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For WNYC's Soundcheck host John Schaefer, the best classical music of the year came not from new releases, but from the news in the classical music world. The biggest story was the New York Philharmonic's performance in Pyongyang, North Korea.

She's best known for her electronica-tinged approach to Middle Eastern music. But for her latest release, Atlas takes an all-acoustic approach to folk songs from around the globe, from the Arab world to Appalachia.

When pop stars collaborated with African musicians in the 1980s and '90s, they embraced sounds once heard as foreign and exotic. Now a new generation of American musicians is creating homegrown rock music with a West African twist.

A genre-bending indie-rock band with a bluesy twang and country-fried riffs, Blitzen Trapper wears its influences proudly. The group's latest album, Furr, has been a favorite of critics, who've placed it on many "Best of 2008" lists.

For a musician, essential tremor disorder can be devastating. The disease affects fine motor coordination, causing hands to shake. But guitarist Richard Crandell has found a new way to continue composing and performing.

Justin Townes Earle went into the same business as his father, country-rock singer-songwriter Steve Earle, who taught his son a lot about rebellion and making music. Together, they talk about the parallels between their lives growing up.

When musician Max Raabe arrived in Berlin in the mid-'80s, he was expecting to find the cabarets and variety theaters his grandmother told him about, but they were long gone. He decided to create his own orchestra, dedicated to performing the elegant dance hits of the '20s and '30s in their original arrangements.

Miami-based DJ Le Spam has been orchestrating Afro-Cuban beats for more than a decade. With a cadre of horn, guitar and flute players and a stack of old records, he and the Spam Allstars hold court weekly at the club Hoy Como Ayer. Here, he paints a picture of the Miami club scene and shares some of the stories behind the new album Introducing Spam Allstars.

After releasing her debut album, 19, to critical acclaim earlier this year, British artist Adele was dubbed the next Amy Winehouse by the British press. The young singer-songwriter talks about her record and her new-found fame.

Modern Chinese music is most famous for sappy Canto-pop love songs. But on the mainland, young Chinese musicians are innovating and taking risks with ancient music forms such as throat singing. Former punk singer Ilchi is now a force in the Mongolian folk-music revival with his band Hanggai.