Two excellent European label collections should be in your collection. Silex is a French label that has championed new and adventurous works by folk-rooted artists for many years. World Fusion: Métissages (Silex, via Harmonia Mundi) is a major two CD sampling of works from their catalog. It includes stunning new music by European artists who dare to ignore the boundaries, and yet still retain the essence of their local culture. They include Benat Achiary, the Basque experimentalist; Quintettes Clarinettes, five woodwind players who challenge the roots; Valentin Claustrier, and artist who has found a new voice for the ancient vielle a roue (hurdy gurdy); Tesi and Vaillant, a french/Italian duo of accordion and mandolin who produce a rich, romantic music that crosses the Alps. Twenty-five tracks cover a lot of territory, from the deepest traditions to the most contemporary expansions.

Compagnie Nuove Indye (CNI, [email protected]) is the title of the sampler from the co-operative label/distributor of the same name. Again, we get a two CD sampling of a wide range of work, this time from Italian artists both in and out of the mainstream. A lot of the material on these discs is pretty tame pop music, augmented with some local sounds and the inevitable didgeridoo or oud, but a few of the groups stand way out front as innovative sound makers. Addosso Agli Scalini ("the top of the stairs") make a rock-folk hybrid that will bring Hedningarna to mind. FLK blend classical vocal arrangements with traditional and avant garde moods and interject a very classy sort of folk-fusion. Twenty four tracks promise you an adventure full of surprises, delights and a few inevitable disappointments.

Unblocked (Ellipsis Arts) is an ambitious 3 CD set of "Music of Eastern Europe" (albeit, just folk music), a region they define as stretching from the Baltic to the Balkans, a huge area for any single exploration, but it is handled with both expansive vision and an eye for detail here. The project is approached with a lot of personal enthusiasm, and it shows in virtually every single track. There are the expected inclusions like Hungarian singer Marta Sebestyen and the Bulgarian Angelite choir. But the bulk of the work is going to be new to almost every listener; Latvian folk zither maestro Vadis Muktupavels; the fiddle and bagpipe sound of Tolovaj Mataj from Slovenia; solo singers and zitherists; huge string and brass ensembles. Unblocked is full of both revelation and wonder.

African Troubadours (Shanachie) also rises above the norm with 15 tracks that go from the singer-songwriter acoustic ethic of S.E. Rogie to the electric pop Juluka and Jimi Mbaye. Personal picks include Boubacar Traore from Mali, one of the most expressive acoustic guitarists in the world; the quirky Francis Bebey from Cameroon; and a self-consciously bluesy track from Kante Manfila's little heard Kan Kan Blues that epitomizes the raw power African guitar can have.

Finally, we come to The Music of North Africa (World Music Network, [email protected] ), one of a series of compilations to accompany the various travel and music Rough Guides. In among the familiar Chebs (Khaled, Kader and Mami) are some unique and far less accessible artists like Hassan Erraji and Arabesque, a Belgian based Moroccan jazz outfit; and Algerian singer Houaria Aichi, whose voices soars above her drummers and vocalists. There is pretty good notation on the countries and styles (if you can read the incredibly small print!) but clearly these are meant to accompany the trade paper back Rough Guide To North African Music and so depends on its companion to supply greater detail. There are about a dozen of these available so far, from a general "world music" issue to general Latin, salsa and reggae collections, and a number of specific African and European countries, each one well worth looking into.