Hello fellow music lovers! Man, it’s been a long time. A whole lot has happened between the last episode in 2016, and today. And I wanted to speak to you today to fill you in on what happened to Travels in Music, and more importantly share something pretty exciting. I just launched a brand new […] The post UPDATE: Listen to my new podcast, Humans i…

Live from Chiang Mai, northern Thailand! Today’s episode features an update about the future of Travels in Music, my thoughts after recording twenty episodes, what it’s like producing a podcast, what I’ve learned, how I’m thinking about changing moving forward, and more. Above all: thank-you, so much, for listening so far. Bigger and better things …

The past few years have been very good to fans of the late singer-songwriter Harry Nilsson. We got to see an excellent feature-length documentary on Nilsson’s life and work, the remastering of his entire discography with several discs of bonus material, along with the release of what will surely go down as the definitive Nilsson […] The post Ep. 21…

The Canadian rock n’ roll band The Tragically Hip occupy a special place in my country’s musical culture. Although the Hip have dedicated American and European fans, they have, for the most part, concentrated their efforts on building and sustaining their ravenous Canadian fanbase. Many of the band’s most loved songs address distinctly Canadian the…

Even though the art of disc-jockeying is nearly one hundred years old, with modern DJs selling out stadiums and celebrated like rock stars the world over, there remain many misconceptions about DJs, and the art of djing. Perhaps the most egregious of these misconceptions is that djing is easy, and anyone with half a sense of […] The post Ep. 19: La…

The Canadian singer-songwriter and poet Leonard Cohen has written some of the most eloquent, powerful, and important popular songs of the past half century. Although many members of the younger generation are only familiar with his modern day hymn “Hallelujah,” that’s really just skimming the surface of Cohen’s brilliance. For the man who wrote “Ha…

Binkey is a Chicago-born, Chiang Mai-based poet, musician, MC, and teacher. He’s also a man with many different interests, ideas, and opinions, and he and I go deep in this episode of Travels in Music. As my first sit-down, in-person interview (so much more fun than Skype), in today’s episode Binkey and I discuss growing up […] The post Ep. 17: On …

My guest today is a founding member of one of the most unique, interesting, and eclectic groups on the world stage. Back in 2006, Delhi 2 Dublin began as a side project for vocalist Sanjay Seran. As the band name suggests, Sanjay and fellow founding member Tarun Nayar began playing a fusion of North Indian […] The post Ep. 16: From Delhi 2 Dublin: …

When we think about the roots of rock n’ roll, we generally tend to think about people like Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Buddy Holly. For reasons owing to politics, race, and the various prejudices of historians and music journalists, many of the earliest African-American blues, jazz, and r n’ b pioneers, such as Louis […] The post Ep. 15: T…

Think about your all-time favourite musician. Someone you’ve been following since you were very young. Someone whose music touches you like no one else’s. Now imagine being invited into that person’s world, watching them rehearse behind closed doors, spending time with them, sharing drinks on their plane, taking in their concerts from the side of t…

Refugee Week takes place every year across the world in the week of World Refugee Day on the 20th of June. In the midst of the current refugee crisis, Refugee Week is a nationwide programme of arts, cultural and educational events that celebrate the contribution of refugees to the UK, and encourages a better understanding […] The post Ep. 13: War, …

If you’re someone who regularly listens to this podcast, chances are good that you’re well acquainted with the rock and roll revolution of the 1960’s. For a generation, rock n’ roll defined youth culture in the West, and was an integral part of the political, social, and cultural revolutions occurring at the same time. For […] The post Ep. 12: Indi…

Paul Saltzman is a two-time Emmy-award winning TV producer, film director, and accomplished humanitarian. In 2008, he wrote and directed the wonderful documentary Prom Night in Mississippi starring Morgan Freeman. But in 1968, Paul was a fresh-faced 24 year old traveling solo through India. And through a strange combination of heartbreak, good fort…

This episode contains what some would call offensive language, and mature subject matter. So if there are small children within earshot, or you don’t want to hear some serious profanity, it’s probably best for you to skip this one. Wheeler Walker Jr. is the alter-ego of American comedy writer and performer Ben Hoffman (The Ben […] The post Ep. 10: …

My guest today is an award-winning dancer, dance scholar, and one of the world’s leading experts on the history of salsa dancing. Juliet McMains has a PhD in Dance Theory and History from the University of California at Riverside, and is currently an Associate Professor in the Dance Program at the University of Washington in […] The post Ep. 9: Spi…

My guest today has traveled longer, and further, than just about anyone else I know. Over the past twenty+ years, Rolf Potts has covered the better part of the planet in his travels. He is perhaps best known as the author of Vagabonding, a book that remains just as widely read and influential among long-term […] The post Ep. 8: Vagabonding: Rolf Po…

When David Bowie died earlier this year at the age of 69, he left behind one of the most diverse, interesting, and impressive bodies of work in the history of popular music. In his lifetime, the English musician released 27 studio albums, 6 extended plays, and 121 singles. When considering this vast discography, it seems it […] The post Ep. 7: Soun…

When you hear the word ‘Afghanistan,’ you probably don’t think of a vibrant and important music tradition. But if world travel has taught me anything, it is to look beyond our TV-news-enforced myopic view of the world, get beyond the headlines, and find out what’s underneath. Unsurprisingly, what we often find on the ground in […] The post Ep. 6: B…

My guest today is a backing singer for one of the most influential and important artists of our time. Jasmin Cruz has been singing with r n’ b titan Stevie Wonder for the past several years, touring on multiple continents and selling out arenas, festivals, and auditoriums in cities all over the world. Through popular […] The post Ep. 5. On the Road…

My guest today is a Frank Sinatra expert with a capital “E.” Chuck Granata is an author, archivist, record and radio producer as well the occasional co-host of Nancy Sinatra’s Sirius satellite radio program “Nancy for Frank.” Chuck has spent much of the past fifteen years studying and preserving Frank Sinatra’s recorded legacy, and […] The post Ep.…

Today’s episode features my conversation with the American singer Maya Azucena, who shares a cross-continental story of song and survival. Born & raised in Brooklyn, New York, Maya travels the world inspiring people through her songs and listening to the stories of women from all different walks of life and social and political conditions. She […] …

On today’s show I talk to the American journalist John Seabrook. John Seabrook is a longtime staff writer at The New Yorker magazine, as well as the author of one of my favourite music books of 2015, The Song Machine: Inside the Hit Factory. In The Song Machine, Seabrook delves into the weird, sometimes wild world of modern […] The post Ep. 2: The …

This is Episode 1 of Travels in Music, and today I couldn’t be happier to be talking to the world’s leading Beatles historian, and the author of Tune In: The Beatles: All These Years, Mark Lewisohn. In today’s show I talk to Mark about what made the Beatles so special, what it’s like to interview Paul McCartney, […] The post Ep. 1: The World’s Lead…

Welcome to Episode 0 of Travels in Music, in which I attempt to explain: What Travels in Music is all about What inspired this podcast What you can expect from this podcast Who I am in 500 words or less In essence, Travels in Music is a globally-focused music podcast dedicated to sharing stories; stories […] The post Ep. 0: Introducing… Travels in …