Podcasts by Commonwealth Connections
World music from the Commonwealth countries for BBC Radio 3’s World on 3, Fridays. Musicians, sportspeople and cultural figures introduce music recorded on location.
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Heritage Track: Belize from 2014-08-02T00:14
The Hon. Dolores Balderamos Garcia is a politician, lawyer and broadcaster. The only woman of the 31 members of Belize's House of Representatives, she is particularly interested in improving the...
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Trinidad and Tobago from 2014-07-27T00:00
Within these small Islands, steelpan orchestras are an integral part of daily life. The Pamberi pan yard on the outskirts of Port of Spain is a meeting place for the whole community whether they...
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Heritage Track: Nauru from 2014-07-26T03:00
Measuring eight square miles with a total coastline of eighteen and a half miles and a population of just over nine thousand, the Pacific island of Nauru is arguably the least populous actual so...
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Heritage Track: Cameroon from 2014-07-19T02:13
Saxophonist Manu Dibango brought the sound of Cameroon to the world but also brought a bit of the world back into Cameroon, creating a glorious fusion of African Funk and Jazz. Weightlifter Vana...
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Heritage Track: Kiribati from 2014-07-12T02:27
Kiribati is an archipelago of 33 islands in the central Pacific, with a population of just one hundred thousand people across more than a million square miles of Ocean. Formerly the Gilbert Isla...
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Bangladesh from 2014-07-12T00:25
On a rooftop beside Gulshan lake, above the bells of tuk tuks and sounds of the call to prayer, a group of musicians have gathered in the late afternoon in Dhaka. Baby Dewan sings Bhatiyali song...
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Heritage Track: St Vincent and the Grenadines from 2014-07-05T02:30
Writer and poet Philip Nanton chooses Credentials by Shake Keane, the well-known Vincentian jazz musician and poet, and explains how the story Shake tells encapsulates for him certain key aspect...
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Seychelles from 2014-07-04T23:30
In the midst of the Seychelles Carnival, Latroupe Nasyonal Sesel, a ceilidh-style band of seven players and several young dancers are preparing their traditional music and dances for the celebra...
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Heritage Track: Tuvalu from 2014-06-28T02:30
Formerly known as the Ellice Islands, Tuvalu is a Pacific island nation situated between Hawaii and Australia. Its population of just 11,200 means it the third-least populous sovereign state in ...
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Heritage Track: Mozambique from 2014-06-21T00:00
Mozambique is something of an anomaly in terms of Commonwealth membership. It only became a member in 1995 and was never under British control. Instead the country was ruled by Portugal from 150...
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Heritgae Track: St. Kitts&Nevis from 2014-06-14T02:15
Athlete Jason Rogers (100m), living and training in Canada, chooses an example of the soca music so popular back home in the Caribbean islands of St Kitts and Nevis. Unstoppable Force by King Ko...
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Heritage Track: Papua New Guinea from 2014-06-07T00:00
Jeffry Feeger, Papua New Guinea's leading visual artist, chooses the song West Papua by George Telek to express the deep-rooted Melanesian heritage his people share with those across the border ...
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New Zealand from 2014-06-02T18:15
Whiri Tu Aka are a 5-piece all-female Maori a capella group founded by producer/vocalist Mina Ripa. Best known for her work in the field of electronica and dance music, this project was inspired...
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Heritage track: Guyana from 2014-06-02T15:15
Writer and academic David Dabydeen is currently Guyana's ambassador to China. His Heritage Track is 'Not a Blade of Grass' by Dave Martins and the Tradewinds. For David the song prompts thoughts...
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Heritage Track: Nigeria from 2014-05-24T04:00
Nigeria has long been a powerhouse in terms of world music, with artists like Fela Kuti reaching audiences around the globe. Our Commonwealth athlete this week is US Olympian but has chosen to r...
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Heritage Track: Vanuatu from 2014-05-17T03:00
Vanuatu - which literally means freestanding - has only existed as an independent country since 1980. It has a population of less than quarter of a million, but despite that has a strong reputat...
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Heritage Track: Gambia from 2014-05-10T03:00
Gambian athlete, Suwaibou Sanneh, carries his country's music with him as he prepares for the 100 metres sprint in the USA. Music from Jaliba Kuyateh and The Kumareh Band.
