Over the past 20 years, Denmark has acquired a whole new musical landscape: 200 bands that play music with non-western sounds and rhythms under the general category of "world music". The dominant styles are salsa, reggae and African music.

By Mik Aidt and Mikkel Hornnes

The "world music" category On 29 June 1987, a new genre was born. On that day, a meeting was held by a group of people including representatives of British recording companies, music stores, radio staff and the music industry. They had one problem in common: they needed a shelf on which to place the many different records which were increasingly arriving from all corners of the musical globe. - Was salsa "jazz"?  No. - Should salsa be filed under "rock" or "pop"? No! - Salsa was salsa. But there were still too few salsa records for it to be given a category of its own in the record shops. Many other styles had the same problem: samba, soukous, tango, flamenco, Arabian music and various combinations of ethnic and electronic genres. Each was too small on its own to make much of an impact on record sales and the media. In 1986, with his million-selling 'Graceland' album, Paul Simon has shown that there was a large audience for these new and different sounds from the Third World. The small recording companies selling African, Asian and South American music realised that they had to find a label under which to market this kind of music. "World Beat" and "Tropical Music" were proposed, but the most popular suggestion was "World Music". And that was how many kinds of electronic dance music and acoustic folk music from all sorts of countries, and from the cities as well as the villages, became bundled together under the umbrella of a single genre. On the one hand, they had very little in common; but on the other, the decision to market them under the single category of "world music" has certainly paid off. Sales of recordings in the "world music" sections of the shops and on-line stores have been rising steadily ever since, and throughout the western world there are record shops, music organisations, radio channels, magazines and trade shows that deal exclusively with the genre. That's also how it is in Denmark today, 20 years later; there are more than 200 bands and at least 1,500 musicians in Denmark playing so-called "world music", represented by a genre association, World Music Denmark, which receives an annual state grant of DKK 2 million (EUR 270,000). The non-western musical genres have acquired a foothold, and the bands have been made visible and provided with subsidies.		Jorge Cordero
The Danish world music scene If you were to ask how world music is faring in Denmark, we would have to divide the answer into at least ten separate areas, as it makes no sense to speak of the condition of the Danish world music scene as a whole. Danish world music is not a single milieu or genre, but a wealth of different scenes and genres which have nothing in common beside the fact that they – more or less by choice – operate under the "world music" category. While some world music genres are enjoying rapid growth, others seem to be in decline. For the sake of clarity, we will divide the Danish world music scene into ten areas: 1.  Salsa There have been professional salsa bands in Denmark since the early eighties, but it is only in the last ten years or so that the genre has really begin to grow. Couple dancing has come back into fashion in Denmark, and salsa has become particularly popular, with lessons on offer at many evening classes and clubs up and down the country. At the same time, Cuban music – helped along by the film and record 'Buena Vista Social Club' – has tempted thousands of Danes out onto the dance floor, and talented Cuban musicians have arrived here and energised the scene. Today, Denmark can boast a handful of top salsa bands who can really "deliver the goods" with full rhythm and brass sections, and who are capable of generating enthusiasm even among discerning Cubans in their homeland. Examples include: Grupo Danson Cordero y Su Team Latino  Latin Dance Band Candela Orquesta Llego la Hora and Salsa Na’ Má Copenhagen has two night clubs presenting only salsa bands, and there are more than 20 "salsateques" in Denmark, eight of them in Copenhagen. 2.  Reggae There has been an interest in reggae in Denmark ever since Bob Marley's days of glory at the end of the 1970s. In the Copenhagen area there are often concerts of Jamaican music for reggae fans, thanks especially to the people behind Sky Juice Promotions, who received the jury's special prize at the 2006 Danish World Awards, and who since the early 1990s have organised many concerts with Danish and foreign performers. Recently, they have also begun to run events at The Rock  – a music venue with the right kind of intimate atmosphere for reggae music. While there are a number of reggae sound systems in Denmark, the number of performing bands is relatively small. The success of innovative dancehall names has however inspired optimism among the genre's organisers: Bikstok Røgsystem  Natasja  The reggae scene has left its old hash-smoking image behind, and has thereby opened the door to new fans in an ever wider section of the population. 3.  