Following last year’s riotous celebration of Colombian music, this year BBC Radio 3’s World Routes Academy turns east to the former Soviet state of Azerbaijan. Eighteen-year-old Baku-born London resident Fidan Hajiyeva performs alongside her mentor, the Azerbaijani singer Gochaq Askarov. One of the most distinguished and eloquent exponents of the ancient mugham form, Askarov has worked closely with Fidan during a recent three-week period of teaching and performance in Azerbaijan.
Also featuring on the bill are the guitar-driven ‘desert blues’ of Tinariwen, from the Sahara Desert region of northern Mali, and the central Malian singer/ngoni (lute) player Bassekou Kouyaté with his band Ngoni Ba – two celebrated groups fusing traditional and popular styles, who have taken the world music scene by storm.