Malawi's Madalitso Band built their own instruments (a 4-stringed guitar and the giant 1-stringed slide bass called the Babatone) and busked on the streets of Lilongwe for about 15 years before they got their first opportunity to play outside their home country in 2017. Since then, they've been on the road as much as possible, with their fifth European tour now in process and their first trip to the USA coming up this fall.
Madalitso's second international album will be released in June, and it's a beauty. This week, you'll hear a couple of tracks from it and a couple from previous releases as Global A Go-Go brings your attention to a band that most certainly deserves wider recognition.
Also this week (Sunday May 15, 1:00-3:00 PM on WRIR, for two weeks afterwards on the wrir.org archive player, check your local listings for airing on other radio stations, and any old time at my podcast site): some swinging samba-soul from Brazil, Turkish psych-folk, Afrobeat with a Jewish accent, Cuban funk and salsa dura from around the world.