Brazilian genres The Danes adopted Brazilian samba rhythms 25 years ago – as though they were rediscovering long-forgotten medieval Shrovetide traditions – at the city carnivals, which are now organised each year in the country's three largest cities. Copenhagen has had an annual carnival with Brazilian music since 1981, and Aalborg since 1982; both have over time grown into major musical events. There are many active samba groups with both musicians and dancers. Out of this environment has grown an interest in related genres such as the martial arts dance capoeira, as well as samba-reggae, frevo, forró and maracatu. There are also several Brazilian singers in Denmark who write and perform their own music: Silvana Malta Vanja Santos Carla Alexandar José Carlos II Danish jazz musicians and ensembles such as Jonas Johansen, Thomas Clausen and the DR Big Band have in recent years shown an interest in Brazilian music, which has resulted in some fine concerts and CD releases. In addition, there are a number of 'café bands', typically consisting of Danes who play bossa nova cover numbers. 4.  Tango & flamenco For those who would like to learn couple dancing, but feel that salsa is too hectic and sweaty, tango represents a stylish alternative. The number of tango ensembles in Denmark is small – which, however, does not make the innovative band: Tango Orkestret The flamenco scene in Denmark is characterised by relatively few performing bands and active dancers, who, although few in number, are extremely dedicated and are happy to take on not merely the music and dance, but also the entire accompanying lifestyle. As a result, a visit to one of the country's flamenco clubs can feel like a cultural teleportation to Spain. Armed with a glass of sherry, the casual visitor can expect to encounter some intense experiences here. Such events mainly take place in small flamenco clubs, but records are also occasionally released by Danish flamenco artists, who may also perform across the boundaries of genres in other contexts, such as in Oriental Mood's "Oriental Cut" project. 5.  African music African music in Denmark once meant djembe-drumming Africans in batik-dyed clothes teaching Danish women to dance – clad in equally authentic African clothes. Now, however, thanks to a number of talented musicians the scene has a great deal more to offer: Moussa Diallo Nana Osibio Ayi Solomon Basiru Suso  Tchando  Dawda Jobarteh The most prominent African names on the Danish world music scene come from West Africa, typically Ghana and Mali, and exciting new hybrids arise in collaboration with Danish jazz musicians, etc. Every year in June, a small African music festival is held in a park in Copenhagen, and attracts an audience of more than 500 people. Interest in African music hit a peak at the end of 1980s and during the 1990s, when three major 'Images of Africa' festivals were held. After a slack period, it now appears to be enjoying a revival. In 2006, Sylvester Agbedoglo, originally from Togo, received the prize for 'World Music Track of the year'. 6.  Middle Eastern music The Middle Eastern music scene in Denmark is larger than it might appear from the relatively sparse number of advertised concerts in Middle Eastern musical genres. The approximately 200,000 immigrants from the Middle East living in Denmark generally hire their own countrymen when they require music for weddings or parties. In the late summer of 2006, the festival Images of the Middle East offered more than 100 concerts with Middle Eastern ensembles in nine different towns. The audiences at these events displayed an enthusiastic interest in the music, particularly in the larger cities, where many concerts were sold out. The explanation of why so few Danes play Middle Eastern music – and why there are so few teachers of Middle Eastern instruments – should perhaps be sought elsewhere. On the other hand, young Danish women have shown a great interest in learning belly dancing; it is said that more than 20,000 women actively practise belly dancing in Denmark. One of the country's very few outwardly-directed exponents of Middle Eastern genres in Denmark are: Oriental Mood and Aida Nadeem - their Danish-Iranian singer (who is partly resident in Spain)  7.  Balkan & klezmer Interest in Balkan music is on the rise. The current enthusiasm for this music can to a large extent be ascribed to the two films 'Underground' and 'Black Cat, White Cat' by the former Yugoslavian director Emir Kusturica. At the same time, two gypsy musicians resident in Denmark, have inspired many Danes with their enthusiastic playing: Lelo Nika - the Serbian accordion player George Mihalache - the Romanian dulcimer player  Also experiencing increasing popularity is the klezmer genre. The leading and most personal Danish exponent is the singer: Channe Nussbaum At the bottom of this page, under ‘Distribution & Sales', you can read about a klezmer success that, in just a few weeks, set a Danish record for sales of world music CDs. Instrumental klezmer bands are now sprouting up everywhere, and several younger jazz musicians have shown an interest in experimenting with Balkan styles, gypsy music and klezmer. Despite the fact that there is a large group of ex-Yugoslavians in Denmark, the vast majority of ensembles playing this kind of music on the established music scenes consist of ethnic Danes. 8.  