If Top-40 radio reflected the Internet's global community instead of being centered around American pop culture (actually the hip-hop community at this point), the music would sound somewhat like that of Sarah Ingraham's (http://myspace.com/sarahingraham).
Combining her European, Indian, Oriental, and especially Middle Eastern influences, Ingraham has brewed a style of dance music that both embraces the geographical regions outside of the U.K./U.S. axis as well as the mainstream conventions that we're all familiar with. Some might say that Ingraham is selling out here, watering down world music for mass consumption. However, what is the purpose of music if it cannot be introduced to everyday people, convert the unenlightened?
Most of the listeners who will enjoy Middle Eastern-spiced cuts like the title track and "In This World Together" have probably never heard of the late Ofra Haza, whose revolutionary blend of Egyptian and Western sounds broke all of the rules of club mixes during the '80s. As wonderful as Haza was, she was a little too quirky for commercial radio, and the world was certainly smaller then in those pre-Internet days.
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By singing in English, Ingraham certainly makes the songs more accessible, giving newcomers a friendly introduction to the exotic rhythms on her record. There are political messages contained in her lyrics, too, such as the war protests of "In This World Together" and the human-rights violations in "Free at Last." None of it takes away from the bright colours and invigorating energy of the music.
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