To celebrate his beloved continent, Charles Leonard has picked 25 of his favourite African songs – stone-cold classics, fresh discoveries and hidden gems.
Charles Leonard 25 May 2022
Charles Leonard made this mixtape under his lemon tree, celebrating Lee “Scratch” Perry, Charlie Watts, Mahotella Queen Nobesuthu Mbadu and several other musicians who have recently died.
Charles Leonard 15 September 2021
With this mixtape, the second of two featuring songs about walking, Charles Leonard is taking you on musical walkabouts to Memphis, Dube, the wild side and many other exotic places.
Charles Leonard 11 August 2021
Press “play” and let Charles Leonard take you on a relaxing musical walk with songs about walking, wandering, meandering, sauntering, rambling and ambling.
Charles Leonard 28 July 2021
Take a sharp left. In this first of a two-part series featuring great songs about cars, Charles Leonard transports you around the world and across genres.
Charles Leonard 30 June 2021
Charles Leonard is shaking it like a Polaroid picture on this mixtape, with a selection of songs about photographs, photographers and cameras.
jason 17 June 2021
Charles Leonard has compiled a mixtape of chicken songs to stop traffic. Listen, and it will all make sense.
jason 2 June 2021
For this mixtape Charles Leonard has picked a bunch of fresh tunes from a rich harvest of new music that was recently released.
jason 19 May 2021
Charles Leonard goes back to his roots in this tree-themed mixtape recorded under the 100-year-old lemon tree in his garden. He’s collected an orchard of related songs.
jason 28 April 2021
All rise in court for part two of Charles Leonard’s selection of songs about crime, crooks, theft and pilferage.
jason 14 April 2021
Musicians across genres have always been fascinated by outlaws, criminals, crooks, justice, injustice and retribution. Charles Leonard picks the locks on his favourite tracks.
jason 31 March 2021
In his ode to radio, Charles Leonard plays songs that celebrate the DJs, the shows and the company it brought.
jason 17 March 2021
As we mark one year of masking up against Covid-19, Charles Leonard brings you a mixtape brimming with songs to chase away the pandemic blues.
jason 3 March 2021
In this mixtape, Charles Leonard plays songs about buildings, skyscrapers, houses, homes and the architects who design them.
jason 17 February 2021
On this first mixtape of 2021, Charles Leonard rekindles his love affair with the guitar by playing songs not by the usual crowd.
jason 3 February 2021
This is a bumper 50-track edition of the mixtape, with half Christmassy, non-preachy songs, and the other half tunes welcoming in 2021 with cautious optimism.
jason 23 December 2020
This week’s mixtape features Charles Leonard’s top albums of the year. He is playing a track off each album: from number 30 all the way down to number one.
jason 9 December 2020
In this week’s mixtape, Charles Leonard plays songs inspired by books or poems. Some are unexpected, others predictable – a bit like your favourite books.
jason 2 December 2020
There are songs for every planet on this alternative playlist for an imaginary trek through the solar system.
jason 25 November 2020
Take your protein pills and put your helmet on because Charles Leonard is taking you on a musical trip into outer space.
jason 18 November 2020
Aiming to get you engrossed, mixtape host Charles Leonard is celebrating musicians who had a book in them … and actually wrote it pretty well.
jason 11 November 2020
There has been a sudden deluge of new music in the world of your mixtape host, Charles Leonard. He shares the tastiest new releases.
jason 4 November 2020
In this week’s mixtape, Charles Leonard plays songs about Halloween, the United States elections and the biggest crook of all.
jason 28 October 2020
With his Music Time Machine, Charles Leonard plugs you into the revolutionary sounds that were played 50 years ago and still have relevance today.
jason 21 October 2020
This is the 25th mixtape, the silver anniversary of this weekly music compilation. Charles Leonard picks and plays shiny songs for the occasion.
jason 14 October 2020
The musical city-to-city trip continues this week with Charles Leonard playing more songs about global cities in a mixtape called “City songs – the B-sides”.
jason 7 October 2020
With the theme, “Songs of the City”, this week’s mixtape goes on a musical trip to cities right around the globe.
jason 30 September 2020
The theme for this week’s eclectic mixtape is “Quote, unquote”. Charles Leonard plays songs quoting other songs with surprisingly pleasant results.
jason 23 September 2020
For this mixtape, selector Charles Leonard has picked some fine tunes about mind games as well as some songs about sport.
jason 16 September 2020
In this week’s mixtape, Charles Leonard celebrates strange bedfellows in music and plays some of the best results.
jason 9 September 2020
In this mixtape, Charles Leonard plays songs by masked musicians plus quirky covers across genres, languages, styles and generations.
jason 18 August 2020
To celebrate South African Women’s Day, Charles Leonard has made a celebratory mixtape of songs by female artists only.
jason 11 August 2020
In this mixtape, Charles Leonard plays songs about scratching – and, like an ambitious Masterchef competitor, he does it three ways.
jason 4 August 2020
In this week’s bumper edition of the mixtape, Charles Leonard brings you a menagerie of songs about animals.
jason 21 July 2020
This week’s mixtape from Charles Leonard, the weekly bearer of eclectic musical gifts from around the world and across genres and generations, has a cinematic bent.
jason 14 July 2020
All on board for this week’s mixtape with Charles Leonard. “Station to station” features great songs about trains.
jason 7 July 2020
In this week’s mixtape we go digging for our musical roots, attempting to find some sense in these uncertain times.
jason 30 June 2020
Using the theme “Take a left”, musical tour guide Charles Leonard helps you get lost across generations and geographies.
jason 23 June 2020
This mixtape’s theme is “connections” – it’s a musical exploration of how people and songs connect, and how they then unite against racists and fascists.
jason 16 June 2020
This week’s mixtape theme is “weather report” with Charles Leonard playing songs about storms that rage against racism and fascism.
jason 9 June 2020
In many countries, working-class people and those from minorities have been violently disenfranchised. With the theme, “Whose country is it?”, Charles Leonard plays songs that reflect on belonging …
jason 2 June 2020
In his latest mixtape, Charles Leonard plays songs about space: Outer space, inner space and finding space for happy thoughts.
jason 19 May 2020
In his antidote for the pandemic blues, Charles Leonard spins songs about philosophers and haircuts and plays tributes to fallen musicians.
jason 12 May 2020
From the pop-up studio in his cupboard, Charles Leonard plays songs in this eclectic mixtape to reflect the changes we’ve all felt with the coming of the coronavirus.
jason 5 May 2020
Times of crisis such as the world is now seeing produce heroes and villains. In this week’s mixtape, Charles Leonard uses songs to praise the good guys and call out the baddies.
jason 28 April 2020
This week’s eclectic Mixtape is about staying at home, with sad songs about loneliness, drugs and alienation; and happy songs about baking powder, table tennis, potholes and flowers.
jason 21 April 2020
How do you travel around the world when you are locked down? Simple – you use your mind and music. This Mixtape takes you on a global musical trip.
jason 14 April 2020
In this week’s Mixtape: South African township funk, uplifting jazz, African guitar music, conscious soul, inspiring hip-hop, rebel reggae and a special feature on songs that tell stories.
jason 7 April 2020
In these trying times you can’t ask for a better antidote than music. That’s why we’re introducing the Radio New Frame Mixtape – an eclectic mix of music from around the world.
jason 31 March 2020
