In the Japanese «aidoru bunka» (idol culture), grown men kneel down to mimic their infantile stars. When watching Kyoko Miyake's film Toyko Idols, musicologist Oliver Seibt sees a strong connection between this ritual and the sacred.

Filmmaker Michè Calandra Achode sketches out the future of African music in Europe.

In the film «Oulaya's Wedding», one is thrown into the middle of a traditional wedding in the Western Sahara. But is the overwhelming proximity to the filmed Sahraoui culture able to bypass exoticism, asks the director and archivist Christopher Kirkley.

Does the movie «Sinofuturism (1839–2046 AD)» confront us with a future China, that is an inhuman dystopia? No, says Philipp Rhensius. It just depends on the perspective on our world.

The Slovenian band Laibach has been invited to perform in North Korea. Friedemann Pestel says: this tour differs clearly from cultural diplomacy in the traditional sense.

Bryan Littles' film «The African Cypher» portrays dance subcultures in South Africa of which some have close relationships to cars. For Eric Mandel, this is symbol of man and machine.

Daniel Jakob buying the South African Souvenir vinyl in Durban.

Reggae is rich with questions of belonging, but instead of domesticity it focuses on the state of limbo. After watching the film «Being Blacker», Derek Walmsley examines how the Brixton figurehead Blacker Dread struggles with what he once called home.

Musicologist Christopher Kirkley explores the boundaries of ethnomusicology.

UK Funky DJ Bamz' music is informed by a sense of history and a glimpse into the future of bass driven club music. At the core of this is the «riddim» as the aesthetic backbone.

«This is Bate Bola» follows the carnival celebrations in Rio's poor neighborhoods. While watching the movie, research duo A Parede discovered contradicting ideals of masculinity.