Jan joins Phil Cunningham for a chat about cultural links between Scotland and Northern Ireland. You can watch live or watch back on the BBC Iplayer here.

Acclaimed Scottish musician and broadcaster Phil Cunningham returns to Northern Ireland on a coastal odyssey that will culminate in the creation of a new musical composition.

Inspired by age-old ties between Ulster and Scotland, and titled The Narrow Sea, the Farther Shore, this new piece will be inspired by the sea road that both divides and connects us. The Narrow Sea is the name traditionally given to the body of water that flows in the North Channel between the east coast of Ulster and Scotland’s western shore.

Phil has long been fascinated by how centuries of human connection and interaction have impacted on life in both Scotland and Ulster and, across a series of journeys, he finds a wealth of inspiration in a land and seascape steeped in story. Visiting ancient castles clinging to Antrim’s rocky coastline, he learns about the powerful families who once controlled a maritime empire. He follows in the footsteps of the lowlanders whose descendants became the Ulster-Scots, learning more about a language and heritage which still celebrate their Scottish roots.

From coastal rowers and fishermen, to historians, poets and musicians, the people he meets along the way share their stories, helping Phil get a real sense of the complex human connections that have helped shape life of both sides of the North Channel since ancient times.

As well as being a gifted multi-instrumentalist and composer, Phil is also a self-confessed audio geek and a passionate lover of the natural world, and field recordings captured while filming will both inspire and feature in his final composition.