Boundary crossing There are naturally – and fortunately – some bands that are difficult to place in any particular category, because they play a mix of musical influences from east, west, north and south. Two such Danish world music bands which have a long history behind them, and which have been of great importance on the scene, are: Pierre Dørge's New Jungle Orchestra - has existed for more than 25 years and functioned for a while as Denmark's official state ensemble, drawing inspiration from both Asia and West Africa. Bazaar - whose music is mainly based on Balkan traditions, are veterans with more than 30 years behind them. World On A String - mixing Indian, Balkan and Irish music with blues and jazz, and have served this cocktail for, amongst others, 25,000 Chinese people at a festival in Beijing in 2006. In the borderland between jazz and world music we find: Dalia Faitelson - from Israel  who lives and releases her records in Copenhagen and has won international recognition for her compositions. There is also a great deal of interest within the lounge, ambient and electronica scenes for 'ethnic spice', although they may not necessarily call the result 'world music' – many exponents of these genres would in fact prefer to avoid the label. Two of the country's leading names in this area are: Out of Phase Bliss Bliss's Danish recording company, Music for Dreams has also signed a number of other world music-interested lounge DJs and duos. 9.  Nordic world music Music with its roots in traditional Danish folk music is enjoying great success at the moment. Several artists now regularly tour in other European countries, as well as in Japan and the USA: Haugaard & Høirup Instinkt Phønix In 1996, a folk music course was established at the Carl Nielsen Academy of Music in Odense. Many Danish folk musicians are currently receiving an extra boost from the campaign Danish Roots, which began in 2006 and will last for three years. The campaign aims to market Danish music abroad, in recognition of the fact that the talent pool in this area has acquired great potential. Haugaard & Høirup, Instinkt and Eivør Palsdottir from the Faroe Islands have been chosen to spearhead the project. 10.  Asian music Many immigrants from Asia, especially China and Thailand, have made their home in Denmark, and some play the music of their home countries. By and large, however, they do this "hidden" from the surrounding society, and as a result relatively little Asian music is to be heard on the Danish music scene. The most visible exponents of Asian music are those who play classical Indian music and the Vietnamese musicians who have played with Danish-Vietnamese pianist Niels Lan Doky, but more poppish sounds, inspired by bhangra and desi music from London, can be heard on the underground scene.		Latin Dance Band                             Bikstok Røgsystem                                   Tango Orkestret                                   Aida Nadeem                                   New Jungle Orchestra
Ethnic music in Denmark Salsa and reggae are without doubt the two most dominant ethnic genres around. There are night clubs, music venues, radio programmes and record shops which specialise exclusively in one of these two genres. But beneath the surface, more or less hidden away in private homes and among small groups of enthusiasts, many other musical genres are flourishing which never achieve great visibility in the media or among the general public. During the period 2005-2006, the genre organisation ‘World Music Denmark’ undertook a study of musicians among immigrant communities in Denmark's three largest cities. These were especially characterised by North African and Middle Eastern immigrants. In the concluding report, Anna Lilje Flyverbom stated that the overall picture was one of "ethnic music milieux which are relatively isolated both from each other and from the majority community in Denmark. Most play with musicians of the same ethnic origin as themselves, and perform mainly for their own ethnic groups. Some perform with people of mixed ethnic origin or for multi-ethnic audiences, but the vast majority move within their own circles, which typically have a religious or ethnic association as their linchpin." If you want to learn more about such musical sub-cultures in Denmark, you would probably have to be able to decode a poster in Urdu or Arabic at the local greengrocer's. The report divides the musicians into two groups: those who play for fun or for money at traditional celebrations in their communities, and those who are more ambitious about their music and would like to tackle new pathways with it. In the report, 'World Music Denmark' proposes a number of initiatives which might enable the latter group to step forward and become part of the Danish world music scene.		Phønix
More world music at music venues Considering its modest population of 5.4 million people, Denmark possesses a fair number of music venues which present concerts of world music. In the capital, the venue Global is particularly well known for presenting world music to Copenhageners. Danish and – mainly – foreign names perform concerts here almost weekly, followed by night club sessions at which DJs and VJs take over. Outside the capital, there are also some music venues which highlight the world's musical diversity, notably Gimle in the small West Sealand town of Føllenslev, which continually organises concerts with international stars, who play to packed houses – something of an achievement when you consider the rural location. At the time of writing, the trend is for more and more smaller music venues to open up to world music, particularly because of its association with dancing. An old pub may suddenly start organising regular concerts with an African