World music in the 1970s

In the 1970s, pioneering musicians renovated indigenous music by adding rock and jazz elements.

In the field of African music, Fela Kuti, Manu Dibango, and South Africans Hugh Masekela and Miriam Makeba had hit songs in the West. In Europe, Osibisa stood out. Osibisa used fantasy art for their cover designs, using the same designers that created artwork for innovative progressive rock bands such as Yes and Greenslade.

Salsa produced in New York City became popular in the early 1970s thanks to record labels such as Fania Records. From the United States, salsa spread to Europe and other continents. Salsa became so popular that in many record stores it led to the creation of its own separate section.

A similar phenomenon happened with Reggae, which was popularized by Bob Marley. In record sores and catalogs, Reggae music is usually found in its own separate category, separate from world music.

In Spanish-speaking South America, Andean music was the rage. Several exiled groups toured Europe and North America, spreading the sounds of the quena panpipes and charango.

Tropicalia, also known as Tropicalismo, took place in Brazil. The short lived social and political music movement was started in 1968 by Caetano Veloso, together with Gilberto Gil, Gal Costa, his sister Maria Bethania, rock band Os Mutantes and a number of other musicians, poets and intellectuals. Musicians experimented with new sounds and words, adding electric guitars to their bands and utilizing the imagery of modern poetry.

Celtic music experienced a period of transformation, specially in Ireland and Scotland. Brittany (France), Galicia (Spain) and Asturias (Spain) experimented vibrant revival of traditional music, sometime influenced by Irish-style arrangements.

Rock music included acts that added roots music elements to it, in addition to blues. One of the most famous was Carlos Santana, who introduced Afro-Cuban rhythms and melodies. In Argentina, a band named Alas developed [Tango rock], while in Spain groups such as Triana, Iman, Alameda, Medina Azahara, Guadalquivir, Frontera and Gualberto developed Flamenco rock.

Flamenco, in Spain, went through fascinating transformations. Paco de Lucí­a revolutionized flamenco music by using the guitar a leading solo instrument. De Lucí­a also added jazz elements to his music as well as the Peruvian cajón. In the following years, the cajón became a basic instrument in Flamenco, adopted by the majority of modern musicians.