Just a thought on #3 - I can't find it now, but there's an interview somewhere (maybe 15 years ago) in which John McLaughlin talks about what he wished New Age music could have turned into. It was a little like what you're describing, I think: a skillful melding of diverse musical worlds. I tend to see his work as a type of musical alchemy. "Universalist initiates" for sure, in some of those groups!

The late Zakir Hussein once said that when the first Shakti record came out, nobody had a clue how to categorize it. Even with no electronics, something like "Fourth World" probably would have been a better fit than just "Fusion" ... possibly the only category less descriptive than "World" or "New Age."

Sorry if this is getting off topic. I have to check out that Peter Gabriel record!

Noodles