Roots music, pure musical roots? A matter of the past, maybe never existent. In times of globalisation and digitisation, the research of music – whether it be practical or scientific, as well as documenting and conveying these new pop sounds – should have shifted its focus by now.

New, and maybe today's most interesting, pop musical trends arise in countries and cultural areas far away from the so called West's. They do this in a cultural exchange with the whole world. And they do so often faster than anybody from the outside can follow. So how do scientists, label owners and musicians find this new music today, how do they specify it, document it, pass it on to the audience? A panel about tracing routes instead of roots.