Program April 24, 2019

April is usually one of the big months for new releases in the music world (September and October are the others).  For a variety of reasons (WRIR's Spring 2019 Fund Drive, personal matters), I haven't had much opportunity to feature new music this month.

So I've got some catching up to do, and that's the focus of this week's program.  The whole first hour is dedicated to new releases and new reissues in the Afro-funk and Latin bags, including the great new Carnaval single from two of my favorites Colombian bands, Bomba Estereo and Systema Solar (pictured above).

The second hour has more new sounds from Mali and Niger, a look at the Balkan-Caribbean connection, and we finish up with some particularly crazed Balkan vocalists.  Should be fun.

Charts Mar 30 - Apr 19, 2019

WRIR's NACC World Top Ten
1 IBIBIO SOUND MACHINE | Doko Mien | Merge
2 DEXTER STORY | Bahir | Soundway
3 BONGO HOP, THE | Satingarona Pt 2 | Underdog
4 COCHEMEA | All My Relations | Daptone
5 MIRAMAR | "Salida/Urgencia" [Single] | Daptone
6 BUDOS BAND, THE | V | Daptone
7 GRUPO FANTASMA | American Music: Vol. VII | Blue Corn
8 MDOU MOCTAR | Ilana: The Creator | Sahel Sounds
9 HAMA SANKARE | Niafunke | Clermont
10 DJ PANKO | Panko Pa' Palenque | Palenque

Mdou Moctar | Ilana: The Creator

ARTIST: Mdou Moctar
TITLE: Ilana: The Creator
LABEL: Sahel Sounds
Here’s the album I, and a lot of Moctar’s fans, have been waiting for him to make. The left-handed guitarist from Agadez, Niger has worn a path through Europe and the USA in the last several years, leaving audiences with mouths agape at his technique and energy and at the forward propulsion of his band.

Hama Sankare | Niafunke

ARTIST: Hama Sankare
TITLE: Niafunke
LABEL: Clermont Music
Veteran singer-percussionist Sankare, a former member of Ali Farka Toure’s Groupe ASKO, is a native of Niafunke, Mali, best known as Ali Farka Toure’s home town.

Program April 10, 2019

WRIR's Spring 2019 Fund Drive wraps up on Wednesday April 10 at 11 PM. Many of the folks receiving this message have already donated during this drive or are monthly sustaining members -- thank you to all of you for keeping 97.3 FM, Richmond's tower of low power, on the radio and internet airwaves for another six months. We can't do it without you!

Program April 3, 2019

WRIR's Spring 2019 Fund Drive starts on Wednesday April 3 at 3:00 PM -- we're working to raise $40,000 by Wednesday April 10 to power "the tower of low power" in Richmond for another six months.  I'm writing to encourage you to make a donation once again this spring.

You can make that donation in two minutes by clicking this link: http://wrir.org/donating.  Or you can call or visit us between 9 AM and 9 PM during the drive, April 3 through April 10.  Our phone number is 804-622-9747; our address is 1621 W. Broad Street, 2nd floor.  If you'd like to know about the cool premiums we're offering to donors this drive, just click here: http://www.wrir.org/donate.

Charts March 23-29, 2019

WRIR's NACC World Top Ten
1 MIRAMAR | "Salida / Urgencia" [Single] | Daptone
2 COCHEMEA | All My Relations | Daptone
3 MDOU MOCTAR | Ilana: The Creator | Sahel Sounds
4 BONGO HOP, THE | Satingarona Pt 2 | Underdog
5 GLOAMING, THE | 3 | Real World
6 IBIBIO SOUND MACHINE | Doko Mien | Merge
7 AHMED AG KAEDY | Akaline Kidal | Sahel Sounds
8 DEXTER STORY | Bahir | Soundway
9 LOBO MARINO | At Appalachian South Folklife Center | self-released
10 DAKTARIS, THE | Soul Explosion [Remastered] | Desco/Daptone

Program March 27, 2019

Daptone Records, home of soul stars like the late Sharon Jones and Charles Bradley, has started dipping their toes into Latin music.  Their first effort was a beauty: the debut album by Orquesta Akokan (one of my favorites of 2018), recorded in Havana.

