Unlike the clamor of far-away cities where he travels, Edgar says “the soundscape of Vermont is much more gentle — bubbling creeks, cows mooing, lawn mowers or chain saws humming in the distance, the occasional gunshot from the shooting range over the hill, cars speeding down the dirt road, and the sounds of wind, rain, the beautiful sonic cushion of snow and other natural noises.”

Passionate about music from a young age, Jacob Edgar, who holds a master’s degree in ethnomusicology, criss-crossed the globe for years for Putumayo, curating recordings for the prominent world music label. Around 2006, he decided to return to Vermont, where he spent his formative school age years, in order to raise his family and launch his own world music label, which he dubbed Cumbancha. Edgar’s global connections embrace the planet from a farmhouse in Vermont.