🌍 World Challenge 🌏

Hii! In short words, this "World challenge" is a project where I'm gonna listen to various albums from around the world, which are often overlooked in the west. I originally started it on albumoftheyear, but decided to move it here! Maybe more people will read it. I'm a guy from Poznań, Poland and a huge music nerd. I'm currently going through a Latin American music phase, so I'm gonna start this challenge in Latin America!

Here's a longer introduction, copied from albumoftheyear. You can find it here:

So… What even exactly is this World Challenge? Well, I have a plan to expand my music taste and listen to some music from around the world. I'm gonna pick about 10 albums from each continent, each one from a different country. I want to know the most influential artists from across the globe, who are often overlooked in the west. I also want to hear different musical traditions. It's quite an ambitious project (probably too ambitious) but we'll see.

Some time ago I didn't really think about any music outside of the Anglosphere. Like many people, I lived under the impression that the best music is what the internet tells you. I came across many projects that are considered classics on sites like rateyourmusic or this one, and they had one thing in common - they were mostly in English. I listened to non-English music too, but I didn't really dive into what their lyrics mean, or what their cultural importance is.

I think everything changed when I became absolutely obsessed with Mass Of The Fermenting Dregs, and then with the whole Japanese rock scene. Then came Omnipotent Youth Society, a Chinese rock band which has quickly become one of my favourites. Right now, I am very much into Latin American rock. I've also started to crave music that's just different from what I know. Music that mixes local traditions with genres I love, or even music that is devoid of any western influences.

I'm gonna be honest, I won't know how to talk about every single album here. I think I’m often gonna have the perspective of a white tourist discovering "exotic cultures". But hey, that's better than not listening to this "different" music at all!

Before I start, here are some notes:

I don't have any strict plan about which artist will be here and which will not. This challenge is gonna be fluid. I might add something along the way, I might even remove it.

I'm gonna stay in each country for about a week. I need this time mostly because I don't want to feel any pressure. I also want to "dive" into the albums as much as I can - read about their cultural importance, or maybe check some other stuff from that country.

Week #3 2026/07/02

🇧🇷 Brazil 🇧🇷 Milton Nascimento & Lô Borges - Clube da Esquina About this project

We’re going to Brazil.

“Clube da Esquina” is quite a phenomenon. It’s considered one of the most influential Brazilian albums and it has gained popularity both in Brazil and abroad. What’s worth noting is that “Clube da Esquina” (translated as “Corner Club”) is the name of both this album and the musical collective. The group was formed in the 1960s in Belo Horizonte - the capital of the Brazilian state Minas Gerais. This whole project was the result of the friendship of Milton Nascimento and Lô Borges - our two main album artists. The story of how they first met is pretty heartwarming. One day, 10-year old Lô went to the store and bumped into Milton, a ten year older guy who was playing guitar on the street. Lô became intrigued and talked to Milton. This chance encounter started a longtime friendship - Milton introduced himself to Lô’s parents, then he began to teach him guitar, and after some years “Clube da Esquina” was born.

Over the years Milton and Lô worked with various musicians, many of whom came from completely different musical fields. As a result, the music of “Clube da Esquina” became a blend of completely different genres one wouldn’t expect to find in one place. Most notably, it mixes Brazilian traditions, such as Samba or Bossa-nova, with western genres and trends of that time, such as rock and psychedelia. This internationality is one of the reasons why they became some of the most influential Brazilian artists. They were one of the first people who mixed so many different genres and blended Brazilian and western music. The reception of this novelty wasn’t very positive initially — people in Brazil haven’t heard music like this before. However, now they are considered one of the most important figures in the genre called MPB (Música Popular Brasileira) and gained international fame. The music of this group was, in fact, so influential, that many specialists consider it a whole new movement. Apart from Milton and Lô, there were over ten artists who worked on “Clube da Esquina” — each one of them added something new — this album is considered the realisation of their full potential. Among them are multi-instrumentalist Beto Guedes, Wagner Tiso, who has a background in classical music, Eumir Deodato, who’s responsible for the orchestration, and Toninho Horta, a prominent figure in Brazilian jazz. Milton has a bossa-nova background, while Lô was responsible for the more contemporary sounding songs.

