Balkan Beatz

Lidija Radacic’s Balkan Beatz brings a bit of the Balkan spirit to the North-East of Dublin, though a mix of culture, music and cooking recipes in English and Croatian. The programme has been on air since March 2013.

What attracted you into presenting a radio programme? I wanted to make sure I am in touch with my culture, and music seemed like a natural way to do it.

Would you define the content and aim of your programme? It is music led magazine type of a show where I’d touch on history of different bands, their achievements, and current work, looking at different bands from Balkan Area, Focusing on Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia & Herzegovina as well as Slovenia. Topic of the show changes from week to week.

How do you choose the music for the programme? There is certainly a lot of inspirations – from bands coming over to Dublin, top charts, seasons (spring show would be all about music that talks about spring, for example) to food. New bands, interesting collaborations or even old music I grew up with is source of endless inspiration for the shows.

How can listener’s get involved? If there are listeners with interesting stories for Balkan beatz community, they can get in touch. I’m always interested to hear more about events and concerts for Balkan people.

What other programmes on Near FM do you like to listen to? I love Sessions, as I really like the whole indie vibe of the Irish music culture. Neon Room definitely plays my type of music as well.