Music lovers who were surprised to hear a new Peter Gabriel song during the credits to the film WALL-E likely wondered what the songwriter has been up to in the long gap between albums. Part of the answer has arrived in stores: Big Blue Ball was created at Gabriel’s Real World Studios over a number of years; Gabriel and the Waterboys’ Karl Wallinger recruited musicians from around the world for free-form creative parties. As Gabriel says, “There’d be a studio set up on the lawn, in the garage, in someone’s bedroom . . .” Almost 20 years later, those disparate efforts have produced an album. Ball arrives at a moment of rejuvenation for Gabriel’s Real World Records, which was once a leading purveyor of global music. Currently reissuing some of the records, the label is also promoting new projects such as one from LA’s Dengue Fever. More are promised for the fall. Of course, the international selection of record stores is far more diverse today than it was when Real World launched. From high-profile artists on well-established labels to megastar boosters, eccentric anthologies, ethnographic excursions and debuts of new talent, it’s a great time to hear music from beyond America’s borders. (Even fans of hip-hop aren’t left out.) Among my favorite labels at the moment is England’s Soundway, with collections of Nigerian rock and single-artist hits.