I think we should also take a look at the political context of this album. Though its sound is magical and full of life, it was made in the middle of a very dark time for Brazil - a military dictatorship. I once heard a pretty interesting statement about these times - when an artist could not fight for freedom by being explicitly political, they could do it by giving hope to others, showing peace and love in their art. An interesting case of a Brazilian musician, who openly protested against the regime, was Chico Buarque. He created “Construção”, an album fully dedicated to the critique of the dictatorship (which, by the way, I wanted to review here before I discovered “Clube da Esquina”). His life was very turbulent, as he had to flee from the country, so there’s no wonder why most artists did not decide on an open protest. Clube da Esquina chose not to criticize the government, but to unite with the people - both through uplifting music and moving song lyrics. I think the best example is the first song, “Tudo Que Você Podia Ser” (“Everything You Could Be”) - it tells a story of a person who had big dreams, but lost them when the dictatorship came. This song, however, doesn’t have a mourning tone, it’s actually very uplifting. It tells that there will be bad and good times, and the fact that someone is still thinking freely is something to be proud of. “There's sun and rain on your road. (...) You still think and that's bettеr than nothing.”

Speaking of the album itself, I am deeply impressed how nearly every single song creates its own universe. And yet this album is much more than just a collection of diverse tracks. It’s like a constellation of many different worlds.

“O Trem Azul” (“The Blue Train”) is like a sweet, warm dream you don’t want to wake up from. “Um Girassol Da Cor De Seu Cabelo” (“A Sunflower the Color of Your Hair”) feels much more conscious. It has a piano progression that’s subtle, but really catches the eye, and an unexpected, dark twist in the middle. Both of these songs are made by Lô, and they both show the characteristics of The Beatles’ psychedelia. Another track by Lô worth mentioning is “Trem De Doido” (“Crazy Train”). It’s a rock song that’s both heavy and laid-back, with an incredibly crispy sounding guitar and the lyrics about inevitable changes.

Previously mentioned “Tudo Que Você Podia Ser” is an opener which serves its purpose perfectly. It feels like an introduction to the world of this album, especially with the catchy, acoustic guitar instrumental chorus. “Nuvem Cigana” (“Gypsy Cloud”) is one of my favourite ones - it has a rather complex vocal melody, yet it’s one of the most light-sounding songs on the album. The way string and brass orchestration subtly comes in is just perfect - it feels like, as the name suggests, flying in the clouds.

Some of the most light-hearted pieces here are “Cravo E Canela” (“Clove and Cinnamon”) and the both parts of “Saídas E Bandeiras” (“Exits and Flags”). The first one is a samba-influenced song with lyrics depicting an image of some yummy spices. “Saídas E Bandeiras” are two tracks that last about one minute and have a beautiful melody.

Opposite to the previous tracks, we have “San Vicente”, “Os Povos” (“The People”) and “A Taste of Sun”. “San Vicente” tells about the suffering of Latin American countries. The latter two tracks have a gloomy tone and tell about the people Milton met in Venezuela.

My favourite song on the album has to be “Clube Da Esquina Nº 2”. It’s the title track of the album and a tribute to the friendship of Milton and Lô. It’s a lush instrumental song that somehow touched me more than anything else here. There is a version with lyrics (check it out here, it’s absolutely beautiful), but honestly, this song doesn’t need them to be great. Its stunning composition, warm instrumentation and soft vocalisation are absolutely enough.

“Clube da Esquina” is a phenomenal album. It’s innovative, both ambitious and accessible, and the music is just pure magic. It brings the best out of various genres and comprises musicians of completely different backgrounds. I absolutely get why it’s regarded as one of the best albums of all time, both in Brazil and abroad. Moreover, the friendship of Milton and Lô was just beautiful. Lô Borges, sadly, died a couple of months ago. Rest in peace.

Some other Brazilian artists worth checking out (haven’t heard most of them yet haha):

Chico Buarque

Novos Baianos

Jorge Ben

Gal Costa

João Gilberto

Mutantes

Antônio Carlos Jobim

Serum giran and la maquina se hacer pájaros are also great!

