The music of Sierra Leone shall make you swoon and groove in equal measures.  Start with the sweet acoustic style of Maringa (known abroad as Palmwine music), birthed by the blending of freed Caribbean-African slaves (and their Calypso vibes) with the traditional sounds of West Africa:

Throw in a steady dose of pre-Afrobeat:

A touch of wild-style 180bpm electro-funk, accordion folk, and this modern minstrel of cross-pollination:

And now you know Salone music.  Easy ear peace.  Ramble on.

Cyprus is an island divided.  The northern half is Turkish occupied.  The southern part, though a sovereign nation since 1960, is still very much propelled by its Greek language and heritage.  Musically speaking, this means we have two distinct sonic spectrums to explore this week.

Greek-language hip-hop works remarkably well…  Plato would bounce to this:

And if you’re feeling any tension in your lower thorax, North Cypriot folk-rock, like the Turkish equivalent, will leave you blissed-out and bug-eyed:

ALSO ON THE PROGRAM: An interview with the Battle of Santiago about their genre-blending new class of music.. Afrodub Postrockstep (that’s an approximation)

What type of sonic booty does a calm and collected nation like Switzerland have to offer the global music-scape?  You may have never asked yourself this question… and you may be correct in doing so.  But then again, you throw in French, German, Italian and the ancient Romansch culture — and you’ve got yourself a heck of a frothy mixtape for your ears.  Listen and ye shall be rewarded with the usual unexpected derailments.

Tune in and brush up on the sweet sounds coming out of Uganda.  We are joined in the studio by CJSF’s Hamzah Kakooza, who grew up in the bustling capital city of Kampala.  He shares the best Ugandan music from then and now, sung in the beatific Lugandan language.  Dancehall, Kidandali, Soukous, and sounds ungenrefiable…

We have but a canoe and two paddles.. It’s just you and me, dear amigo.  Will we beat the odds and reach a beautiful Polynesian island of wonder?  Will the inhabitants be musically inclined?  Will they befriend us or bury us at sea?  Listen in and soak up soundscapes that our ears have yet to wander, the sun is on the rise as we point the bow towards Tonga..

This next one is rrreeal soothing… but suddenly it gets all funked up at the 5:03 mark.. for a full 4 seconds!