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BBC Radio 4
Jeffrey Boakye and Anna Phoebe take us on a musical journey of discovery, exploring the web of connections between tracks across the breadth of all musical styles, from pop, rock, reggae and hip-hop to classical, jazz, folk and country.
Episodes
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Mar 4, 2022 • 42min
Gillian Moore and Bogdan Văcărescu with ragas and folk tales
Cerys Matthews and Jeffrey Boakye are joined this week by Gillian Moore, Director of Music at London's Southbank Centre, and Romanian concert violinist Bogdan Văcărescu, to add the next five tracks to the playlist.The studio guests serve up their usual eclectic mix, and from Mumbai we hear from one of the great voices of a classical Indian music tradition.Presenters Cerys Matthews and Jeffrey Boakye
Producer Jerome WeatheraldThe five tracks in this week's playlist:Infernal Dance from The Firebird Suite by Igor Stravinsky
The Sea and Sinbad's Ship: Scheherazade by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
Toxic by Britney Spears
Raga Madhuvanti by Hariprasad Chaurasia
You're the Voice by John FarnhamOther music in this episode:Scherzo Fantastique, Op 25 by Antonio Bazzini, performed by Bogdan Văcărescu and Julian Jacobson
Thunderball by Tom Jones
Tere Mere Beech Mein by Lata Mangeshkar and S.P. Balasubrahmanyam
Venus in Furs by The Velvet Underground
400 Lux by Lorde

Feb 25, 2022 • 42min
Jess Gillam and Jeremy Summerly hit the high notes
Cerys Matthews and Jeffrey Boakye are joined by saxophonist Jess Gillam and conductor Jeremy Summerly to select the next five tracks for Add to Playlist. We travel from Colombia and Brazil to the Grand Canyon, with tracks that feature astonishing vocal dexterity. Speaking of the voice, we hear from another familiar Welsh singing legend who can tell us more about one particular note that famously proved a challenge for him in the 1960s.Presenters Cerys Matthews and Jeffrey Boakye
Producer Jerome WeatheraldThe five tracks in this week's playlist:Alegría by Elia y Elizabeth
11th Movement of Des Canyons aux Étoiles by Olivier Messiaen
Les Fleurs by Minnie Riperton
Bachianas Brasileiras No.5 by Heitor Villa-Lobos
Thunderball by Tom JonesOther music in this episode:I Feel Love by Donna Summer
Gbowo Mi by The Lijadu Sisters
Skreevar by Erland Cooper ft Marta Salogni
On the Nature of Daylight by Max Richter
Plan & Elevation: IV. The Orangery by Caroline Shaw
Lovin' You by Minnie Riperton
Kiss by Tom Jones & Art of Noise

Feb 18, 2022 • 42min
Rebekah Reid and Neil Brand take us to Stalin's Russia and film noir
Violinist Rebekah Reid and composer Neil Brand explore music under Stalin and a Billy Wilder classic as they join Cerys Matthews and Jeffrey Boakye to add five more tracks to the playlist, and it's another global journey.Presenters Cerys Matthews and Jeffrey Boakye
Producer Jerome WeatheraldThe five tracks in this week's playlist:(Where do I Begin) Love Story by Andy Williams
First Movement of Symphony No 5 in D Minor by Dmitri Shostakovich
Double Indemnity theme by Miklós Rózsa
Ashyaneh by Fereydoun Farrokhzad
Gbowo Mi by The Lijadu SistersOther music in this episode:Bobby by The Lijadu Sisters
Čaje, Šukarije by Paprika
(Where do I Begin) Love Story by Tony Bennett
(Where do I Begin) Love Story by Shirley Bassey
Fisherman by Zara McFarlane
Act Naturally by Buck Owens
Wellerman (Sea Shanty) by Nathan Owens
Orere Elejigbo by The Lijadu Sisters
Reincarnation by The Lijadu Sisters

Feb 11, 2022 • 42min
Anna Lapwood, Abel Selaocoe and Phil Thornalley take us to Soweto and the Balkans
Cerys Matthews and Jeffrey Boakye are joined by organist Anna Lapwood, South African cellist and vocalist Abel Selaocoe and songwriter/producer Phil Thornalley as they add the next five tracks to the playlist.As usual, each track is chosen for its musical connections with the previous one, as we pick up from the final track of the previous episode.Presenters Cerys Matthews and Jeffrey Boakye
Producer Jerome WeatheraldThe five tracks in this week's playlist:Torn by Natalie Imbruglia
When I am Laid in Earth (Dido’s Lament) by Purcell, sung by Elin Manahan Thomas
Ndofire/Skado by Samthing Soweto
Cry Me a River by Justin Timberlake
Čaje, Šukarije by Paprika Other music in this episode:An Occasional Trumpet Voluntary by Anna Lapwood
Lamentatio by Abel Selaocoe
Kiss Me by Sixpence None the Richer
Brændt by Lis Sørensen
The Lovecats by The Cure
Enough Time by The Stranglers
Action by Sweet
Čaje, Šukarije by Esma Redzepova