Chile Víctor Jara - El derecho de vivir en paz

Week #2 2026/06/21

🇨🇱 Chile 🇨🇱 Víctor Jara - El derecho de vivir en paz About this project

World music day is here! I hope I’ll finish this review by its end. (Edit: I did :DDDDD)

This week I’m gonna talk about Victor Jara - his life, art and his tragic fate. Before starting this week, I was dead sure I would review El Indio by Los Jaivas. However, I dived a bit deeper into Chilean music and I found about Victor Jara and his impact on the society.

Los Jaivas is a band I came across 2 months ago and I was absolutely enchanted by their music. “Mira Niñita” and “La Conquistada” stand proudly as some of my favourite songs of all time. They are probably the most prominent band in the Chilean rock scene. They had a huge impact on the genre known as “Rock andino”, which blends progressive rock with traditional music of Andean people. This mix is honestly magical. Los Jaivas not only showed what traditional Chilean music looks like, but also created some prog-rock masterpieces which are absolutely on the level of Pink Floyd or King Crimson. This band is a national pride of Chile and I absolutely get why.

So.. why did I choose Victor instead of Jaivas? Well, mostly due to social reasons. Victor Jara’s life and music are an interesting showcase of Chilean society and politics. He was one of the most influential figures at his times, not only in music, but also in politics. He had become a face of change, equality and revolution due to his sincere lyrics and socialist views. Los Jaivas on the other hand were mostly doing their own thing. They were focused primarily on the music rather than the lyrics. “Tarka y ocarina” from El Indio is a great example - it’s a 13 minute long fully instrumental track (an insanely complex composition  by the way, which just shows how brilliant these people were). Their lyrics are thoughtful and poetic, but mostly abstract. “La Conquistada”, however, is believed to be about the fall of Chile under the military dictatorship. And this is a very important topic that I’m gonna talk about now.

In 1970 Salvador Allende won the elections in Chile. It is worth noting that Victor Jara had a huge impact on Allende’s political campaign. He was an artistic director of the legendary music group Quilapayún. They popularised a song “Venceremos” (“We will prevail”), which had become an anthem of Allende supporters. At that time Victor Jara had been made the cultural ambassador of the country. Allende is considered the first socialist president that was democratically elected. When we talk about communism, we often think of an “unelected leader” and “authoritarian regime”, but it’s not the case here. The people wanted Allende, and he was considered very pro-people. He made a lot of reforms that revolutionized the economy and decreased poverty. What’s important, he nationalised natural goods, such as copper, and therefore prevented US companies from exploiting Chile. Yeah, you can already see where this is going. As we all know, the US hates any socialist government that, in principle, would refuse to be exploited. Not long after Allende was elected, far-right US influences had spread throughout the country. It all culminated in the military coup on the 11th of September 1973 conducted by Augusto Pinochet. It started a US-backed dictatorship and resulted in the death of Salvador Allende, Victor Jara and thousands of other people.

Only a day after the coup, Victor was taken to a concentration camp, which was previously a national stadium, and was tortured in absolutely unimaginable ways. At some point, he started to sing “Venceremos”, the same song that once brought the now deceased Salvador Allende to the presidency. After hell on earth he went through, on the 16th of September, quoting Wikipedia, “he was shot dead, then his body was riddled with machine-gun bullets and dumped in the street”. All of this because he was a supporter of an anti-US government.

This story honestly broke me and I feel the need to raise awareness about it.

Now let’s get to the album - “El derecho de vivir en paz” (“The right to live in peace”), which was released in 1971. It starts with the title track, which is the most popular and the most culturally significant one. During Chilean social outbursts in 2019, this song was an anthem that united the protestors. This song is a commentary on the American intervention and genocide in Vietnam and a support of Ho Chi Minh, the leader of Vietnam. I think the power of this song lies in how specific it is. It talks about a certain situation and takes a side, rather than just speaking general knowledge. That’s my problem with many western anti-war songs - they are too general, safe and open to interpretation. A good example is John Lennon’s “Imagine”, which was, by the way, released the same year as “El derecho…”. It says something about peace, unity, and so on, but it’s about nothing specific, while at the same time certain people were dying in a certain country called Vietnam. Speaking of music itself, “El derecho de vivir en paz” is a song that’s just beautiful beyond words. It’s got a very simple, yet powerful melody, and it builds up - the instruments come in gradually. Victor sings it all in such a way that I feel there is still some hope in this world.

