SunNeverSetsOnMusic's World Tour of music goes all over the globe this time, with our round-up of the worlds top selling folk artists, based on the Transglobal World Music Chart, July 2026​ Our World Tour #22 - World Music Chart 2026 includes album reviews, Spotify playlists and YouTube videos for albums from TWMC's July 2026 top forty. About TWMC Transglobal World Music Chart (TWMC) was conceived in the Spring of 2015 by Ángel Romero (WorldMusicCentral.org, USA), Araceli Tzigane and Juan Antonio Vázquez (Mundofonías, Spain) with the objective to create a network of music critics, who are working on a regular basis, spreading world, roots, traditional music… in any kind of media. It has a real global approach, including representatives from most regions, with a very inclusive point of view. TWMC produces a list of albums, a chart, each month and also at the end of the year, selected according to quality. The panel is envisioned to include any good quality production, recorded in any country, including self-productions and small label releases. ​

CLICK TO OPEN OUR NAIDOC 2026 PLAYLIST & REVIEWS This week we celebrate NAIDOC Week (National Aborigines and Islanders Day Organising Committee) with our updated annual playlist that highlights the diverse excellence of Australia's indigenous musicianship. Albums included in this year's playlist, drawn from new new releases in the past few years, include: Andrew Gurruwiwi Band - "Sing Your Own Song" Archie Roach - Songs From The Kitchen Table" Baker Boy - "DJANDJAY", Barkaa - "Big Tidda", Bumpy - "Kanana" Charlie Nees Braces - "NYAA WA" Christine Anu - "Waku - Minaral A Minalay" Cooee - "Messengers" Crown and Country - "Crown and Country" DOBBY - "Warrangu; River Story" Electric Fields x Melbourne Symphony Orchestra - "Live In Concert" Emily Wurramara - "NARA" Emma Donovan - "Till My Song Is Done" Emma Donovan - "Take Me To The River" Ernest Buckle - Mungoona "Mungoona Buckle (EP)" Gurrumul - "Banbirrngu - The Orchestral Sessions" ICONYX - "Blak On Trak" Jalgany - "Family" Jeeyun Lwoy - "Corey Boy Child" Jessica Mauboy - "Yours Forever" Jungaji - "Betting On Blak" Kallum ungulu - "Ngiya Ga Ngiya" Kankawa Nagarra - "Wirlmarni" Kee'ahn - "for me, for you x" King Stingray - "For The Dreams" Kobie Dee - "Chapter 26", Kutcha Edwards, Cash Savage and the Last Drinks - "Live At The Forum II" Kutcha Edwards,Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Brett Kelly - "Warta-Kiki: "Come Together" Maggie Tra - "Dancing Untethered" Maggie Tra - "Cyclo Theory" Miss Kaninna - "Kaninna" Mitch Tambo - "Tambo Jamz, Vol. 1" Mitch Tambo - "I Am Me" Mo'Ju, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra - "Double J Live at the Wireless - Hamer Hall Melbourne 2023" Naomi Pigram - "Otherside Of Town" Ngaiire, Sydney Symphony Orchestra - "Live at the Sydney Opera House" Ngulmiya - "Catalunya" Ngulmiya - "Ngulmia" Radical Son - "Bilambiyal" Ripple Effect Band - "Mayawa" Ruby Mae - "Baby" South Summit - "Run It Back" South Summit - "The Bliss" Stellar Moon - "Phases" Thelma Plum - "I'm Sorry, Now Say It Back" WAARI - "MUKI" Wildfire Manwurrk - "The Next Future" William Barton and Omega Ensemble - "Gift - Our Breath Of Life" William Barton & Joseph Tawadros - "History Has A Heartbreak" Yirinda - "Yirinda"​ Zipporah - "Naungu urui (EP)" 3% - "KILL THE DEAD" ​ There's a wide range of approaches from the spiritual to the profane, folk to hip-hop, country to urban. Select your favourite artists, discover new treasures or shuffle-play and enjoy! LINK TO OUR NAIDOC ALBUM REVIEWS PAGE click image to open NAIDOC.ORG.AU

