The Music Café - 01/12/2010

Can banjos ever be hip?! One of the world's leading banjo players, Tony Furtado, brings his masterclass across the Atlantic to Scotland and shares his techniques with Bruce. Where is the audience for banjos in Scotland and does the banjo need a few more ambassadors? The Buena Vista Social Club creator Nick Gold talks about realising his AfroCubism dream, 14 years on from his initial idea. That dream was to create a fusion of musical traditions from Mali and Cuba. Karl Chapman of The Usher Hall in Edinburgh - hosting Scotland's only performance of this project - discusses why they've taken the bold step and decided to stage such a non-mainstream performance. Is nature the musical "soundtrack" to our lives? The creaking of ice, the slithering of snails, the shoaling of fish - all recorded by Norwegian artist Jana Winderen, who joins sound recordist Chris Watson to discuss whether nature has a 'music' of its own. These sounds are all around but how many of us are aware of them? Are these sounds actually music?!