If there is any genre of music with even less concrete definition than Americana, it's ‘world music.’ At its core, world music is really just roots music that doesn't come from America, England, or Ireland. I've seen everything from traditional folk music to country to new age and even heavy metal labeled as world music. In this month's column, I've got three globe-spanning campaigns for music that could fall under the world music label.
Luna Keller- Death and All Her Enemies
Luna Keller certainly fits the “world” definition of world music. Born in Germany, her family moved to Spain when she was six months old. In 2022, she moved back to Leverkusen, Germany and began her life as a full-time musician, touring across Europe and building a social media following with her cinematic music videos and emotive vocals. This is Keller's third Kickstarter campaign, having successfully funded her previous two albums in 2023 and 2024, raising enough in 2023 to fund those provocative videos in addition to her album. Now she's taking a third run at crowdfunding, aiming to raise $12,000 for her third album Death and All Her Enemies. The album is a spiritual successor to 2024's Ocean Inside of Me. Where that album was an examination of depression and the journey from darkness to light, Death and All Her Enemies is about the acceptance that comes at the end of that path. To reach her goal, Keller has a number of Kickstarter backer perks on offer. The album is on offer in digital, CD, and vinyl formats, with both physical media limited to 300 hand-numbered copies. You can also get a backer's virtual listening party, behind the scenes vlogs from the studio, a one-hour virtual concert and Q&A session, and a custom song.
Folke Dahlgren and Amy Hakanson- Debut Album
If anyone on this month's list truly fits the world music genre definition, it's Folke Dahlgren and Amy Hakanson. The duo performs traditional songs from the Dalarna province of Sweden. Their instruments of choice are also traditional Swedish instruments, the spelpipa and kontrabasharpa. While these are both instruments steeped in Swedish tradition, they aren't often instruments heard together, making Dahlgren and Hakanson unique in their sound. The album has already been recorded and the duo is running a Kickstarter campaign with a $2,200 goal that they've already reached and are in stretch funding territory. The album is available for pre-order via this campaign in digital and vinyl formats, both coming with a digital booklet of sheet music of the album's arrangements. You can also get a one-hour music lesson, in-person or virtual, from either artist or a house concert.
Blue Rose Code, the brainchild of Edinburgh, Scotland-based singer-songwriter Ross Wilson, brings a level of maturity to their folk-pop sound that isn't often heard in that genre. A full-time musician for over 15 years, Wilson has released a number of EP and live albums and is now preparing his latest LP release, East of Eden, named for his favorite John Steinbeck novel. The songs on East of Eden range widely in subject material, from 12-step programs to paternal relationships, and even a song dedicated to Emily Dickinson. He has several short clips previewing the songs on his Kickstarter campaign page and they all sound great. Blue Rose Code is running a $21,000 Kickstarter campaign that they've already reached and are now stretch funding for. To meet the stretch goals, there are a number of campaign perks. You can get the album in digital, CD, or vinyl formats. You can also get a virtual “cup of coffee” chat with Wilson, a mention in the album's credits, a filmed solo recording of your favorite Blue Rose Code song including handwritten lyrics sheet, and an Executive Producer credit that gets you a preview of the masters and b-sides.
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