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Latitudes: International Music You Must Hear

Carnival season is already over in Trinidad and Tobago, but we're sure we're going to be seeing some wining to Machel Montano's "Ministry of Road" come Labor Day in New York.
Getty Images Latin America
Carnival season is already over in Trinidad and Tobago, but we're sure we're going to be seeing some wining to Machel Montano's "Ministry of Road" come Labor Day in New York.

What's new to keep us chugging along after what was — at least in New York — a punishingly long and bleak winter? High-energy music that feels like a jolt of desperately needed sunshine.

This month, we've got five tracks that are all about joy, from a teasing Trinidadian soca tune from to sheer jubilation from an unlikely source: a young nun dressed in full black habit and orthopedic shoes.

Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Anastasia Tsioulcas is a reporter on NPR's Arts desk. She is intensely interested in the arts at the intersection of culture, politics, economics and identity, and primarily reports on music. Recently, she has extensively covered gender issues and #MeToo in the music industry, including backstage tumult and alleged secret deals in the wake of sexual misconduct allegations against megastar singer Plácido Domingo; gender inequity issues at the Grammy Awards and the myriad accusations of sexual misconduct against singer R. Kelly.