The ARIA Music Award for Best World Music Album, is an award presented within the Fine Arts Awards at the annual ARIA Music Awards. It was inaugurated in 1995 as Best Folk/World/Traditional Release. The ARIA Awards recognise "the many achievements of Aussie artists across all music genres", and have been given by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) since 1987.
Album recordings by a group or solo artist are eligible. The award is handed out for an indigenous, ethnic, folk or cross-cultural recording, and cannot be entered into any other genre category. The final nominees and winner are chosen by a judging school, which comprises between 40 and 100 members of representatives experienced in this genre.ARIA Award previous winners.
Oud virtuoso Joseph Tawadros has won the category seven times from twenty nominations, more than any other artist, including consecutive wins from 2012 to 2014 and again from 2020 to 2023. Yolngu singer-songwriter-guitarist Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu won all five of his nominations as a solo artist, two of which were posthumous, while gypsy fusion band Monsieur Camembert have won all three of their nominations, including consecutive wins in 2002 and 2003.
Nominees and winners In the following table, the winner is highlighted in a separate colour, and in boldface; the nominees are those that are not highlighted or in boldface.
Year Artist(s) Album Title 1995(9th) Yungchen Lhamo Tibetan Prayer Bu Baca Diop Stand The Celts The Rocky Road Nomad Nomad Sirocco The Wetland Suite Various Tribal Heart 1996(10th) Mara! Ruino Vino Cafe of the Gate of Salvation A Window in Heaven Dead Can Dance Spiritchaser Sirocco Stars and Fires Various Womadelaide '95 1997(11th) George Telek Telek Ashok Roy The Night Ragas The Barkers The Black Joke Equa Equa Mara! & Martenitsa Choir Sezoni 1998(12th) Kavisha Mazzella Fisherman's Daughter Lisa Gerrard and Pieter Bourke Duality Matt Walker I Listen to the Night Tigramuna Jazz Latino - Americano Tulipan Manic Celeste Xylouris Ensemble Antipodes 1999(13th) Habibis Intoxication Lajamanu Teenage Band Vision Sirocco Falling Leaf Voices from the Vacant Lot Dance on Your Bones Xylouris Ensemble Drakos 2000(14th) Chris Duncan Fyvies Embrace - The Golden Age of the Scottish Fiddle Riley Lee and Marshall McGuire Spring Sea Timothy Kain and Virginia Taylor Music of the Americas Inka Marka Auki Auki Tim Gibuma and the Storm The Gaba - Gabamawi 2001(15th) Mara! Live in Europe Akin Undercurrent Epizo Bangoura and African Express Inchallah George Telek Serious Tam Xenos Tutti Frutti 2002(16th) Monsieur Camembert Live on Stage Coda There Is a Way to Fly Kim Sanders You Can't Get There From Here Nabarlek Bininj Manborlh / Blackfella Road Various Corroboration 2003(17th) Monsieur Camembert Absynthe All India Radio All India Radio David Bridie West Papua: Sound of the Morning Star Kavisha Mazzella Silverhook Tango Zulya Elusive 2004(18th) Seaman Dan Perfect Pearl Jane Rutter and Slava Grigoryan Brazil Joseph Tawadros Storyteller Mohamed Bangoura Djembe Kan Saltwater Band Djarridjarri - Blue Flag 2005(19th) Monsieur Camembert Monsieur Camembert Bobby McLeod Dumaradje Cosmo Cosmolino Nektar Le Tuan Hung and others On the Wings of a Butterfly Southern Gospel Choir Great Day Various Artists This Is the Place for a Song 2006(20th) The Cat Empire Cities: The Cat Empire Project Joseph and James Tawadros Visions Mara! Sorella The Pigram Brothers Under the Mango Tree Seaman Dan Island Way 2007(21st) Zulya and The Children of The Underground 3 Nights Coco's Lunch Blueprint Coda Calling Mission Mu Joseph Tawadros Epiphany Not Drowning, Waving Maps for Sonic Adventures 2008(22nd) Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu Gurrumul Archie Roach Journey David Jones Colours of the Drum Joseph Tawadros Angel Watussi Tequila, Sangre y Fuego 2009(23rd) Seaman Dan Sailing Home Fiona Joy Hawkins Blue Dream Kamerunga The Push Warren Fahey Australia: Folk Songs & Bush Verse Wicked Beat Sound System Dreaming 2010(24th) Mamadou Diabate, Bobby Singh and Jeff Lang Djan Djan Archie Roach Music Deli Presents Archie Roach Joseph Tawadros The Prophet: Music Inspired by the Poetry of Kahlil Gibran The Public Opinion Afro Orchestra Do Anything Go Anywhere Xavier Rudd Koonyum Sun 2011(25th) Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu Rrakala David Bridie, Hein Arumisore, Jacob Rumbiak, Ronny Kareni and Donny Roem Strange Birds in Paradise: A West Papuan Soundtrack Saltwater Band Malk The Shaolin Afronauts Flight of the Ancients Slava and Leonard Grigoryan, James and Joseph Tawadros Band of Brothers 2012(26th) Joseph Tawadros Concerto of the Greater Sea Dead Can Dance Anastasis Nicky Bomba's Bustamento Intrepid Adventures to the Lost Riddim Island Sarah Calderwood As Night Falls Warren H Williams & the Warumungu Songmen Winanjjara: The Song Peoples Sessions 2013(27th) Joseph Tawadros Chameleons of the White Shadow