Clare Wright's Historical Trilogy: Naku Dharuk The Bark Petitions How the people of Yirrkala changed the course of Australian Democracy Melbourne: Text Publishing. 2024. ISBN 9781922330864. The Forgotten Rebels of Eureka Melbourne: Text Publishing. 2013. ISBN 9781922147370. The Daughters of Freedom The Australians Who Won the Vote and Inspired the World. Melbourne: Text Publishing. 2018. ISBN 9781925603934. Clare Wright's trilogy presents a definitive, essential re-appraisal of Australian history, revealing the powerful, long-suppressed roles of women and Indigenous Australians in shaping modern democracy. Claire Wright is an award-winning Australian historian, author, and public commentator whose impressive portfolio of works continues to expand Australia's knowledge and understanding of its past, based forensic research and compelling, accessible prose. A Fellow of the Royal Historical Society of Victoria and a former ARC Future Fellow, her work consistently challenges established national narratives. Since her debut "Beyond the Ladies Lounge: Australia's Female Publicans". (Carlton, Victoria: Melbourne University Press. 2003. ISBN 9780522850710) Wright has specialized in uncovering the marginalized voices and ignored contributions of women and Indigenous peoples in pivotal moments of Australian history. She holds a Ph.D. from the University of Melbourne and has been praised for her commitment to a more inclusive and truthful understanding of the nation's past, establishing her as one of Australia's most vital contemporary historians. Considered collectively, her three most recent works operate as a cohesive, revisionist trilogy, meticulously deconstructing the foundation myths of modern Australia. Beginning with the forgotten female resistance at Eureka, moving through the suffragettes' often-untold struggles, in Australia and UK, and culminating in the seminal democratic action of the Yirrkala Bark Petitions, Wright provides an unflinching, updated narrative. The meticulous detail and vivid storytelling elevate history from dry academic text to a pulsating account of activism and courage. By centering the perspectives of women and Indigenous Australians, she doesn't just add new chapters, she rewrites the entire table of contents, offering a revelatory and necessary history that finally acknowledges the true diversity of Australia’s democratic pioneers. This is a must-read for understanding the nation. Read more... Claire Wright (Author's Website) Publisher: Text Publishing Goodreads Wikipedia (Claire Wright) YouTube Interview

We celebrate the life of Abdullah Ibrahim | Dollar Brand (9 October 1934 – 15 June 2026) One of the definitive giants of 20th-century music, Abdullah Ibrahim was a visionary pianist, composer, and cultural custodian. Born Adolph Johannes Brand in Cape To wn in 1934, he rose to local prominence as a young man classified as "Coloured" under apartheid, drawing deeply from the rich musical traditions that surrounded him. First and foremost, Ibrahim was a pianist of immense distinction, channeling the foundational music of his youth - the African Methodist Episcopal Church spirituals, traditional southern African melodies, the pulsating street rhythms of the Cape Town Klopse carnival, Indian classical music, and American jazz. Over the course of a career spanning more than seven decades, he forged a singular musical language that was at once unmistakably South African and profoundly universal. ​ Some of Ibrahim's most foundational work was produced early in his career prior to his forced exile. Writing for The Conversation, musicologist Christine Lucia notes that The Jazz Epistles - Jazz Epistle Verse 1 (1960) - recorded with Hugh Masekela, Jonas Gwangwa, Kippie Moeketsi, Johnny Gertze and Makaya Ntshoko - was the first full-length jazz LP recorded by Black South African musicians. It marked a watershed in the country's cultural history, capturing a dazzling hard-bop vitality just before the Sharpeville massacre and the escalating repression of apartheid scattered many of South Africa's finest jazz musicians into exile. ​ Yet perhaps no single work came to define Ibrahim's place in South African history more than Mannenberg (1974). Built upon an irresistibly flowing piano and sax motifs and infused with the rhythms of Cape Town, the composition transcended jazz to become an unofficial anthem of the anti-apartheid movement. While never conceived as an overt protest song, Mannenberg came to embody resilience, dignity and hope, its melodies echoing through township streets, political gatherings and community spaces as a soundtrack to the struggle for freedom. Few instrumental compositions have become so deeply woven into a nation's political and cultural consciousness. ​ What truly cemented Ibrahim's legacy, however, was his refusal ever to become a museum piece. He regarded music not as a career to be completed, but as an endless spiritual discipline - a lifelong search for truth, beauty and inner balance. He never stopped composing, performing, learning or teaching. Even as he continued performing into his eighties and nineties, his technical command remained remarkable while his music became ever more distilled, spacious and contemplative. On late-career masterpieces such as Senzo (2008), The Balance (2019), and the beautifully minimalist live trio recording 3 (2024), he stripped away everything unnecessary, leaving behind profoundly moving meditations on memory, displacement, faith and grace. ​ In his later years, Ibrahim became an equally important educator and cultural custodian, establishing music education initiatives after returning to South Africa and dedicating himself to mentoring younger generations of musicians. He encouraged students to pursue not only technical excellence but also a deep understanding of history, identity and the spiritual purpose of music itself. He leaves behind one of the most remarkable bodies of work in modern music - a catalogue that chronicles survival, exile, homecoming and the enduring capacity of art to illuminate even the darkest moments of history. ​ Abdullah Ibrahim has left the stage, but his music continues to resonate across continents and generations. His quiet lyricism, unwavering humanity and lifelong devotion to beauty remind us that the greatest artists never truly disappear; they continue speaking through every note they leave behind. Direct Links To the Albums Featured: Abdullah Ibrahim - 3 (2024) Abdullah Ibrahim - Solotude (2021) Abdullah Ibrahim - Dream Time (2019) Abdullah Ibrahim - The Balance (2018) Abdullah Ibrahim - The Song Is My Story (2014) Dollar Brand - Verse 1+ (2014) Abdullah Ibrahim - Mukashi (2013) Abdullah Ibrahim - Sotho Blue (2010) Abdullah Ibrahim - Senzo (2008) A Celebration (2004) Dollar Brand - African Space Program (1991) Dollar Brand - Reflections (1986) Dollar Brand - African Marketplace (1980) Dollar Brand Abdullah Ibrahim - Mannenberg Is Where It's Happening (1973) Abdullah Ibrahim - African Piano Live at Jazzhaus Copenhagen 1969 (1973) The Jazz Epistles - Jazz Epistle Verse 1 (1960)

