Around the World: Diversion
Each week when I make Around the World, there are records that get left out. They just fall off the playlist as I run out of time. I have decided to add this - Around the World : DIVERSION.
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This week on Around the World
You can listen to Around the World on Mixcloud
The first hour - The second hour
Music from: Brazil, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Chile, China, Czechia, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Lebanon, Mali, Mexico, Nigeria, Poland, Portugal, Scotland, South Africa, Spain, Ukraine and Venezuela.
Music by: Adrian Quesada & Gepe, Africa Express, Arthur de Faria & Pedro Longes, DANTCHEV:DOMAIN, Daughters of Donbas, Elsa Mouratidou, Holly Holden, Kanazoé Orkestra, Kasse Mady Diabate & Hawa Kasse Mady Diabaté, Laura Itandehui, Mádé Kuti, Mahotella Queens, Mikis Theodorakis & Dimitris Christodoulou, Murmurosi, Nina Rosa, ODUCHU, Omiri, Puman, Rebecca Roger Cruz, Söndörgő, Stefano Saletti, Sutherland Brothers, Sw@da & Niczos, Tempus, and The Klezmatics.
This week’s Featured Album: Fragile by Tania Saleh
Tania Saleh - Ghasseel Dmegh (Brainwash) | تانيا صالح - غسيل دماغ
Lebanese singer-songwriter and visual artist active since 1990; pioneer of Arab alternative, blending traditional Lebanese music with folk, jazz, bossa nova and electronics.
Born in Beirut in 1969, she is recognised as a pioneer of the Arab alternative music scene, blending contemporary sounds with Lebanese and Arab heritage since her debut single Ozone in 1997. She writes most of her own material and often reinterprets traditional music and poetry for new audiences. Collaborations span a wide spectrum: Ziad Rahbani, Ibrahim Maalouf, Natacha Atlas, RZA, Nile Rodgers, Emel Mathlouthi, and many others.
Fragile is a self-produced 10-track album, running ~39 minutes. Written after Saleh’s forced departure from Lebanon, marking a deeply personal chapter of exile, displacement, and reflection. She left Lebanon following a series of devastating events, including the country's political and financial crises and the Beirut port explosion in August 2020
The title reflects both personal vulnerability and the fragility of the world’s social, economic, and ecological systems.
Tempus – Na dunách (Official Video 2025)
Czech medieval-inspired world-rock ensemble founded in 2007; they blend shawms, hurdy-gurdy, bagpipes and recorders with modern drums, bass and guitar under vocalist Linda Ravena.
Puman plays Kunma live at 500KM Festival
Puman are a reggae band from Yunnan, China, known for pioneering a style often referred to as Yunnan Reggae. Their sound fuses traditional tribal melodies and indigenous instruments, like local woodwinds and percussion, with classic reggae rhythms to create something both regionally rooted and globally resonant.
Their new album, Spring, released in June 2025, deepens this fusion. It’s a textured, emotionally rich collection that includes tracks like “Smoking Pipe,” “March Sixth,” and “Tree of Life.” The album celebrates seasonal renewal while showcasing Puman’s signature blend of innovation and heritage.
Some other music on this week’s show.
Mahotella Queens: South African female vocal group formed in Johannesburg in 1964, pioneers of mbaqanga combining multi-part harmonies with Simon “Mahlathini” Nkabinde and the Makgona Tsohle Band.
Adrian Quesada & Gepe: Grammy-nominated U.S. producer (Black Pumas) Adrian Quesada teams with Chilean singer Gepe on “Te Vas y Yo Te Dejo” from Boleros Psicodélicos II, fusing 60s/70s psychedelia with Latin balladry.
Mádé Kuti: Nigerian afrobeat multi-instrumentalist, composer and grandson of Fela Kuti; classically trained at Trinity Laban, debuted solo on For(e)ward (2021) and earned a Grammy nomination for Legacy+.
Holly Holden: London-based Spanglish soul-pop singer-songwriter; formed Holly Holden y Su Banda in 2015, released Tropical Soul EP (2017) and new album al andar (2025) composed on Venezuelan cuatro.
ODUCHU: Tuva-origin ensemble led by Chingis Sorju, merging Tuvan throat singing with folk, ambient and psych-rock; released the Nostalgia album and single in May 2025.
Murmurosi: Montreal duo Natalia Telentso and Eli Camilo performing a cappella Ukrainian village folk polyphony, mixing authentic songs with original re-arrangements on Bohutyn (2020).
Kanazoé Orkestra: Burkina Faso/France–based Afro-groove ensemble led by griot Seydou “Kanazoé” Diabaté; fourth album Balabeatz (2025) merges West African balafon trance with electronic dance-floor energy.
