Tracks From Abroad

Our guest, Ava, shares stories about her Serbian heritage!

Our director, Elžbieta, was able to travel to Germany in person to interview a U of T alum, Mia Lorenz about her experiences as a German-Canadian living in Cologne!

Each of our team members share a bit about themselves, their roles at TFA, and the music they love in this first episode of Season 12!

A review of all of our favourite tracks from this past season!

Hear from the guests of TFA throughout this season to hear about what makes this time of year special to them, and what songs they like to hear!

We speak to Dakota about Guyana on the 117th episode of Tracks From Abroad. She shares about visiting the country to see family and also explains more recent economic developments in the country, shaping the country's future. We hear music from the likes of Bing Serrao and the Ramblers, a Canadian Guyanese band who have been around since the 1950s, as well as Jospeh of Mercury and Anjulie, both Canadian-Guyanese musicians active today. Take a seat and enjoy some of the tracks from Guyana, right here on Tracks From Abroad.

On the 116th episode of Tracks From Abroad, Tela and Tegra take us on a tour of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. They reminisce about how big, supportive Congolese families let you experiment with different careers, and how a certain subgroup likes to spend their hard-earned cash on dazzling, colourful suits. Both looking good and feeling good is crucial to Congolese culture, so sit back or get down to the this episode's soundtrack of contemporary Congolese music, and tune in next week at 6:00 on CIUT 89.5FM.

On the 115th episode of Tracks From Abroad we speak to Omer from Afghanistan. Seeking refuge from his home country, he first arrived in the United States before seeking asylum in Canada. Omer had a goal to study at the University of Toronto, and after retaking a year of high school, he achieved his dream and is currently pursuing a second degree at the University. Omer speaks about the importance of education in his family, his father having taught at girls schools back home. We hear songs from Mozhdah and Hangama, both Afghani-Canadian musicians keeping their culture alive through song. We hope you enjoy and tune in next week on CIUT 89.5FM for another episode of Tracks From Abroad.

The 114th episode of Tracks From Abroad is all about Taiwan. We talk to Scott, who guides us through the island nation's combination of bustling city and tranquil forest. He also speaks about his heartache-tinged rom-com films and the universal appeal of country & blues. So strum your guitar to the tunes we play on this episode and find out what whether the Taiwanese feel the blues like we do!

Today’s special edition of Tracks From Abroad takes us to Central America, more specifically Belize. We first speak to Cha Chi, owner of Cha Chi’s Pizza in Placencia. He talks about the music scene in Belize, noting some famous acts that have been through his doors to preform. Lord Rhaburn, C-Wills and the Garifuna Collective are just a few of the incredible acts he mentions that we get to hear on this episode. We later head up to Hopkins, and speak to Dahlia Miranda and BomBom at Semeti Giffiti, serving up Garifuna meals and preforming cultural Garifuna drumming. We’ll hear from their group, the Dunbei Yurumein drummers and speak about the history of the Garifuna people and what they are doing today to keep the culture alive. Lastly we’ll take a listen to a song from Danny Michel an artist from Kitchener who collaborated with the legendary Garifuna collective, melding his own musical styles with traditional Garifuna rythyms. All that and more, coming to you live from CIUT 89.5FM Mondays at 6pm.

On the 112th episode of Tracks from Abroad we take a voyage to Deutschland and speak to student Victoria and University College Principal Marcus Stock. Victoria speaks about her time growing up in Germany, visiting many different cities, all with their unique charm. She also touches on the ethos of young German kids drinking away at Oktoberfest, listening to, in her humble opinion, unironically good, festive drinking tunes called Schlager Music. Professor Stock shares some of his personal challenges when adapting to Canadian culture, namely Canadian’s outward politeness; having more than 20 ways to say “no”, which contrasts with many German’s direct approach to communication. He touches on some of the social movements in Germany after the second world war and how they mainfested in music, allowing the German population to grapple with their collective guilt and greif from the war. We play everything from upbeat Schlager, to mellow classical numbers on today’s packed episode. Join us next week for a vacation special in Belize, Monday at 6PM ON CIUT 89.5FM.

On episode 111 of Tracks from Abroad we speak to CIUT legend, ex-volunteer coordinator Razzak Noorani. Razzak hails from Pakistan, and brings us some lovely Chai to sip on throughout the course of our interview. Razzak also DJs and shares with us some of the trials and tribulations he’s faced over the course of his music career. We listen to some of his music that’s been released to the world but also get a couple exclusive listens to tracks still in his vault. Throughout the episode we will hear from other Pakistani acts like Rumer, JoSH, and Nazia Hassan all representing different genres that in turn blend Pakistani culture. Join us next week for an episode all about Germany, Monday at 6pm on CIUT 89.5FM.

Today on Tracks from Abroad we visit Tibet and speak to Phd student Thinley Gyatso. Not to be confused with the Thinley Gyatso who wrote about traditional Tibetan medicine, rather this Thinley is more focused on studying Buddhist religious philosophy. He explains to us his youth living in a nomadic community and Tibetan people's immense respect and connection to nature. We hear some of Thinley's favourite Tibetan songs as well as tracks from Tibetan-Canadian artists Amchok Gompo Dhondup and Dorjee Tsering. We hope you enjoy this relaxing episode full of spiritual wisdom and come back next week for Tracks from Abroad's 111th episode. Only on CIUT 89.5 FM...