Some music has a sound all its own, and really what do you call that? It’s not what you’d call world music exactly, and it’s certainly not something you’d consider “new age”, and really it’s not at all experimental. Yet it’s all of these. And it’s progressive rock… And it’s southern blues… And it’s entirely instrumental too.

In this video, Toubab Krewe offers us a 7 minute piece of what can really only be called, Music.
Good, Earth, Music.

Of special interest are the kora of Mali and the cigar-box banjo. Gotta dig the mad instrumentation and special blend of styles here. Enjoy the video, then Click Here to see another piece of world music.

When it comes to west African music, it is percussion instruments that usually come to mind, but don’t make the mistake of thinking that’s all there is to it. Aside from certain horns and flutes, the kora is another musical instrument native to west Africa.

A string instrument traditionally made from a large calabash, covered with cow skin, and played by storytellers and oral historians, the kora produces a beautiful sound similar to a harp. As for the origin of the kora, there is some uncertainty as to how long it has been around, but there is documentation of the instrument from 1799, and it is suspected that the kora may come from as far back as the 16th century.

After the video, Click Here to check out another world string instrument.