the big list I've been drawing from for a while of curated ambient ethno-tronica re-imagined from places that never were.

"For decades, Hassell has been developing a philosophy of both playing and composing that he calls "fourth world," which he says is "a term to describe the possibility of music in global terms - beyond First World, beyond Third World, beyond classical , beyond pop." He's described fourth world as an ideal blend of traditional music from around the world with Western forms and modern electronics, forming a kind of contemporary folk music from "unknown and imaginary regions."

–Building a Musical 'Fourth World'" by Richard Kadrey, Wired, 1997