The diversity of the music of Can owes a lot to its equally eclectic influences. Holger Czukay and Irmin Schmidt were both pupils of Karlheinz Stockhausen. This meant that the early Can inherited a strong grounding in his musical theory, with the latter being trained as a classical pianist. Michael K

Absurd, Dreamy, Expansive, Fuzzy, Hallucinatory, Hypnotic, Improvised, Moody, Playful, Power, Primal, Psychedelic, Repetition, Repetitive, Rhythmic, Spare, Sprawling, Tribal

Though he was born Prince Sunday Adeniyi, he would grow up to become King Sunny Ade, the best-known proponent of juju: a guitar-based style of music indigenous to western Nigeria. The Green Spots, Ade's first group, evolved into the African Beats in 1971. The African Beats went on to record some 4

Ebullient, Expansive, Juju/highlife, Repetitive, Tribal

The Buena Vista Social Club is a band of musicians whose careers span the history of twentieth-century Cuban music, from 90-year-old vocalist Compay Segundo (whose career began in the 1920s), to pianist Ruben Gonzalez, vocalist Ibrahim Ferrar (who came to fame in the 1950s), and 13-year-old timbalist

Bright, Ebullient, Expansive, Intimate, Layered, Round, Salsa music