A desire to live in peace is something that will never die. It’s a pretty obvious thing - after all, safety is one of the most basic human needs. In a perfect world we wouldn’t even have to talk about it, but human rights violations happen all the time. Constant wars, genocides, atrocities done to nations considered “uncivilised” by the west, and the world's indifference to their suffering. 

Unfortunately, “El derecho de vivir en paz” hasn’t lost its relevance even a little bit. In Cuba there is an ongoing crisis deliberately caused by the US. The case of Salvador Allende showed us that the US would do any atrocity to overthrow a socialist government, and it’s the same story with Cuba. For a couple of decades, America has been depriving Cubans from their basic needs - such as food, water, gas and electricity - hoping that they will start a movement against their own government. Recently it has gotten worse than ever before. On 20th June 2026 (yesterday, as I’m writing this) the Cuban government, in hope to stop this crisis, has announced a reform that opens the country to the American market. Let’s be honest, Cuba is powerless compared to the US, so it will most likely end up in a tragic way. 

What concerns me the most is that the whole world is completely indifferent. Due to American propaganda, Cuba has a tragically bad reputation. Right-wing people take the side of the US, and left-wingers often simply don’t care, as the Cuban crisis is not a topic that’s talked about in the mainstream. The most important, supposedly leftist, Polish newspaper reacted very positively to that reform, saying that “Cuba is finally opening to a capitalist democracy”. 

Here are some sources about this reform and about the general situation in Cuba:

What about the other songs here? They are great too! Every single one of them is filled with hope and love, which shows both in the lyrics and in compositions. There are, of course, many heartwarming songs with a revolutionary message - a prime example has to be “Brigada Ramona Parra” (“Ramona Parra Brigade”), an upbeat march-like track.

There’s also “A Cuba” (“To Cuba”), a track close to my heart, which shows support for the Cuban revolution. It also mocks USA in a subtle way: “si quieres tomar ron pero sin Coca Cola, a Cuba iré!” / “if you want to drink rum but without Coca Cola, to Cuba I will go!”.

“Ni chicha ni limoná” is a fun and warm song that tells about people with double morality. Its bassline sounds oddly familiar.

“Abre la ventana” is my personal favourite, apart from the title track of course. Its lyrics are, surprisingly enough, not political. They tell about Maria, a girl that has undergone some cruelty. What’s interesting, this song has a strangely dark and psychedelic atmosphere. This song immediately reminds me of the film “La Casa Lobo” - a Chilean animated horror about Maria, a girl who escaped a religious colony. I honestly suspect that there might be a correlation between this film and the song - I feel like the creators of the film must have at least heard it. I even made an edit of “La Casa Lobo” with “Abre la ventana”, here it is :)))

Now, let’s talk about the musical genre of this album. The title track is some great Bob Dylan-like folk-rock. The rest of this album, however, belongs to a pretty interesting genre - Nueva canción chilena. It originated in the 60s and it’s a blend of Latin American rhythms and traditional Chilean music. It was intended to address social issues and was associated with leftist political movements. As you can imagine, Victor was one of the most important musicians within this genre. I noticed that this genre often uses Charango - it’s a traditional Andean guitar-like instrument with 10 strings and a pretty distinct sound. Check out Violeta Parra - she’s an absolute icon of Charango and of this genre as a whole.

I seriously didn’t intend to write such a long review, I spent almost the entire day writing it. However, once I learned about what Victor went through and what is currently happening in Cuba, I just couldn’t focus on anything else. I am deeply disgusted by what the American government has done and is still doing, and I feel that what I know is just the tip of the iceberg. However, there IS some hope left - Victor Jara and his fidelity to his ideals are a prime example of it. I feel that the hope for this world lies in the countries of the Global South. ¡Viva Chile, viva Latinoamérica!

Rest in peace, you legend.

“Victor Jara, tu canción Es fuego de puro amor Es palomo palomar Olivo del olivar Es el canto universal Cadena que hará triunfar El derecho de vivir en paz”

Here are some other artists and albums from Chile:

Los Jaivas (of course)

Quilapayún (Victor Jara’s band!)

