Welcome to Season 2 of Hyphenated.

When I thought of creating this audio documentary series, I had no idea if anybody out there would be interested. Yet I felt it an important subject to explore.

And with strictly word of mouth – you telling someone who told someone else this series has had over 700 downloads to date..... More than I had imagined.

If you're new here, My goal is to put the spotlight on artists who are contributing to a conversation and our understanding about the global hyphenated culture we live in today, weaving their words and music to create a portrait of their journey to find themselves and their home.

I've decided this season to expand the borders of the project to include artists from all over Europe, not just within the EU.

Also, last season I had hoped to drop episodes every two weeks and it got a bit complicated because I was moving from one city to another. Thankfully I will finally be settled again next month but I didn't want to wait to have all the episodes recorded to launch the new season so I've decided to have a much looser schedule.

I'll be releasing the first two episodes over the next two weeks then take a break come back with a second group of three episodes, then take a break and return for another five episodes.

If that sounded a little bit confusing, well, I highly recommend you subscribe on whichever platform or app you use for podcasts to ensure you always receive word of the latest episode when it drops. You can also subscribe via our website and get updates by liking our Facebook page.

In a few days, I'll drop the first episode of the new season just before I head to WOMEX, the annual World Music Conference, where I'll hopefully be meeting and recording several artists for the season while there.

The first episode of season 2 spotlights Brazilian, German, MC and rapper Laiz, who at 25 years of age has seemed to have accumulated more insight into the world than many twice her age.

Then in two weeks, you'll meet Capo Verde, Portuguese jazz singer Carmen Souza. Souza and her partner Theo Pascal have been making an original style of Creole flavored jazz for nearly two decades now.

So thank you for letting me into your ears and I hope you enjoy this new season.

As always, the best way to support this endeavor is to please tell a friend. So stay tuned and thank you.

Please like and subscribe. Also, consider buying some of today's artist music or adding them to your streaming playlist. Or better yet, go see them play live. A playlist of music in this episode, transcript, as well as links to more information about the artist, can be found at our website http://www.hyphenated.eu. It's also where you can find other episodes and discover more hyphenated artists. And if you'd like to support this series, please tell a friend.