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What better way to herald the end of the world than with a jaunty polka, you might ask? Well, not with just any old polka, but one featuring a contrabassoon, electric bass, French horn, violin, percussion, and, oh yes, an accordion – played by musicians plucked from Canada, England, Israel and the American Midwest. Apolkalyptic indeed! If you like the track, check out the album.

It’s hard when one wants to pursue a creative career against the will of one’s parent. So it can only be exponentially more difficult when one’s father was the great, late West African guitarist/vocalist Ali Farka Touré. Guitarist/vocalist/percussionist Vieux Farka Touré eventually earned his father’s blessing and has gone on to make his own contributions to Malian music. “Fafa” features a foundation of coolly executed drumkit and percussion work, over which Touré’s urbane vocals and majestic guitar work effortlessly glide. If you like the track, check out the album.

This smooth groove begins with finger snaps, acoustic guitar, and lightly tickled keys, and finds the Nigerian-accented soulstress listing similarities between her and a prisoner — and remarking how beautiful life is despite it all. Midway through the infectious cut, subtle strings and background vocals harmonize as Asa calls for compassion and humanity to prevail. A simple message that’s passionately delivered in a manner that calls to mind the vocal stylings of Wyclef, instrumentation of D’Angelo, and teachings of Bob Marley. If you like the track, check out the album.

When he isn’t causing a ruckus with Balkan Beat Box, Israel’s Tomer Yosef is a gifted electronic artist, percussionist, and MC in his own right. “Little Man,” taken from his solo album, Laughing Underground, is the sound of worlds converging and sweating up a Mediterranean dance floor. With Tomer rapping over snatches of hip-hop, reggae, Klezmer, and Balkan sounds, “Little Man” crosses international waters with impunity, blowing headphones along the way. If you like the track, check out the album.

Seun Kuti is the new heir to the Afro-beat throne. His father was legendary rebel, leader, poet, and musician Fela Kuti. Seun is Fela’s youngest son and is joined on this track from his debut by his father’s band, Egypt 80. It’s a band that Seun began playing with at age 9, so it’s no surprise who adept he is at laying down his socially-minded lyrics over the group’s call-and-response funk. If you’re a stranger to the Afro-beat style laid out by Fela, there is a rich world of deep music awaiting you and this cut, with it’s hypnotic, brassy rhythms and solid groove, shows that the form is alive and well.