Maya Youssef and Ben Gernon take us to Syria and Hamburg

03/07/25 • 42 min

British-Syrian Maya Youssef - virtuoso player of the Middle Eastern stringed instrument the qanun - and conductor Ben Gernon, join Jeffrey Boakye and Anna Phoebe to add five more tracks to the playlist. Starting by the dock of the bay, they travel to Damascus, Hamburg and land on a 1950s familiar pop classic sung by a 14-year-old.

Producer: Jerome Weatherald Presented with musical direction by Jeffrey Boakye and Anna Phoebe

The five tracks in this week's playlist:

(Sitting on) the Dock of the Bay by Otis Redding The Waves of the Sea by Lena Shamamyan Mache dich auf! Werde Licht! (Arise! Let there be light!) by Felix Mendelssohn Blank Space (Taylor’s Version) by Taylor Swift Why Do Fools Fall In Love by Frankie Lymon & The Teenagers

Other music in this episode:

Parisienne Walkways by Gary Moore Sweet Child O’Mine by Guns N’ Roses Hard to Handle by Otis Redding Blank Space by Taylor Swift

Producer: Jerome Weatherald Presented with musical direction by Jeffrey Boakye and Anna Phoebe

The five tracks in this week's playlist:

Other music in this episode:

Parisienne Walkways by Gary Moore Sweet Child O’Mine by Guns N’ Roses Hard to Handle by Otis Redding Blank Space by Taylor Swift

Previous Episode

Emma Rawicz and Neil Brand reach for the skies

Bandleader and jazz saxophonist Emma Rawicz and the writer and composer Neil Brand join Jeffrey Boakye and Anna Phoebe as they add the next five tracks to the playlist. The journey takes them from Frank Gehry's Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, across the English Channel in a rickety aeroplane, then right up to the moon with Les Paul and Mary Ford.

Producer: Jerome Weatherald Presented with musical direction by Jeffrey Boakye and Anna Phoebe

The five tracks in this week's playlist:

The Bucket’s Got a Hole in it by Kid Ory Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines by Ron Goodwin Conversation by Joni Mitchell How High the Moon by Les Paul and Mary Ford Sweet Child O’Mine by Guns N’ Roses

Other music in this episode:

Tamacún by Rodrigo y Gabriela Double Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra: Mvt 1 by Philip Glass, performed by Katia & Marielle Labèque My Bucket's Got a Hole In It by Hank Williams Bucket's Got a Hole In It by Louis Armstrong My Bucket's Got a Hole In It by Van Morrison 633 Squadron: Main Title Theme by Ron Goodwin Amassakoul by Tinariwen Some Unholy War by Amy Winehouse Didn't It Rain by Sister Rosetta Tharpe

Next Episode

Cohen Braithwaite-Kilcoyne and Anne Dudley salute Amy

Concertina and melodeon player Cohen Braithwaite-Kilcoyne and composer and arranger Anne Dudley contribute to the next five tracks on the playlist. Alongside Jeffrey Boakye and Anna Phoebe, they take us on a journey from the elegant vocals of Amy Winehouse to a Japanese folk tune about hardworking fishermen.

Producer: Jerome Weatherald Presented with musical direction by Jeffrey Boakye and Anna Phoebe

The five tracks in this week's playlist:

Love is a Losing Game by Amy Winehouse Sarabande by Claude Debussy Lambada by Pinduca The Bristol Sailorman/Will the Waggoner by John Kirkpatrick (Cohen) Kaigara Bushi by Mitsune

Other music in this episode:

Why Do Fools Fall In Love by Frankie Lymon & The Teenagers There is no Greater Love by Billie Holiday (There is) No Greater Love by Amy Winehouse Love is a Losing Game (Demo) by Amy Winehouse Gymnopédie by Erik Satie Lambada by Kaoma