Music from the Central African Republic

The Central African Republic holds a remarkable range of musical traditions, including initiation songs, drum and dance ensembles, and the intricate polyphonic singing of Aka communities.

The music of the Central African Republic includes many different forms. Western rock and pop music, as well as Afrobeat, soukous and other genres have become popular nation-wide. The sanzais a popular instrument.

The Pygmies have a complex folk music tradition. Polyphony and counterpoint are common components, as is a varied rhythmic structure. The trumpet-based music of the Bandas has also gained some popularity outside of the area due to its jazzy structure. The Ngbaka use an unusual instrument called a mbela, which is made with an arched branch and a string strung between the two ends and held in front of the musician's mouth. When the string is struck, the mouth is used to amplify and modulate the tone. Instruments similar to the mbela are sometimes considered the oldest ancestors of all string instruments. 

Overview adapted from Wikipedia’s “Music of the Central African Republic” article.

The Ongo ensemble’s “Ndraje balendro” demonstrates music’s role in initiation and communal ceremony in the Central African Republic.

Aka polyphonic singing layers interlocking voices into a sophisticated communal form recognized as one of Central Africa’s great musical traditions.

Music from Cape Verde

Cape Verde is known internationally for morna, a form of folk music usually sung in the Cape Verdean Creole, accompanied by clarinet, violin, guitar and cavaquinho. The islands also boast funaná, coladeira, batuqueand zouk music. 

From Wikipedia.

Music from Canada

Canada’s music reflects Indigenous traditions, French and British histories, immigration, regional identity, and a remarkably influential modern popular scene spanning folk, rock, country, jazz, classical, and more.

The music of Canada has influences that have shaped the country.^[1] Aboriginals, the British, and the French have all made unique contributions to the musical heritage of Canada.^[2] The music has subsequently been heavily influenced by American culture because of its proximity and migration between the two countries.^[3] Since French explorer Samuel de Champlain arrived in 1605 and established the first permanent Canadian settlements at Port Royal and Quebec City in 1608, the country has produced its own composers, musicians and ensembles. 

Overview adapted from Wikipedia’s “Music of Canada” article.

Karin and Kathy Kettler demonstrate Inuit throat singing, a collaborative vocal tradition rooted in Indigenous communities of Canada’s Arctic.

The Tragically Hip’s “Ahead by a Century” carries the band’s unmistakably Canadian storytelling through one of its most beloved songs.

Nukariik offers another living example of Inuit throat singing in a public festival setting.

Joni Mitchell’s “Big Yellow Taxi” represents Canada’s internationally influential singer-songwriter tradition with wit, melody, and environmental urgency.

Music from Cameroon

Cameroon’s extraordinary musical diversity reflects hundreds of communities and languages, while makossa and bikutsi have become especially influential across Africa and the wider world.

The best-known Music of the Cameroon is makossa, a popular style that has gained fans across Africa, and its related dance craze bikutsi.
The pirogue sailors of Douala are known for a kind of singing called ngoso, which has evolved into a kind of modern music accompanied by zanza, balafon and various percussion instruments. 

Overview adapted from Wikipedia’s “Music of Cameroon” article.

Manu Dibango’s “Soul Makossa” carried a Cameroonian groove into global popular culture and became one of African music’s most influential recordings.

Anne-Marie Nzié, a foundational voice in Cameroonian popular music, connects modern song with the country’s linguistic and cultural heritage.