¡®I¡¯m going off track again. Wait a minute.¡± Midway through a lengthy digression about an ¡°amazing¡± New Orleans band named Boukou Groove, Peter Barakan pauses, ever so briefly, to check the conversational signposts.
The bilingual British broadcaster, a fixture on Japanese radio for more than three decades now, has seldom been short on gab. In conversation, he¡¯s fond of anecdotes and perambulatory detours, delivered in a gentle lilt that still carries faint traces of his London upbringing. Whatever the topic, he often steers it back to his greatest passion: music.
On ¡°Barakan Beat¡± ¡ª the show that he¡¯s hosted on and off for InterFM since the Tokyo radio station first started in 1996 ¡ª his selections range from 1970s roots rock to Afrobeat and contemporary jazz. Recently, regular listeners may have noticed a few unfamiliar artists creeping into the mix: Indigenous Australian singer Gurrumul; steel-pan fusion band Jonathan Scales Fourchestra; blues guitarist Yuji Hamaguchi; a cappella folk trio I¡¯m With Her.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.