National Geographic Music (National Geographic)

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Take a guided tour of the world's weird and wild musical landscape with 15 handpicked favorites from the NGWM editorial staff. From the old Gaelic songs of Canada's Cape Breton Island and the rollicking Gypsy brass traditions of rural Romania to 21st century digital salsa and rock and roll from the edge of the Sahara, we've scoured the globe to bring back the best in world music.

Marta Gomez: "Tu"

Marta Gomez is an accomplished singer/songwriter from Colombia, currently living in New York City. Her music draws deep on the folkloric music of her homeland, and her original compositions are a living link between contemporary pop and the joropos and llaneros of Colombia's high plains.

Souad Massi: "Ghir Enta"

Souad Massi is an up-and-coming Algerian singer/songwriter based in France. Her deceptively breezy pop sound incorporates elements of Algerian rai, Spanish flamenco and even Congolese soukous, reflecting the rich musical melting pot of contemporary France.

Tinariwen: "Oualahila Ar Tesninam"

Tinariwen (pictured) are Taureg guitar-slingers and former anti-government rebels from northern Mali. The group first put down their arms and picked up their instruments while living in Libyan refugee camps. Today Tinariwen records blistering "desert rock" and tours the world.

Mariza: "O Gente da Minha Terra"

Mariza is one of the best of a recent crop of Portuguese fado divas. She follows in the footsteps of the great Amalia Rodrigues, infusing her music with all the drama, passion and pathos that gives fado music its luxurious melancholy.

Seu Jorge: "Mania de Peitao"

Best-known for his roles in the films City of God and The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou—where he knocked out audiences with his lilting samba versions of David Bowie classics—crooner Seu Jorge is one of Brazil's hottest new exports.

Mary Jane Lamond: "Cailleach Liath Ratharsaight"

Mary Jane Lamond's family hails from Cape Breton Island in Canada—a stronghold of Celtic language and tradition—and she has reclaimed her heritage by emerging as one of the most gifted interpreters of traditional Scots-Gaelic. Her gorgeous voice and smart, contemporary arrangements make this ancient language accessible to all.

Gigi Shibabaw: "Anten"

Ethiopian singer Gigi Shibabaw—known to her fans simply as Gigi—made big waves with her self-titled international debut in 2001. Her signature blend of dub, jazz and Amharic modalities took Ethiopian pop to a whole new audience.

Dengue Fever: "Sni Bong"

Based in Los Angeles, Dengue Fever recreates the lost golden age of Cambodian pop, mixing Khmer lyrics and tonalities—courtesy of Cambodian-American vocalist Chhom Nimol—with American-style rock and roll. The result is an exhilarating, disorienting collision of Eastern and Western pop.

Gokh Bi System: "Mission of Music"

Hailing from Dakar, Senegal, Gokh Bi system got their start as a local hip-hop crew, but by incorporating traditional instruments and styles into their music, the crew soon grew into a full-fledged band with a visionary global sound.

Sidestepper: "La Paloma"

In the '90s, British producer Richard Blair followed his ears to Colombia, where he first began fusing drum-n-bass and electronica with salsa, cumbia and other Colombian sounds. The result was the Sidestepper project, an excursion into 21st Century salsa, that's evolved from a studio project to a full touring band.

Tarika: "Koba"

Madagascar is home to species found nowhere else in the world, and its musical traditions are equally unique. Malagasy ensemble Tarika straddles the line between Malagasy pop and folk styles with ease and fluency, and lead singer Hanitra Rasoanaivo's voice and vision have made Tarika a longtime favorite on the international festival circuit.

Sabah Habas Mustapha: "Beber Layar"

Former member of British worldbeat pranksters 3 Mustaphas 3, Sabah Habas Mustapha has turned his attention to the wierd and wild world of Indonesian pop. Working with some of the finest dangdut players in Jakarta, he's recorded some of the most beautifully off-kilter compositions anywhere.

Kiran Ahluwalia featuring Natalie MacMaster: "Jhanjra"

Kiran Ahluwalia was born in India and raised in Canada, and returned to India as an adult to study the vocal art of the ghazal and Punjabi folk songs. Since her return to North America she has emerged as one of the brightest lights of contemporary South Asian music.

Fanfare Ciocarlia: "Hurichestra"

Fanfare Ciocarlia is one of Romania's most raucous Roma brass bands. Hailing from the tiny village of Zece Prajini, these world class musicians kick up a breakneck pace that few musicians can match, and were stars of the award-winning 2002 documentary Iag Bari: Brass on Fire.

Frank London's Klezmer Brass AllStars: "Wedding in Crown Heights"

Longtime member of New York klezmer pioneers The Klezmatics, trumpeter Frank London take the traditional Yiddish music even further with his side project, The Klezmer Brass AllStars. On "Wedding In Crown Heights" he plays it straight and celebrates klezmer as the living urban folk music of New York City's Hasidic community.