Airileke Weapon of Choice Rasa Duende Improvisations Shellie Morris and The Borroloola Songwomen Together We Are Strong – Ngambala Wigi Li – Wun the Song Peoples Sessions Various Mélodie Française 2014(28th) Joseph Tawadros Permission to Evaporate Astronomy Class Mekong Delta Sunrise Jane Rutter Flute Spirit: Dreams and Improvisations The Barons of Tang Into the Mouths of Hungry Giants William Barton Birdsong at Dusk 2015(29th) Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu The Gospel Album Baby et Lulu Album Deux Christine Anu Island Christmas Genevieve Lacey / James Crabb Heard This and Thought of You Joseph Tawadros Truth Seekers, Lovers and Warriors 2016(30th) Melbourne Ska Orchestra Sierra Kilo Alpha Gawurra Ratja Yaliyali Joseph Tawadros World Music Paul Grabowsky / Monash Art Ensemble / Daniel Ngukurr Boy Wilfred / David Yipininy Wilfred Nyilipidgi Seaman Dan An Old Man of the Sea 2017(31st) Katie Noonan and Karin Schaupp Songs of the Latin Skies Joseph Tawadros Live at Abbey Road Melbourne Ska Orchestra Saturn Return Slava Grigoryan & Australian String Quartet Migration Xylouris White Black Peak 2018(32nd) Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu Djarimirri (Child of the Rainbow) Joseph Tawadros The Bluebird, the Mystic and the Fool Melbourne Ska Orchestra Ska Classics Mista Savona Havana Meets Kingston Xylouris White Mother 2019(33rd) Melbourne Ska Orchestra One Year of Ska Chaika Arrow Joseph Tawadros Betrayal of a Sacred Sunflower Tara Tiba Omid Zela Margossian Quintet Transition 2020 Joseph Tawadros Live at the Sydney Opera House Grace Barbé FANM:WOMAN Melbourne Ska Orchestra Live at the Triffid The Crooked Fiddle Band Another Subtle Atom Bomb Xylouris White The Sisypheans 2021 Joseph Tawadros Hope in an Empty City Bob Weatherall & Halfway with William Barton Restless Dream Bukhchuluun Ganburged The Journey Eishan Ensemble Project Masnavi Kuya James ISA 2022 Joseph Tawadros with William Barton History Has a Heartbeat Australian Art Orchestra, Daniel Wilfred, Sunny Kim, Peter Knight & Aviva Endean Hand to Earth Mista Savona Havana Meets Kingston Part 2 Parvyn Sa William Barton and Véronique Serret Heartland 2023 Joseph Tawadros Those Who Came Before Us Byron Mark Odyssey East of West Moving Home Mick Dick Id of RA Songs of Disappearance Australian Frog Calls 2024 Dobby Warrangu: River Story Christine Anu Waku: Minaral a Minalay Joseph Tawadros The Virtue of Signals Radical Son Bilambiyal Soweto Gospel Choir & Groove Terminator History of House 2025 Gurrumul Banbirrngu - The Orchestral Sessions Electric Fields and Melbourne Symphony Orchestra Live in Concert Joseph Tawadros The Forgotten Path to Humanity Tenzin Choegyal Snow Flower The Cat Empire Bird in Paradise
Artists with multiple wins 7 wins Joseph Tawadros
5 wins Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu
3 wins Monsieur Camembert
2 wins Mara! Melbourne Ska Orchestra Seaman Dan
Artists with multiple nominations 20 nominations Joseph Tawadros
7 nominations Nicky Bomba Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu
6 nominations Melbourne Ska Orchestra
5 nominations Giorgos Xylouris
4 nominations William Barton David Bridie Mara! Seaman Dan
3 nominations
2 nominations
Notes A: The musical artists featured on Tribal Heart are: Blek Bala Mujik, Moana and the Moahunters, Fontom From, Willie Hona, I Land, Joe T (Richmond Acheampong), Larry Maluma and Kalimba, Valanga Khoza and Saffika, Herbs, Ron Jemmott and Un Tabu, Shango, Denis Gonzalez, Dee Cee Lewis and The Crew, Barike, Musiki Manjaroa and Kakalika.
B: The musical artists featured on Womadelaide 1995 are: Sunrize Band, Zap Mama, Vika and Linda Bull, Hukwe Zawose, Rough Image, Mouth Music, Jah Wobble's Invaders of the Heart, Justin Vali Trio, Sierra Maestra, Geoffrey Oryema, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Yungchen Lhamo.
C: The following musical artists are featured on Corroboration: Deborah Cheetham, Wicked Beat Sound System, Kylie Minogue, Jimmy Little, Jodi Cockatoo Creed, george, The Cruel Sea, Native Ryme, Kev Carmody, Augie March, Archie Roach, Ruby Hunter, Little G, Pound System, Primary, NoKTuRNL, Frank Yamma, David Bridie, Pnau, Stiff Gins, Billie Court, Friendly, Magic Dirt and Richard Frankland.
D: The following music artists are featured on This Is the Place For a Song: Frank Yamma, Vardos, Dili Allstars, Khalli Gudaz, Fazilla Hijeb, Ramen Nawa, Kavisha Mazzella, Mach Pelican, CDB, Inka Marca, Revolucion Street, Neil Nghi Ta, le Nghiem Tran, Dung Nguyen, Musiki Manjaro, Greg Ulfan, Polish Larsen, Takouni and The Five Venoms.
E: The following music artists are featured on Mélodie Française: Gossling, Oh Mercy, The Jezabels, Dappled Cities, Katie Noonan, Lisa Mitchell, Kate Miller-Heidke, Thelma Plum, Husky, Deep Sea Arcade, Megan Washington, Vance Joy, Jonathan Boulet, Edward Deer, Jinja Safari, Okenyo, Big Scary, The Walking Who and Soko.
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