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Heritage Track: Samoa from 2014-05-03T02:00
Sia Figiel is a novelist, painter and poet who won the 1997 Commonwealth Writers' Prize for Fiction (SE Asia/Pacific Region). Her choice of Heritage Track LOTA NU'U, sung here by the Samoa Teach...
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Solomon Islands from 2014-05-03T00:00
Bamboo grows all over the Solomon Islands and provides a perfect natural material for making musical instruments. The 13 piece Waurana Pan Pipe Ensemble makes full use of the bamboo which grows ...
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Heritage Track: Grenada from 2014-04-26T02:00
Writer Jacob Ross was short-listed for the 2009 Commonwealth Writers' Prize and in 2011 was awarded Grenada's highest award for his contribution to literature. His choice of Heritage Track- the ...
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Heritage Track: Ghana from 2014-04-19T02:00
Ghana has made quite an impact on the world music scene over the years, not least with Highlife music, perhaps the best known genre to emerge from this west African country - and the Anglo-Ghana...
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Mueena Mohamed from 2014-04-12T02:00
Mueena Mohamed is the Number One table tennis player in Maldives. She chooses a song very familiar to her from her childhood, Minivan vayaa, and talks about the place of music in Maldivian cultu...
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Kiran Khan from 2014-04-05T02:00
Kiran Khan is one of Pakistan's first international female swimmers. She talks about the responsibilities and pressures of being a media celebrity and a role-model for other women, and the diffi...
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Maziah Mahusin from 2014-03-29T03:00
Sprinter Maziah Mahusin was the only female athlete representing her country at the London Olympics 2012; carrying the Bruneian flag at the Opening Ceremony is one of her proudest moments. Since...
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Sierra Leone: Hafsatu Kamara from 2014-03-22T03:00
Hafsatu Kamara is an up-and-coming sprinter who represented Sierra Leone at the 2013 African Senior Championships, and aims to do well at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. Raised in Sierra Leon...
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Antigua and Barbuda: Kasheem Colbourne from 2014-03-15T03:00
Up and coming 200m and 400m sprinter Kasheem Colbourne expresses through his music choice his deep pride in the beauty of his country. 'Antigua' by Rupert Blaize conjures up paradise-like images...
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Suleman Nyambui Mujaya from 2014-03-01T03:00
Suleman Nyambui Mujaya struck silver for Tanzania in the 3000 metres steeplechase at the Moscow Olympics in 1980. He stayed in sport and is now General Secretary of Athletic Tanzania. His chosen...
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Mauritius- Christianne Legentil from 2014-02-22T03:00
Christianne Legentil did Mauritius proud by reaching the quarter finals of the 52kg women's Judo category at the London Olympics, despite coming from an island just 18 kilometres long in the mid...
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The Bahamas- Chris Brown from 2014-02-15T03:00
Bahamian 400m sprinter and triple Olympic medallist, Chris Brown, talks about junkanoo, the music of the annual street parades that resonates with all Bahamians. This music, deeply rooted in the...
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South Africa from 2014-02-15T01:00
Every Sunday morning, townships across South Africa vibrate to the sound and colour of traditional gospel services. The Holy Ethiopian Catholic Church of Zion gather in Soweto to sing songs whic...
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Lesotho- Mosito Lehata from 2014-02-08T03:00
Mosito Lehata, 100 and 200 metre sprinter, is the fastest man in Lesotho and is the current holder of the country's record for the 100 metres. Mosito's chosen artist is Lesotho saxophonist Bhuda...
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Canada: Postcard from Newfoundland from 2014-02-08T01:00
Generations of musicians have found inspiration from their landscape, their fishing traditions and island life in Newfoundland. This lively music session recorded in St. John's, Newfoundland's c...
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Jamaica: The Route to Reggae from 2014-02-01T03:00
In Port Antonio on the north side of the island, the Jolly Boys, a mento band formed in 1945 to entertain at Errol Flynn's parties, live a quiet life entertaining the visiting stars and singing...
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Swaziland- Gideon Mthembu from 2014-02-01T01:05
Gideon Mthembu made his name as a marathon runner for Swaziland, representing his country at the 1988 Seoul Olympics.He went on to play an important role in the administration of athletics in Sw...
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