house orchestra, or a café may put reggae bands on the poster once a month. Salsa dancing has been growing in popularity over the last ten years, to the point that almost any company that claims to keep up with the times has invited a salsa dancing instructor to a company party, and it has also become normal for salsa bands to be booked at small rural venues. A new world music network has been established in Denmark between certain music venues and a world music club, Club Chico, which works to promote awareness of world music. The music venues involved are Stars in Vordingborg, Gimle in Roskilde and Vega in Copenhagen. The idea is that it can be of benefit to music venues to co-operate to promote and book exciting, high-quality world music acts. Over the past fifteen years, a special tradition has emerged in Denmark for holding major 'Images' festivals every third year, with a total budget of around DKK 50 million. These festivals and their impact in the media have helped to raise the profile of specific musical areas, such as African, Asian and Middle Eastern music, in Denmark. In 2006, the festival Images of the Middle East sold more than 200,000 tickets for performances of Middle Eastern music, dance and drama. Roskilde Festival takes place every summer and attracts more than 100,000 music fans; for the last ten years, a number of the world's biggest names in world music have been presented on the 'Ballroom' stage. Copenhagen carnival, held each spring in the park of Fælledparken, is now an event at which a wealth of Danish world music bands give up to 100 concerts over three days. For 2007, Roskilde Festival has decided to close the Ballroom stage and instead present the world music acts on the other stages. Something similar has occurred at DR, the Danish Broadcasting Corporation, where the management decided in 2001 to cancel  'Global Beat', the weekly world music radio magazine on P3, the country's largest pop station, which had been presenting news from the genre every Monday evening for twelve years. Now world music is presented in the mainstream programmes, not just on Monday evenings. The same trend is visible everywhere: world music is breaking out of its shell. The music has proved its value, and certain artists and genres have become so popular that they have entered the ranks of the mainstream. The label "world music" is thus gradually losing its meaning as the area's styles are being integrated and merged into broader pop music.
Distribution and sales of world music The record industry has fallen on hard times, partly because of pirate copying, and partly due to the Internet and other means of digital distribution, and this slump has also affected the world music scene. Worldbeat, Denmark's only distribution company exclusively devoted to world music, was recently forced to close, and the few record shops selling world music are faced with a tough struggle to survive. The artists, on the other hand, are finding new paths. Take for example the ska band Babylove & the Van Dangos who through their activities and network at the website Myspace.com  have managed to obtain gigs in Japan, and have now played 90 concerts around Europe.   Or take a look at the Klezmer band Klezmofobia, which set a new Danish record recently, not just for sales of klezmer, but for Danish world music generally. At the end of 2006 they launched a new album at the remarkably low price of DKK 20 (EUR 3.00) – a seventh of the normal price of a CD. The CD was made and marketed by the recording company Tiger Music, and was sold in 55 "Tiger" shops (pound shops) all over the country. The newly-founded Tiger Music recording label initially released four CDs with four different acts, including one by Danish-Cuban musician Alex Mendez, and it is interesting to note that the two world music releases were the clear favourites among the buying public. For Klezmofobia, this has turned out to be an incredibly effective marketing tool; in the first two weeks alone, their CD 'Tantz!' sold 1,500 copies. It was soon sold out all over the capital, and a few months after its release, around 5,000 copies had been sold. In this way, the band proved that there was renewed interest in the genre even outside the ranks of dedicated world music fans.  This may be a by-product of the general trend towards globalisation, or perhaps people's ears have just become more accustomed to unfamiliar sounds. In the case of Klezmofobia, the effects of this new openness could also clearly be seen at the hip Copenhagen night club 'Rust', where an audience that had barely heard of klezmer began to dance chain dances when their usual DJ, as a surprise, was suddenly replaced by the band. In 2003 the banghra hit 'Mundian To Bach Ke' (See: www.youtube.com) had all the young people in the discotheques dancing with Indian movements, just as 'Ye Ké Ye Ké', 20 years ago, introduced an African folk melody to even the most exclusive discotheques - for the first time in European musical history. The strength of world music is its diversity. When pop music grows too boring and begins to ossify in continual self-repetition, world music again and again turns out to be full of stimulating input and unusual and interesting ideas. As far as anyone can see, its resources are inexhaustible. This article has been produced in co-operation with the periodical Djembe: www.djembe.dk
Links World Music Denmark Wikipedia – the free encyclopaedia: article on “world music”