This month Sun Never Sets On Music visits Morocco, as we continue our tour of the globe in search of the best music worldwide. Morocco has a special place in SunNeverSetsOnMusic's heart - after all, we spent a few good years living there and we were enchanted by the architecture, the music, the culture and the wonderful people of this timeless land. For this month's playlist, we have collected our favourite music from some of the many musical streams that are heard in Morocco. Selections range from Amazigh (Berber), Andalusian (Arabic Iberian) and Chaabi (Popular Music) to Gnawa (Desert Blues), Malhun (Poetry), Sufi (Devotional Trance) and more. ​ The scope of Moroccan music is breathtaking and we have most likely missed many "essential" artists, if not entire genres. Nonetheless, we hope you enjoy our selections and we look forward to the next stop on our world tour. Link to Web Page Direct Link To Spotify Playlist

Sun Never Sets On Music's never-ending World Tour heads to India and finds a contemporary musical underground that offers an astonishing wealth of music. Away from the massive commercial gravity of Bollywood (the mainstream film industry) and conventional commercial pop, Indian independent artists are fundamentally reshaping subcontinental music. Over recent years, the region's most influential breakthroughs have occurred in the spaces where classical Hindustani and Carnatic frameworks collide with avant-garde electronics, dark ambient textures, jazz fusion, radical hip-hop, and post-rock. Our World Tour #19 India 2026 includes album reviews, playlist and youtube videos for around thirty exciting, ground-breaking artists.

From all around the world, imagine a playlist of the most beautiful, angelic music. This is it! or Click album covers below to open individual albums in Spotify Click album covers above to open individually in Spotify or

SunNeverSetsOnMusic's World Tour heads north this month to Norway, where we’ve uncovered a striking array of bold, genre-defying albums from artists working across experimental jazz, electronic minimalism, indigenous Sámi traditions, progressive pop, and more. Many of these musicians are expanding Norway’s rich musical heritage into new, internationally resonant territory. Officially known as the Kingdom of Norway, the country stretches over the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, bordering Sweden, Finland, and Russia, and boasting a rugged coastline carved by majestic fjords and dotted with over 50,000 islands. Norway covers an area of 385,207 square kilometres (148,729 square miles), making it one of Europe's most sparsely populated countries. With a population of just over 5.5 million, it ranks high globally in quality of life, education, and environmental sustainability. From Oslo’s cutting-edge music scenes to the ancient joik of the Sámi people in the Arctic north, this month’s playlist celebrates a musical culture where tradition and innovation coexist in luminous harmony. Expect the elemental and extraordinary! click to choose: WEB PAGE / YOUTUBE / SPOTIFY

SunNeverSetsOnMusic's World Tour visits Indonesia this month, where we were treated to a vast wealth of innovative sounds across many genres, including many artists whose work merges local and regional musical heritage with contemporary, international sounds. The Republic of Indonesia is spread across an archipelago that comprises over 17,000 islands - including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guinea. Indonesia is the world's largest archipelagic state and the 14th-largest country by area, at 1,904,569 square kilometres (735,358 square miles). With over 280 million people, Indonesia is the world's fourth-most-populous country and the most populous Muslim-majority country. Java, the world's most populous island, is home to more than half of the country's population. Expect the unexpected and sublime. Follow the links below and enjoy the music! click to choose:

SunNeverSetsOnMusic's World Tour returns to Australia this month, to capture the best albums released here in the second half of 2024. It's another impressive output to add to the many albums released in the first half of the year and captured in our World Tour #6 - Australia's Best New Albums (Jan - Jun '24). Highlights include albums by Allysha Joy, Ela Thompson, Emily Wurramara, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, The Necks, Paul Kelly and Parvyn but there are many many more too. So check out our full list - there's fabulous music throughout. We hope you enjoy them all! Here are three ways to do so - Link to SunNeverSetsOnMusic Web Page Read extracts from reviews of each album and link to the original source Link to Spotify Playlist All albums are included in full. Play the entire album or set Spotify to "shuffle" Link to YouTube Playlist One track from each album, with a video or audio subject to availability.

