Sound archivist Tony Schwartz spent much of his life documenting the sounds of his New York City neighborhood, largely because his agoraphobia prevented him from traveling far from home. Schwartz nonetheless amassed a large collection of recordings from international musicians through audio exchanges via the mail. The World in My Mail Box features music from this exchange. The collection spans a number of continents and ranges from intimate solo vocal performances ("Norwegian student sings") to live club performances ("Song from African nightspot"). The liner notes include some of Schwartz's correspondence with the performers on the album.