Around the World - Preview
16 May 2025
You can listen to the show on Mixcloud
Music From: Bosnia & Herzegovina, Brazil, Colombo, Finland, France, Galicia, Georgia, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Kenya, Mali, Mexico, Morocco, Netherlands, Nova Scotia, Senegal, South Africa, and Wales.
Music by: Aïta Mon Amour, Carmela, Cheikh Ibra Fam, Cynefin, Daoirí Farrell, Elana Sasson & Matthieu Saglio, Eleonora Bordonaro, Elsa Mouratidou, Ensemble Marani, Fabrizio, Piepoli, Johnny Clegg & Msaki Maija, Kauhanen & Johannes Geworkian Hellman, Mostar Sevdah Reunion, Natalia Lafourcade, Our Native Daughters, Pambele, Piers Faccini & Ballaké Sissoko, Raquel Kurpershoek, Romano, Thiago Amud, Tidiane Thiam, Willos', Winyo & Fancy Fingers, and Youssou N'Dour.
This week’s Featured Album: Cassie and Maggie’s Gold and Coal.
For the first time since launching this newsletter, there is no new promotional video to go with the featured album. So here are the noted from the Bandcamp page for Gold and Coal.
Welcome to Gold and Coal, an album that represents the heart and soul of our musical journey. We are Cassie and Maggie, and we are thrilled to share this deeply personal project with you. This album is more than just a collection of songs; it is a narrative that intertwines the rich, enduring traditions of our Celtic heritage with the bold, untamed spirit of new musical frontiers.
The concept of duality is at the core of this record. "Coal" symbolizes the deep roots of our past—the wisdom, resilience, and legacy passed down through generations. It is the foundation upon which we stand, the bedrock of our musical identity. These are the tunes and stories that have shaped us, and through them, we honour the strength and history of those who came before.
On the other side, "Gold" shines with the promise of new horizons. It represents the relentless drive to innovate, to explore, and to push the boundaries of what is possible. This gold is not just about what glitters on the surface, but the deeper, more profound journey of discovery and creation. It’s about embracing the unknown, daring to blend tradition with contemporary influences, forging new paths.
Gold and Coal is a tapestry of these dualities, woven together to create a sound that is both timeless and contemporary. We invite you to join us on this journey, to feel the echoes of tradition and the excitement of discovery. Thank you for listening, and we hope these songs resonate with you as deeply as they do with us.
With heartfelt gratitude,
Cassie and Maggie
Find out more about the Nova Scotian sibling duo Cassie and Maggie MacDonald at their website here.
عيطة العمالة - Aita Mon Amour - AMELLA
After a world tour in 2024 with more than 50 dates, Aita Mon Amour returned to France to celebrate the long-awaited release of their first album: ABDA, at the beginning of the year.
Aïta Mon Amour is a musical project that brings the traditional Moroccan genre Aïta into the modern era. Aïta itself is a rural musical expression, historically performed by women known as Chikhates, who were seen as rebellious figures preserving a centuries-old tradition. (*)
The band is led by Widad Mjama, a pioneering Moroccan rapper and passionate advocate for oral traditions, and Khalil Epi, a Tunisian multi-instrumentalist who blends classical Arabic music, jazz, and global sounds. (*) Together, they fuse Aïta’s poetic and powerful essence with contemporary electronic music, creating a unique soundscape that resonates with both tradition and modernity. (*)
There is more information about Aita Mon and videos here.
Willos' - Pound a week rise (Official Live Performance Castlefest 2024)
This Irish band … is Italian. Well, most of them are.
Stephanie Martin the Willos’ fiddle player from Belfast began playing violin and piano at the age of 7, was classically trained, and studied at the City of Belfast School of Music. Along with Fiona King (Lead Voice, Keyboards) from Vancouver, Canada, they are the non-Italians in this Irish/Celtic band.
Italian, Massimo Giuntini plays Uillean Pipes, Irish Bouzouki, Flutes. He is an Italian master of the Uillean Pipes, he has been playing Celtic music for over thirty years. His music appears in many soundtracks, the most famous Gangs of New York by Martin Scorsese.
Luca Mercurio plays Guitar, and Irish Bouzouki. Luca, also Italian, discovered Celtic Music in 1999, after a study period in Edinburgh, Scotland with the “Erasmus” project. It became his main interest in the following years. In the year 2000 he established with percussionist Giulio Putti, the band “Will o’ the wisp” later known as Willos’ as a guitar and bouzouki player
Lorenzo Del Grande is an eclectic flutist, having been part of many ensembles from different musical genres. Before and after graduating from the conservatory, he collaborated with orchestras and ensembles of classical and contemporary music, moving from rock to improvisation to Irish traditional music, which he has been playing since the late 1990s.
Giulio Putti - Bodhràn - Giulio started playing traditional Sienese percussion at the age of 11, moving then to the drum kit and other drums. Returning from a trip to Ireland in the summer of 1998, he started studying the bodhràn. One evening in the winter of 2003, Ray Gallen, for years a leading musician of the Belfast scene, told him, “Giulio, if someone asked me who is the best player of bodhran of Ireland, I would answer … I ... but your style is so close to my ...”.
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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)
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Saturday:
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Sunday:
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Circl8 Chester: 12:00 noon
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Monday:
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Circl8 Chester: 12:00 noon
Stirling Community Radio 8:00 pm GMT (9:00 pm CET)
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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
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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)