For their first Latin project in their own Brooklyn studio, what band did Daptone choose?  None other than Richmond's Miramar (pictured above at Daptone headquarters).  The single that resulted from that session will be released on Friday, and Global A Go-Go will premiere it this week.

You'll also hear two tracks from Inner Mongolia's Anda Union, who will perform live on Global A Go-Go next week to kick off WRIR's Spring 2019 Fund Drive.  I'll also be giving away a pair of tickets to see Anda Union's April 4 show at the University of Richmond.

Also this week: news from the Tamasheq bush telegraph; a whole set of throat singing; and the Haiti-Cabo Verde connection.

The Bongo Hop | Satingarona Pt. 2

ARTIST: The Bongo Hop
TITLE: Satingarona Pt. 2
LABEL: Underdog
Here’s the second release from trumpeter Etienne Sevet as The Bongo Hop; his first was one of my favorites of 2017.

DJ Panko | Panko Pa' Palenque

ARTIST: DJ Panko
TITLE: Panko Pa’ Palenque
LABEL: Palenque
Here’s the latest project from Lucas Silva, the man who’s done more than anyone to get Colombian champeta music in front of the masses. This time he’s engaged Barcelona-based DJ Panko to remix nine Silva-produced tracks.

Ibibio Sound Machine | Doko Mien

ARTIST: Ibibio Sound Machine
TITLE: Doko Mien
LABEL: Merge
The first two albums by Ibibio Sound Machine have been sensational in parts but inconsistent as a whole. On their third release, the band seems to have found the precise blend of African and first-world elements they’ve been searching for.

Ahmed Ag Kaedy | Akaline Kidal

ARTIST: Ahmed Ag Kaedy
TITLE: Akaline Kidal
LABEL: Sahel Sound
Guitarist-singer-songwriter Ahmed Ag Kaedy leads Amanar, one of the top bands in desert blues. He also had a key role in the development of Sahel Sounds, probably the most influential record label for Tamasheq music – Chris Kirkley, who runs Sahel Sounds, lived at Ahmed’s compound in Kidal, Mali for six months while he was building his label.

Miramar | Salida / Urgencia

ARTIST: Miramar
TITLE: “Salida” / “Urgencia”
LABEL: Daptone
Richmond’s Miramar, led by keyboardist Marlysse Simmons (Bio Ritmo) and fronted by singers Rei Alvarez (Bio Ritmo) and Laura Ann Singh (Quatro Na Bossa), specializes in boleros, the romantic ballads that were popular across the Americas in the 1940s and 50s.

Dexter Story | Bahir

ARTIST: Dexter Story
TITLE: Bahir
LABEL: Soundway
Dexter Story has worked all sides of the music business in his career: he’s done marketing and artist management, been a talent buyer and event producer, he’s produced and music-directed major events, and he’s a working musician as well.

Charts March 16-22, 2019

WRIR's NACC World Top Ten
1 IBIBIO SOUND MACHINE | Doko Mien | Merge
2 DAKTARIS, THE | Soul Explosion [Remastered] | Desco / Daptone
3 COCHEMEA | All My Relations | Daptone
4 DEXTER STORY | Bahir | Soundway
5 BASSEKOU KOUYATE AND NGONI BA | Miri | OutHere
6 LEYLA MCCALLA | The Capitalist Blues | Jazz Village
7 MISTER KALI | Step Fast | Rebel Sound
8 AHMED AG KAEDY | Akaline Kidal | Sahel Sounds
9 DAWDA JOBARTEH | I Met Her By The River | Sterns Africa
10 LOBO MARINO | At Appalachian South Folklife Center | self-released