If you thought German music was still cabaret and beer-halls, krautrock and EDM, think again! There's still some of that but there's a wider range of music coming out of Germany these days. (And it's not only from Berlin, which nearly half a century later still attracts musicians from all around the world seeking inspiration on the streets where Nico, Nina, Bowie, Eno, Iggy, U2, Nick Cave, Pixies, REM ... lived and loved and recorded). So, for the tenth instalment of our 2024 World Tour we present a selection of music from Germany. LINK TO SUNNEVERSETSONMUSIC'S BERLIN MUSIC ALBUMS WEBPAGE LINK TO SUNNEVERSETSONMUSIC'S SPOTIFY PLAYLIST LINK TO SUNNEVERSETSONMUSIC'S YOUTUBE PLAYLIST

34 RECENT FLAMENCO ALBUMS - ESSENTIAL LISTENING LINK TO FLAMENCO ALBUMS WEBPAGE LINK TO SPOTIFY PLAYLIST Spain is surely one of the most musical places of them all and Flamenco is a cultural jewel of Spain. Originating in Andalusia, southern Spain, in the 18th century, flamenco emerged as a unique art form deeply influenced by the region's diverse cultural heritage, blending Romani, Moorish, Jewish, and Andalusian folk traditions. Over time, flamenco evolved into a globally celebrated performance art, encompassing singing (cante), guitar playing (toque), and dance (baile), accompanied by rhythmic hand-clapping (palmas) and finger-snapping (pitos). Its ability to convey deep emotions and narrate stories of struggle, love, and resilience has made flamenco a powerful symbol of cultural identity. For much of its history, flamenco thrived as a subculture among society's underprivileged, serving as an outlet for the poor and oppressed. This marginalization likely influenced its initial lack of instrumental accompaniment, as the impoverished performers could not afford guitars. Instead, flamenco developed as a familial tradition, shared during intimate gatherings such as weddings, christenings, and secret parties, where its techniques and styles were passed down through generations. It wasn't until the latter half of the 19th century that flamenco began to transition into a public performance art. The rise of the café cantante (precursors to modern flamenco tablaos) in Andalusia, and later Madrid, marked a significant turning point. This period, known as the Golden Age of Flamenco, also saw the introduction of the flamenco guitar as a standard instrument. The master luthier Antonio de Torres Jurado revolutionized its design to suit flamenco's dynamic needs, enhancing its volume to compete with the powerful voices of the cantaores (singers) and the percussive footwork of the bailaores (dancers). He achieved this by enlarging the guitar's body and using lighter woods, such as cypress, instead of rosewood. By the early 20th century, however, the popularity of the café cantante waned, and flamenco transitioned into larger venues like theaters and bullrings during the era of Ópera Flamenca. The Spanish Civil War (1936–1939) and the subsequent Franco dictatorship posed significant challenges to flamenco's survival. The Catholic Church condemned the art form as immodest, and informal performances were prohibited. In the 1950s, however, the Franco regime shifted its stance, recognizing flamenco's potential as a cultural symbol to attract international tourism. A marketing campaign promoting Spain as the land of exotic flamenco dancers proved highly successful, drawing millions of visitors and fueling an economic boom in the 1960s. By the time Franco's dictatorship ended in 1975, flamenco was deeply embedded in Spain's national identity. In 2010, UNESCO declared flamenco an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, recognizing its rich history, emotional depth, and cultural significance. From its humble beginnings as a voice for the marginalized to its status as a global symbol of Spanish culture, flamenco remains a testament to the resilience and creativity of the human spirit. Musical Structure and Styles Flamenco music is characterized by its intricate rhythms, expressive melodies, and improvisational nature. It comprises various palos (styles), each with unique rhythmic patterns, themes, and emotional tones. Common palos include the melancholic soleá, the festive alegrías, the dramatic seguiriya, and the lively bulerías. The singer (cantaor) plays a central role in flamenco, delivering soul-stirring lyrics that often explore themes of love, death, poverty, and the human spirit. These lyrics are deeply poetic, rooted in oral traditions, and typically sung with raw intensity. Guitar Spanish virtuoso Paco de Lucia can largely be credited with awakening the world to the mysterious power of the strong and proud emblem of Andalusia that is the flamenco guitar. A payo (non-gypsy) from Algeciras, he revolutionized the instrument at the end of the twentieth century and aside from his own illustrious career, inspired a new generation of gifted artists, who have carried flamenco into the 21st century.Flamenco guitarists employ techniques like rasgueado (strumming), picado (plucking), and golpe (tapping the guitar body) to create intricate, percussive soundscapes. The dancers (bailaores or bailaoras) add a visual dimension, using their body movements, footwork, and facial expressions to interpret the music's emotional depth.