DANTCHEV:DOMAIN: Helsinki-based quartet fronted by Finnish-Bulgarian singer Anna Dantchev, blending Balkan folk, Scandinavian jazz and cinematic storytelling; debut Say It (2020) won Finnish Folk Album award.
Sw@da & Niczos: Polish producer Swada (Wiktor Szczygieł) and rapper Niczos (Nika Jurczuk) fuse Podlasie folk samples, synth-bass and rap on #INDAWOODS (2024); their single “Lusterka” reached the Polish Eurovision final.
Kasse Mady Diabaté & Hawa Kasse Mady Diabaté
Malian jali Kasse Mady Diabaté’s posthumous duets with daughter Hawa on Toumaro (2025) blend acoustic balafon with layered father-daughter vocals, modernized by producer Ibrahim Kaba.
Daughters of Donbas: Artistic-activist project by Marichka with Alina Kuzma and Zoe Santo, set to debut Songs of Stolen Children (2025), giving voice to Ukrainian children abducted in the Donbas conflict through art-folk and chamber song writing.
Stefano Saletti: Italian multi-instrumentalist/composer on oud, bouzouki and guitars; founded Novalia (1985) and Banda Ikona, championing Sabir (Mediterranean lingua franca) on albums like Folkpolitik (2012) and Mediterraneo Ostinato (2021).
Söndörgő: Hungarian tambura ensemble founded in 1995 by the Eredics family; they explore Hungarian and Balkan traditions with classical, rock and jazz, marking their 30th anniversary with the 2025 XXX album.
Elsa Mouratidou: Greek vocalist/composer rooted in Caucasus and Greek folk, merging jazz and chamber elements; her sextet’s Epsilon & Theta (2024) weaves Balkan, Judeo-Spanish and experimental jazz textures.
Where and when to hear Around the World
Friday:
Akaroa World Radio 2:00 pm local New Zealand Time (3:00 am GMT 4:00 am CET)
NAR-GROUP Germany – 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m (CET)
Mosel Radio – 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m (CET)
NAR-Alf – 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m (CET)
Waterwaves Radio: 9:00 pm GMT (22:00 CET)
Saturday:
Power 101FM Malawi: 11:00 local time
Flirt FM (Galway's Community of Interest & Student Station) 101.3 10:45 am - 12 45 pm
RCFM (Radio City FM) Duisburg, Germany 3:00 – 5:00 pm CET
U Radio - Sri Lanka 8:00pm - 10:00 pm local time
World FM 10:00 pm local New Zealand Time (11:00 am GMT, 12:00 noon CET)
Essential Radio Midnight to 2:00 am GMT (1:00 am CET)
Sunday:
West Coast FM Namibia 10:00 pm to 12:00 noon Central Africa Time (2:00 to 4:00 GMT)
Power 101FM Malawi: 12:00 local time
NFRS Osaka Japan: 12:00 noon local time (3:00 am UK time 4:00 am CET)
973FM in Singapore and 11:00 pm local time (3:00 pm/15:00 hours UTC – Universal Time).
Circl8 Chester: 12:00 noon
Best City Radio (Belfast) 3:00 pm
Websound Radio (Larne) 8:00 pm
DCRFM (Dover Community Radio 7:00pm
Slice Audio 10:00 pm local time (11:00 pm CET)
Monday:
Armagh City Radio 00:00 pm local time (01:00 pm CET)
SparkFlame Radio: 00:00 am GMT (01:00 CET)
Circl8 Chester: 12:00 noon
Stirling Community Radio 8:00 pm GMT (9:00 pm CET)
Waterwaves Radio: 9:00 pm GMT (22:00 CET)
BR2 Pure Gold Radio – Costa Blanca, Spain 10:00 pm local time (CET)
Akaroa World Radio 10:00 pm local New Zealand Time (11:00 am GMT, 12:00 noon CET)
World FM 10:00 pm local New Zealand Time (11:00 am GMT, 12:00 noon CET)
Tuesday:
Shire Extra: 8:00 pm GMT (21:00 CET)
Waterwaves Radio: 9:00 pm GMT (22:00 CET)
Wednesday:
World FM 4:00 am local New Zealand Time (5:00 pm Tuesday GMT, 6:00 pm CET)
Slice Audio 4:00 am local time GMT (5:00 am CET)
Life Right Radio (London) 7:00 pm
Best City Radio (Belfast) 10:00 pm
Radio Skye (Radio Garden) 10:00 pm GMT (11:00 pm CET)
Thursday:
LIVE DRN1 Perth Western Australia - 9:00 p.m. local time (2:00 pm CET)
Waterwaves Radio: 9:00 pm GMT (22:00 CET)