GENRE DIVE

GENRE DIVE is built on the simple premise that spending two hours diving into one genre at a time builds a deeper appreciation and enjoyment. Each dive is a musical expedition covering the cultural lineage, politics, borrowed traditions and the people and places that made a sound; while weaving that story around the music itself.

The curatorial instinct leans toward the underground. Canonical names earn their place, but the show seeks to elevate the independent and craft-driven through artists and records that shaped a genre’s DNA without necessarily sharing its commercial success.

The show covers a purposely wide geographic range with the catalogue having moved from the jazz clubs of Addis Ababa to the sound-system lawns of Kingston, from the banlieues of Marseille to the barrios of Monterrey, from the dusty highlands of the Sahel to the festival fields of the American West. Music is one of the most accurate records of a culture’s interior life and the show seeks to respect it accordingly. Understanding Afrobeat requires understanding Lagos under military rule. Understanding Dancehall requires understanding the Jamaican yard. Geography is always present because the music cannot be separated from the place that made it.

Most of us grow up with a fairly narrow slice of the world’s music, shaped by where we were born and what found its way to us. Come on a journey together as we explore the incredibly rich world of global musical genres.

GENRE DIVE airs on Kaleidoscope Radio, Wednesday nights 7–9pm MT.