Over 100 albums sourced from Afghanistan to Vanuatu and beyond.

Smithsonian Folkways, the record label arm of the United States’ sprawling Smithsonian Institution, is reissuing the entire UNESCO Collection of Traditional Music, a cache of 125 albums ranging from Japanese drumming and Inuit songs to Tibetan ritual music and Swiss yodelling.

Originally published between 1961 and 2003, the collection has been out of print since 2005. Smithsonian Folkways is now reissuing the whole caboodle in both digital and physical formats, at the rate of two albums per week.

The reissue drive also includes many previously unreleased recordings, including Afghanistan: Music During the Civil War (1979-2001) and Fiji: Songs of Love and Homeland—String Band Music among the many intriguing titles.

The label explains: “With recordings from more than 70 nations, the UNESCO Collection of Traditional Music offers a staggering diversity of our shared humanity. Much of the collection was gathered in situ and is presented as field recordings. Extensive annotations and photographs accompany each release.”

Listen to a sampler of some of the music from the collection (including an incredible water drum from Cameroon) and browse the full catalogue via the Smithsonian Folkways site. [via Ad Hoc]