives us a bit about each song written in a very casual way, one music fan to another. A little biographic blurb is followed by a description of the music and then he adds color. One moment he recounts hearing a musician for the first time in a taxi outside of Marrakech and the next he’s giving the briefest of summaries about the political conditions of the homeland of another musician.

It was interesting to me to hear the influence of American pop music on the songs here and to try and tease out what the artists' native cultures added to the mix. But a listener who simply wants a good beat or tempting melody instead of trying teasing out which culture contributed what will find much to love here.