Tracks From Abroad

Returning to Brazil -- Tracks From Abroad Ep. 31

Every great series has an origin story. For Tracks From Abroad, it all began when two students sat in an echoey lecture hall and talked about Brazil. And Brazil is back baby!
Episode 31--the start of season 4--is here featuring an interview with U of T student Ana. She is the producer for el CafeciTO, the Spanish and Portuguese podcast at U of T, and we talk about Brazilian geography, censorship, and political documentaries.
You'll notice the episode graphic got switched up, but we're still sticking to our guns finding international students to discuss music form around the world. Want to come on the show or suggest a song? DM TFA.radio on Instagram. Track lists are at TracksFromAbroad.com
See you next week!

VERMONT -- Tracks From Abroad Ep. 30.5

For 30 episodes we've journeyed across the world, but this week Tracks From Abroad took the chance to visit Jesse's home. He makes this entire show FYI and is writing this paragraph right now.
Vermont is a lovely place to live in the USA, and through a few interviews and well-selected music you can travel there too. Just press play.
Thank you to Kal Traver, Jackson Greenleaf, Ben Roth of WRVU, and Rusty DeWees for speaking about Vermont in this show. See you next week.

Trinidad -- Tracks From Abroad Ep. 30

Guys, I'm being serious. This Tracks From Abroad show on Trinidad is a really fun listen!
This week we welcomed two guests: Shameel of Trinidad and Kyn Rose, a Toronto artist with ties to St. Vincent. We play some of Kyn's songs, and get into a great playlist put together by Shameel! It really made me want to visit Trinidad, and since Shameel just returned from Trinidad, we might have to get him back on TFA for an update.
In Shameel's interview we talk about screw de lightbulb pat de dog, the pan, and humming birds. With Kyn Rose the conversation turned to volcanoes, chicken Pelau and jewelry.
30 episodes in and I'm still having fun. Send me some music that you like and let's make something.

Turkey -- Tracks From Abroad Ep. 29

Here’s a first! Tracks From Abroad got to hear some Turkish sounds this week thanks to Batuhan. In my interview with Batuhan we talked about Turkish politics, instruments, and folk battle rapping. Also, TFA has been recording some shows with guests in studio, so if you want to come be a part of the process send me a message.
The show goes on, and we’re nearly at episode 30!

Returning to Mexico -- Tracks From Abroad Ep. 28

Mexico deserved a second go-round, so Tracks From Abroad returned with the help of two guests. Rebeca and Ana came on the show with a great playlist of Mexican music. At first we talked about the state of Nuevo Leon where they are both from, but soon we were going on about Mexican food, holidays and racism.
It was a fun show to make, and I hope to visit Mexico soon to check it out for myself.

Niger -- Tracks From Abroad Ep. 27

Tracks From Abroad's biggest interview happened this week with renowned Nigerien band Mdou Moctar. This is episode 27 on Niger.
First on the show TFA welcomed Djaouar, a U of T student who grew up in Niger. Djaouar is one of the nicest people I've met in Toronto, and with another CIUT host, Victor Kovaleski of The Third Face, all three of us went to see Mdou Moctar when they came to Toronto. Djaouar and I talk about assimilation, pick-up soccer, and Chick-fil-A in our interview.
Later TFA was blessed to speak with Mdou Moctar himself. Mdou was at the tail end of his North America tour, calling his family every three hours, but still selling out and crushing live shows across the map. With Mdou we talked about the Uranium trade, about Boko Haram, and about the fabulous Celine Dion. This is TFA's biggest interview so far, and it doesn't disappoint.
I hope you enjoy this week's show, and please send me a message telling me your thoughts on Tracks From Abroad. Frankly, I don't know if I've heard a single thing about Niger in my entire life up until this week, so just imagine what the rest of this world has to offer. Why don't we explore it together on TFA?
-Jesse

China -- Tracks From Abroad Ep. 26

Tracks From Abroad is hitting its stride this week with an episode on China featuring Vicky Huang. Her playlist is wonderfully experimental with some Chinese classics thrown in as well. In our interview we talk about collectivism ideology, earthquakes, and Buddhism with the help of the TFA intern, Quinn Carlisle.
Also on the show are tracks by Paul Chin and YAMANTAKA // SONIC TITAN. These groups from Toronto combine Asian influences into their music to great effect. This summer you can expect more interviews from local artists like these, and feel free to send any suggestions to TracksFromAbroad@ciut.fm
Throw down a comment below to share an artist, song, or genre we should feature on Tracks From Abroad. THIS IS JUST THE BEGINNING! -Jesse

Returning to France -- Tracks From Abroad Ep. 25

It's a small world, as my parents say, and in 25 weeks Tracks From Abroad has circled back to France.
This week UofT student Louise comes on as a guest with her producer Theodore, and together they talk about Louise's music project Oliana. We talk about French rappers, crediting music producers, and which Parisian monument is best. You will hear a range of French music, and several tracks thrown in by Oliana as well.
With summer vacation upon us, Tracks From Abroad is continuing with weekly shows and new projects. If you want to get involved send us a dm or email at TracksFromAbroad@ciut.fm. If you know local students making music from around the world, send them to TFA and we'll bring them on the show!

Returning to Nigeria -- Tracks From Abroad Ep. 24

After much interviewing and editing, TFA's 24th episode has come together as we return to Nigeria for more music.
Somachi Agbapu is this week's student guest who describes immigrating to Canada, eating Nigerian jollof rice, and playing basketball at U of T. Somachi is the captain of the Varsity Blues basketball team, and in the future TFA hopes to talk with more international athletes at UofT.
The second guest was Nova, an afro-fusion artist from Lagos, Nigeria who is set to release and perform new music this summer. Nova was featured in Exclaim! magazine as an emerging artist back in November, and he is currently shooting music videos for his most recent release S.T.A.Y. II. You can see Nova perform live on April 29th at Taco Taco in Kensington Market.
Nigeria's vibrant music shone through again on this episode, and throughout the summer TFA will return to west Africa for more music and stories. See you next week!

Germany -- Tracks From Abroad Ep. 23

In collaboration with the University of Toronto Department of Germanic Languages & Literatures, Tracks From Abroad visited Germany this week with two guest interviews. The first was UofT student Hana Wernick, and the second is professor Stefan Soldovieri.
Hana talked about Berlin Wall music, immigration, and German beer; while Stefan talked about Germany's green cities and natural gas. Hana also put together a great playlist of German music for our show, and she encourages all UofT students to check out what the department has to offer.
If you're interested in traveling to Germany with UofT, message the German Department at german@chass.utoronto.ca
See you next week! -Jesse