Feb 4, 2022 • 42min
Gary Crosby, Dinara Klinton and Kojo Samuel open the new series
Cerys Matthews and Jeffrey Boakye return with a new series as they create a new playlist with the help of jazz bass player Gary Crosby OBE, pianist Dinara Klinton and music director Kojo Samuel.Follow their musical journey of discovery as they reveal surprising connections that link one piece of music to another, as they cross eras, continents, genres and styles.Presenters Cerys Matthews and Jeffrey Boakye
Producer Jerome WeatheraldThe five tracks in this week's playlist:Umbrella by Rihanna
After the Rain by John Coltrane
"Ah! vous dirai-je, Maman" - 12 Variations in C Major by Mozart
Bam Bam by Sister Nancy
Show me the Way by Peter FramptonOther music in this episode:One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer by John Lee Hooker
Old Town Road by Lil Nas X ft Billy Ray Cyrus
I Got Rhythm by George Gershwin
La Mantovana, attributed to Giuseppe Cenci
Baa Baa Black Sheep by The Sing-a-Long Toddlers
Alphabet Song by Music for Little People Choir
What a Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong
Bam Bam by Toots and the Maytals
Stalag 17 by Ansel Collins
Don't Leave Me by Blackstreet
Rockit by Herbie Hancock
Baby, I Love Your Way by Peter Frampton
Haitian Divorce by Steely Dan
Show Me the Way to Go Home by Max Bygraves

Nov 26, 2021 • 43min
Dele Sosimi and Clare Norburn on Afrobeat and a Medieval visionary
For the final episode of this series, Afrobeat musician Dele Sosimi and soprano Clare Norburn talk us through the importance of building a track's opening, and celebrate a visionary Abbess from the 12th century.This takes the playlist of this series to 40, chosen and curated by Cerys Matthews and Jeffrey Boakye. Presenters Cerys Matthews and Jeffrey Boakye
Producer Jerome WeatheraldThis week's five tracks added to the playlist:O Frondens Virga by Hildegard von Bingen, sung by Emily D'Angelo
Chariots of Fire by Vangelis
Take me to the Mardi Gras by Bob James
Riders on the Storm by The Doors
It's Raining Men by The Weather GirlsOther music in this episode:The Magnificent Seven by Elmer Bernstein
O Frondens Virga by The Telling
The City of Violets by Stavros Logarides
Take me to the Mardi Gras by Paul Simon
Peter Piper by Run-D.M.C.
The Story of the Rhodes by Bluey and Friends, ft Tom O'Grady
Also Sprach Zarathustra by Deodato
Family Affair by Sly and The Family Stone
(Ghost) Riders in the Sky sung by Vaughn Monroe
Hardly Wait by P J Harvey, sung by Juliette Lewis

Nov 19, 2021 • 43min
Jamie Cullum and Mark Frost on a children's classic and the power of brass
Pianist Jamie Cullum and trombonist Mark Frost join Cerys Matthews and Jeffrey Boakye in the penultimate episode of the current series as they add the next five tracks to the growing playlist.What links one of the most famous brass pieces in all opera to an all-star jazz musical ensemble in New York? And how does that get us to Sesame Street? The serendipitous musical journey continues.Presenters Cerys Matthews and Jeffrey Boakye
Producer Jerome WeatheraldThis week's five tracks added to the playlist:Sanft Schloss Schlaf dein Aug'! by Richard Wagner
Trombone Joe by Herlin Riley
Sing by The Carpenters/Sesame Street
The Coffee Cola Song by Francis Bebey
Mask Off by FutureOther music in this episode:Concerto Grosso in C, HWV 318 by Handel
Lose My Breath by Destiny's Child
Ride of the Valkyries by Wagner
A Cenar Teco from Don Giovanni by Mozart
Dies Irae from the Symphonie Fantastique by Berlioz
Everything Now by Arcade Fire
Watermelon Man by Herbie Hancock
Flute Loop by Beastie Boys
Prison Song by Tommy Butler

