Many Strata: Red Baraat and "Layers"

Our random tune for today, called Layers, is by Red Baraat. Founded in 2008 by Sunny Jain, Red Baraat hails from Brooklyn and has been called one of the best party bands around by NPR. An eight piece outfit, they feature instrumentation such as the dhol, drumset and other percussion, sousaphone and other horns. They have played a variety of festivals around the United States and the world. Layers can be found on their latest release, Gaadi of Truth (2015).

I Like That: Silva and "Sou Desse Jeito"

Pop singer Silva, from southeastern Brazil, provides us with an easy listening tune called Sou Desse Jeito for today's random tune. The song is from an album dedicated to the planet Jupiter which he released this year. Silva is influenced by house, bossa nova, ambient and R&B, and on the Júpiter (2016) album, Silva plays most of the instruments and aims for music that is easy-listening and full of good vibes. We couldn't find much personal information on him, so just sit back and enjoy the music!

The Right Stuff: Rahim AlHaj and "Maqam Rast"

Albuquerque's immigrant son, Rahim AlHaj, brings us the random tune for today. Rahim Alhaj is an Iraqi-American oud player and composer living in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He began playing the oud at age nine and soon revealed a great talent for the instrument. A political activist against the Saddam Hussein regime in Iraq, he was forced into political exile, first in Syria and Jordan and finally in the United States. Resettled in Albuquerque, he was told to report to a job. As an oud master, he assumed that he would be teaching music, and asked where the job was. "McDonalds," he was told. We think he was better off staying with his first love, music. He combines traditional Iraqi maqams with contemporary stylings and influences. This song, Maqam Rast, can be found on his 2013 album Journey.

Dancing Woman: Puerto Plata and "Mujer de Cabaret"

Today's random song is by Puerto Plata, the stage name of José Cobles. Puerto Plata is a Dominican artist who's music and singing is reminiscent of guitar music heard in the Dominican Republic in the 1930s and 40s, before it was stigmatized by dictator Rafael Leónidas Trujillo, who preferred accordion-heavy merengue tipico. By the 1960s, after Trujillo's assassination, Dominican guitar music began to develop into bachata. Plata does not play bachata, however, but a music closer in style to contemporary Cuba, even though it is inspired in the Dominican past. In addition, Plata's band features some of the Dominican Republic's finest musicians, such as guitar legends Edilio Paredes and Frank Mendez. This song, Mujer de Cabaret, can be found on Plata's first internationally distributed CD, Mujer de Cabaret, released in 2007.

Funk Dancing: Luisa Maita and "Desencabulada"

Luisa Maita, a Brazilian singer-songwriter, brings us our random tune today. Born into a musical family in São Paulo, Brazil, she learned to sing samba and bossa nova as well as her father's compositions, and her professional career began at age seven singing jingles. She founded her first band, Urbanda, in 1999 and began collaborating with musicians from her generation. A collaboration with Brazilian singer Virginia Rosa, who recorded two of Maita's songs for one of her albums, encouraged Maita to continue writing songs. In 2010 she recorded her solo album Lero-Lero, which led National Public Radio to hail her as the "New Voice of Brazil." Her music draws inspiration from the samba, but also pop influences such as Michael Jackson, Prince and Stevie Wonder. This song, Desencabulada, is from her 2010 release Lero-Lero.

Pinkie Promise: Zucchero and "It's Alright (The Promise)"

Today's random song, It's Alright (The Promise), is by Zucchero Fornaciari. Often called simply Zucchero, he is an Italian singer-songwriter inspired by blues, gospel, soul and rock who writes ballads and R&B boogie-style pieces. Over three decades, he has established himself as "the father of the Italian blues," has sold over 60 million records, is one of the few European blues artists who enjoys international success, and has been given the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic. He has collaborated and performed with many international artists, including Eric Clapton, Miles Davis, B.B. King, and Stevie Ray Vaughan among others. It's Alright (The Promise) can be found on his 1994 album Miserere.

Floral: Paul Avgerinos and "Lily of the Valley"

Today's song is Lily of the Valley by Paul Avgerinos. Paul Avgerinos is an American composer, performer and producer whose genres include new age, ambient, space, world, world fusion, electronic and drone. Avgerinos attended Johns Hopkins University's Peabody School of Music where he studied bass violin. His albums are blends of well known and obscure acoustic and electronic instruments. He is known for using Romantic and Impressionist techniques, and he has worked with such artists as Aerosmith, Jewel, Run DMC, Willie Nelson, Deana Carter and The Celtic Tenors. Lily of the Valley is from his 2007 CD Garden of Delight.