"Transglobal Soundsystem" is a journey through global music, moving across traditions, cultures, and contemporary forms. Each program travels widely—from chicken scratch and Afro-Celt to electronic tango and South African gospel—drawing unexpected connections between sounds that emerge from very different places and histories.

The show brings together music from Japan, Brazil, Africa, Europe, and beyond, mixing roots-based traditions with modern and hybrid forms. Rather than focusing on genre or era, "Transglobal Soundsystem" follows rhythm, mood, and cultural exchange, highlighting how music evolves through migration, influence, and shared experience.

At its core, the program is about listening without borders: tracing how local sounds become global, how ancient forms meet new technology, and how music continues to reflect work, ceremony, resistance, and celebration across the world.

Chris Stewart grew up in Aberdeen in the northeast of Scotland and began his working life at sixteen as an apprentice plumber. Over time he moved through a wide range of work: ironworker, fishing-boat deckhand, oil-rig worker, shiatsu practitioner, and tofu maker. These experiences grounded him in different ways of living and seeing the world, often far from conventional paths.

Travel has been a constant thread throughout his life. He spent extended time moving through Europe, India, Indonesia, Australia, Africa, Canada, and eventually the United States. Along the way, he encountered music not as a product but as something embedded in everyday life—played at work, at ceremonies, in kitchens, on streets, and in places of gathering. Listening became a way of understanding culture and connection.

That long engagement with music led him to radio almost by accident, when he filled in for a friend hosting a world music show. What began as a temporary role became a long-term practice. For 25 years, he hosted and shared global music on WRIU in Kingston, Rhode Island, developing an approach shaped by curiosity, respect, and deep listening.

"Transglobal Soundsystem" reflects a life shaped by movement, work, and sound.

"Auditions" features prospective WGXC volunteer programmers trying out their proposed radio programs on air for listener feedback.

Have feedback for the prospective programmer you just heard? Leave a message at (518) 622-2598 ext. 4 or email feedback@wgxc.org to let us know what you think!

Interested in becoming a WGXC volunteer programmer? Information and applications available here.