Nov 12, 2021 • 43min
Joe Stilgoe and Sonny Ji take us to the Alps and Bollywood
Pianist and singer Joe Stilgoe helps Cerys Matthews and Jeffrey Boakye compile the next five tracks for the growing playlist, with musical connections taking us from a controversial singing style to the Austrian Alps.DJ and BBC Asian Network presenter Sonny Ji and voice coaches Dr Gillyanne Kayes and Jeremy Fisher provide insights into the techniques and background to individual tracks. Presenters Cerys Matthews and Jeffrey Boakye
Producer Jerome WeatheraldThe five tracks added to this week's playlist:It Don't Mean a Thing by The Boswell Sisters
She Taught Me How to Yodel by Frank Ifield
Edelweiss by Bill Lee
Piya Tu Ab To Aaja by Asha Bhosle
Lose My Breath by Destiny's ChildOther music in this episode:Sandstorm by Darude
I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles by Doris Day
Rum and Coca-Cola by The Andrews Sisters
Chattanooga Choo Choo by The Andrews Sisters
Throat singing by Karin and Kathy Kettler
Arizona Yodeler by The DeZurik Sisters
Yelli by the Baka Forest People in the Cameroon rain forest
Daddy and Home by Jimmie Rodgers
A Yodeling Hobo by Gene Autry
Yodelling Mozart by Mary Schneider
Zombie by The Cranberries
Good Sign, Bad Sign by Monty Norman
Crazy In Love by Beyoncé (Homecoming Live)
Let's Go Blue by the University of Michigan Marching Band

Nov 5, 2021 • 43min
Jasmin Kent Rodgman and Gwyn Hughes Jones on a new discovery and a classic
Jasmin Kent Rodgman, the British/Malaysian artist and composer, joins Welsh tenor Gwyn Hughes Jones and British/Chinese artist Aowen Jin as they select and discuss the latest five tracks to be added to the weekly playlist, where each track has a musical connection with the previous one.Cerys Matthews and Jeffrey Boakye pick up where they left off last time, with Luis Fonsi and Justin Bieber's classic earworm Despacito. So where will their journey take us from there? Presenters Cerys Matthews and Jeffrey Boakye
Producer Jerome WeatheraldThe five tracks added to this week's playlist:Tu Vuò' Fà' l'Americano by Sophia Loren and Paolo Bacilieri
Heebie Jeebies by Louis Armstrong
Ha Ha Lili by San Dingding
Nessun Dorma! by Giacomo Puccini, sung by Luciano Pavarotti
I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles sung by Doris Day and Jack SmithOther music in this episode:God Walked Down by The Allergies
The Other Bank by Janet Kent Rodgman
Despacito by Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee feat Justin Bieber
Tu Vuò' Fà' l'Americano sung by Jude Law, Matt Damon and Rosario Fiorello
Life on Mars by David Bowie
Shotgun by George Ezra
I Fought the Law by The Clash
Are You Lonesome Tonight? by Elvis Presley
Violaine by Cocteau Twins
Sequenza III for Female Voice by Luciano Berio
Shawnee Stomp Dance from First Nation Sacred Songs
Adiemus by Karl Jenkins
Puirt a beul, Scottish Mouth Music, by the Quadriga Consort
Nessun Dorma! sung by Gwyn Hughes Jones
I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles sung by Vera Lynn

Oct 29, 2021 • 42min
Guests Soweto Kinch and Steven Devine celebrate the joys of the keyboard
Birmingham-based saxophonist Soweto Kinch is joined by keyboard specialist Steven Devine and percussionist Ruairi Glasheen, as Cerys Matthews and Jeffrey Boakye compile the next five tracks for their growing playlist.Last week concluded with Nina Cried Power by Hozier, featuring Mavis Staples, but where will that lead for the start of this episode's selection? Presenters Cerys Matthews and Jeffrey Boakye
Producer Jerome WeatheraldFull track list in order in the episode, with the five chosen Playlist tracks in CAPITALS:Golden Brown by The Stranglers
Liberation Rag by Soweto Kinch
Nina Cried Power by Hozier
NKA BOM by Edikanfo
STAYIN' ALIVE by The Bee Gees
Stayin' Alive by Bruce Springsteen
Stayin' Alive by N-Trance
HIGHER GROUND by Stevie Wonder
VARIATIONS ON A THEME BY MOZART FOR FOUR HARPSICHORDS by George Malcolm, Valda Aveling, Geoffrey Parsons & Simon Preston
French Suite No.4 in E Flat Major, BWV 815a Prelude by Bach by Violet Gordon Woodhouse
DESPACITO by Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee feat Justin Bieber
Despacito (Harpsichord) performed by Katarzyna Kowalik


