Music from Albania – Gena

Gena is an albanian musician from Berat. His music is a great mix of pop, folk and acoustic sounds. Listen to his fantastic song “Aman”:

Music from Italia – Umberto Tozzi

Umberto Tozzi, born in 1952, is an Italian pop, rock and italo musician from Turin. Listen to his nice song “Ti Amo”, an Italian classic!

And a great remix:

Music from the US – Ingrid Michaelson

Ingrid Michaelson, born in 1979, is an US-american singer-songwriter from New York. Here style could be described as indie-pop, mixed with her nice voice! Listen to “You And I”:

Music from UK-Jamaica – Linton Kwesi Johnson

Linton Kwesi Johnson (aka LKJ) (born 24 August 1952, Chapelton, Jamaica) is a UK-based dub poet. He became the second living poet, and the only black poet, to be published in the Penguin Modern Classics series.His performance poetry involves the recitation of his own verse in Jamaican Patois over dub-reggae, usually written in collaboration with renowned British reggae producer/artist Dennis Bovell. His middle name, “Kwesi”, is Ghanaian.Johnson studied for a degree in sociology at Goldsmiths College in New Cross, London (graduating in 1973), which currently holds his personal papers in its archives; in 2004 he became an Honorary Visiting Professor of Middlesex University in London. In 2005 he was awarded a silver Musgrave Medal from the Institute of Jamaica for distinguished eminence in the field of poetry.While still at school Johnson joined the British Black Panther Movement, helped to organise a poetry workshop within the movement, and developed his work with Rasta Love, a group of poets and drummers.

Music from Guinea-Conakry – Mory Kanté

Mory Kanté (born 29 March 1950, Kissidougou, Guinea) is a vocalist and player of the kora harp. He was born into one of Guinea’s best known families of griot (hereditary) musicians. After being brought up in the Mandinka griot tradition in Guinea, he was sent to Mali at the age of seven years – where he learned to play the kora, as well as important voice traditions, some of which are necessary to become a griot. Here is the song “Moko”