Pianist Tala Tutunji is half Turkish and half Palestinian. She grew up in Jordan, studied in the UK, and now splits her time between Jordan and London. Her aspiration is to bring musicians together to transcend distance, borders and culture.

Tutunji runs Middle Eastern music courses at Chelsea Music Academy, which she founded with composer Bushra El-Turk. Her next London performance will be at Concert for Peace and Prosperity: Eastern Voices – Western Echoes at Cadogan Hall on 20 February.

We caught up with her for our World in London series.

How long have you been based in London?

I moved to the UK when I was 14 and went to Chetham’s School of Music in Manchester. I came to London from 2005 to 2009 and this is where I did my Masters at Trinity and also worked at the same time.

Right now I’m based between London and Jordan. For this year I’m based in Jordan but I’m always coming in and out of London. I can’t stay away! I travel to London whenever I have concerts, which is four to five times a year.

How would you describe your music?

I was classically trained, so there’s a strong Western classical influence. But because I’m Middle Eastern I try to do a fusion of both worlds and explore that.

I perform music which is by contemporary Arabic composers. It could include the piano and also Arabic instruments at the same time, such as the qanun, which has the same strength and body as a grand piano but is smaller.

We did an event for Opera Holland Park in October last year where we were asked to “Arabise” popular Western operas. It was a really interesting event.

We worked with the opera singers from Opera Holland Park and brought some Arabic musicians, and instruments like the nai, which is the Arabic version of the flute.

What can people expect to see and hear at the concert on 20 February?

I’m really excited to perform in this concert because there are many opera singers from Syria, Jordan, Jerusalem and Lebanon. We’ll be performing with the Orion orchestra, a Western orchestra. It will be an interesting blend of Western classical opera with Arabic music as well.

The music is based on a Lebanese folk tune but also has the Western classical influence. I’m going to speak a little bit in Arabic, trying to act as a vocalist at the same time. It will start Western and gradually get more Oriental towards the end of the concert.

With the Arab Spring it’s the perfect thing to do, to try and stretch the boundaries and explore all the different influences.

Do you have any other performances coming up in London?

We’re planning to do another event, Al Bassara (the fortune teller). We’ll probably work with more Eastern European influences on that. Hopefully that will be in summer 2012 in London, we’re not sure where yet.

Tell us about the Middle Eastern music courses at Chelsea Music Academy

We’re organising various events including Middle Eastern workshops for people. We’re working in London to spread the word on Middle Eastern musical influences.

Sometimes, prior to a concert, we do various workshops so people know more about the music when they come to a concert.

Where else would you go for a taste of Jordanian culture in London?

I know a lot of Lebanese and Palestinian places but I haven’t been to anywhere in London that has a Jordanian taste – yet!

There’s the Anglo Jordanian Society which does a lot of things. And there are the Maroush restaurants which are practically Jordanian. There are a lot of events organised through SOAS.

Now that I’m away from London for a while I really appreciate the eclectic feel of London. Sometimes when you leave you start to appreciate what it’s all about!

Do you have more Jordan in London recommendations? Let us know in the comments below.

Lauren Ashi from catchavibe.co.uk explores Jamaican culture in London for our World in London series.

The 1940s and 50s saw an influx of immigration from the West Indies into Britain; arrivals from Jamaica touched down on the Empire Windrush ship in 1948, and temporarily settled less than a mile away from Brixton’s Coldharbour Lane.

Fifty years later, the area outside the Brixton Tate Library was renamed Windrush Square to mark the golden anniversary of the ship’s arrival, in recognition of the African Caribbean community’s contribution to Brixton life.

Just across the street from the Square is Bamboula, a bright and easygoing eatery based in Brixton’s trendy Acre Lane. Named after a dance performed by carnival queens, the décor of bamboo shoots and warm terracotta interiors depicts the essence of Walkerswood, Bamboula’s original home in a mountainside region of Jamaica’s largest parish St Ann.

Delicious and authentic Caribbean dishes include simmered curried goat and steamed tilapia fish stuffed with okra, garlic and thyme, not to mention the home-grown special ingredient of Walkerswood spices, made by a food company originating from the same region that has become an international success.

Further along Brixton Hill, a café-style restaurant with its roots in Jamaica puts its own spin on Caribbean cuisine. Negril, named after the beautiful beaches on Jamaica’s north coast, uses fresh ingredients, homemade recipes and organic produce to create meals that are easy on both the pallet and the waistline.

The menu includes fresh juices, fair trade blue mountain coffee and free-range jerk chicken. “It’s important to try and keep things healthy, you know?” says DJ, in charge of food preparation. “Not too much oil, and healthy seasonings.”

Brixton’s bustling market is a one-stop shop for West Indian wares – plantain, yams and ackee, Jamaica’s national fruit, can all be bought at a good price. And Dida’s Jamaican shop is a grotto bursting of Jamaican goodies, from flags and souvenirs to reggae music and cultural books.

But beyond its music and cuisine, Jamaica has other historical roots here. Marcus Garvey Road, also in Brixton, is named after the Jamaican Pan-Africanist Leader who worked at the African Times and Orient Review based in Fleet Street, studied Philosophy and Law at Birkbeck College, and in 1935 was regularly featured among the crowd pullers at Speakers Corner.

Garvey died at 53 Talgarth Road in Hammersmith, where a blue plaque can be found in memorial of his life. He’s also remembered with a West Kensington park in his name, and the Marcus Garvey Library in Tottenham, North London.

For more info on Jamaican and black culture in London, visit catchavibe.co.uk. Tell us about your recommendations in the comments below.

Japan is about to become big in London. While Londoners have long enjoyed the taste of Japan at numerous restaurants and sushi bars, we’ve been mostly missing out on the kooky-cool of Japanese pop culture. But that’s all about to change, according to Yukiko Takahashi, general manager of the upcoming Hyper Japan event.

“Sushi is so widespread and well-known in London now”, she says, “But Japanese pop culture is the new star. British people like new stuff and they’re really curious about Japan.

“While Japanese [computer] games do really well in the UK, other things such as anime and cosplay haven’t been as big here as they are in France and Germany, for example. But it’s time for London to embrace Japanese culture, big time!”

Hyper Japan is a two-day event in October that’s bringing Manga, cosplay, technology and Japanese street fashion to the heart of happening Shoreditch. The Barbican is also turning Japanese this October, with an exhibition, Future Beauty: 30 Years of Japanese Fashion and a season of Japanese cinema.

Outside work, when she’s homesick Takahashi says she personally enjoys Tomoe restaurant in Marylebone, and visiting Japanese food shops – “they’re a sacred place for us” – such as Atari-ya for fresh sashimi and the Japan Centre on Regent Street. A favourite hidden gem is Adanami Shobo, a second-hand book shop with a karaoke-box behind it.

Takahashi also mentions Camden as a good spot to find touches of Japan in London.  ”Lolita gothic fashion I find really interesting, and it’s got a real connection to the London street fashion of the 1970s – what Vivienne Westwood and Malcolm McLaren were doing. “I think London and Japan definitely have a connection when it comes to fashion.”

What are your top tips for Japanese stuff in London? Tell us in the comments below.