What is fusion music?
While a lot of music can often contain influences from around the world, fusion music is a Style of music. in itself.
Fusion music is a blend of two or more styles of music. For example, rock and roll, which developed in the United States in the 1940s and 50s, is a fusion of gospel, jazz, rhythm and blues and country music.
Composers have been influenced by other world cultures throughout history, but pop fusions have become more common since the 1960s.
The following timeline includes some of the most notable fusion albums and artists since the 1960s.
Some examples of 20th century fusion projects and their origins are:
- Afro Celt Sound System - Irish traditional, West African traditional, electric dance
- Esperanza Spalding - Highly syncopated, lively Brazilian dance. with A genre of music that has swing and syncopated rhythms, and extended chords.
- Dizzy Gillespie and Machito - Afro-Cuban with jazz
- Buena Vista Social Club - fusion of African and South American elements with American guitar
- Capercaillie - Gaelic traditional with modern music technology Method of creating a specific musical sound using recording and studio technology.
- Demet Akalin - Turkish folk with Western Music which has general appeal and is often linked to styles of the 1950s. Driven by a strong rhythmic element.
- Nitin Sawhney - Asian with elements of jazz, electronica and other worldwide influences
The 1975 Queen song Bohemian Rhapsody is an example of where several musical styles are fused to produce a six-minute, through-composed song. A rhapsody is a one-movement work which includes a range of contrasting tonality, moods and colour. After the introduction, Bohemian Rhapsody includes a ballad, an operatic passage, a progressive rock section and finally the ending coda.