Violeta Parra (check out the song Gracias a la vida)

Los Tres

Los Prisioneros

Niña Tormenta (I heard she’s good)

Argentina Charly Garcia - Clics Modernos

Week #1 2026/06/17

🇦🇷 Argentina 🇦🇷 Charly Garcia - Clics Modernos

About this project

Argentina was one of the main reasons I wanted to do this challenge. This country has a huge rock scene that is well known in the entire Latin America.

I first thought about choosing something by Luis Alberto Spinetta to represent this country. He's probably the most influential figure in Argentinian rock (also known as Rock Nacional). His lyrics are poetic and his music is colourful and innovative. Another interesting choice would be Gustavo Cerati - a more modern face of Argentinian music, who combines rock with electronic elements. However, I decided to choose Charly Garcia. One, because he stole my heart 🥰, and two, because his music deals with the topic of dictatorship.

When we think of Latin American culture, we often think of fun, dance, "southern rhythms" and stuff like that. We tend to forget about the darker side - about constant military coups and far-right regimes. In the 1970s there was a whole network of dictatorships in Latin America - in Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, Brazil, and so on. Leftist activists were killed, tortured, raped and sent to death camps. In the case of Argentina, people were disappearing from the streets and the government was denying that they ever even existed. It is worth noting that the US was directly involved in all these actions. Read about Operation Condor - it was funded by the US and it was responsible for around 50,000 deaths and 400,000 imprisonments.

“Clics Modernos” was released during the last weeks of the dictatorship - the regime was technically not over yet, but the democratic elections had already taken place. As you can imagine, these times were pretty rough. The society was traumatised by what the junta had done. People lost their friends and family, mothers lost their children (read about Madres de Plaza de Mayo). Many people just disappeared without a trace or were exiled. And “Clics Modernos” is all about that. With this album, Charly basically became the voice of people. He expressed feelings that everyone had during the dictatorship - fear, longing for freedom, and just overall gloom. However, there’s a twist. Charly didn’t make an album that’s simply sad. All these worst feelings are mixed with fun and danceable music. Argentines really needed to have some fun after all these years of oppression, and Charly was the perfect man for this job. “Clics Modernos” is an album that’s heartfelt, fun and accessible, but also acknowledges all the atrocities the junta has done.

Stylistically, this album mixes the happiness of new wave with colder and darker elements of post-punk. The bass on this album is very prominent. It can sound heavy and dark, as well as groovy and jumpy.

“Nuevos Trapos” is an interesting case of this duality. It sounds both happy and dark, smoothly blending an upbeat and carefree chorus with more restrained and heavy verses. The message of its lyrics is basically that the times are shitty, but we can still have fun, and I find it beautiful. “No me dejan salir” is probably the happiest song here, but it expresses a desire to break free from that sad reality. It sounds colourful and punchy, and it’s just fun beyond words. By the way, it’s considered the first Argentinian song that used sampling. It’s also got a notably camp music video, where Charly and his mustache are having fun with some drag queens. HELL YEAH.

This record is not that fun all the time though. Let’s have a look at the darker side of this album. “Los Dinosaurios” is a tribute to desaparecidos, people who disappeared during the regime. It tells very explicitly that anyone could have been abducted at any moment - friends, loved ones, or radio singers. It compares junta members to the dinosaurs that will also disappear sooner or later. Musically, this track is a very poignant piano composition. It’s the song I find the most harrowing. There are other songs that just strike with sadness. “No Soy un Extraño“, “Ojos de Videotape” and “Plateado Sobre Plateado“ have a rather gloomy tone, both musically and lyrically. The last of them, “Plateado…”, is probably my favourite song on the album. It’s about the fear of death flights. It has a bleak melody and its chorus just sounds like a cry for help. At the same time it’s danceable and seemingly upbeat.

So basically Charly busted a military regime and then danced on its grave in “No me dejan salir” music video. My socialist heart is happy.

By the way, go check out this review. It’s great and it gave me some context to this album. https://www.albumoftheyear.org/user/german20075/album/102226-clics-modernos/

So, that was “Clics Modernos” by Charly Garcia! Here are some other cool artists and albums from Argentina: - Luis Alberto Spinetta - Almendra, Artaud, El Jardín de los Presentes (truly a prepucio moment) - Seru Giran - Grasa De Las Capitales (an another project by Charly, it’s incredible!) - Gustavo Cerati - Bocanada (holy shit this one’s great)