Charts January 25, 2015

WRIR's CMJ New World Top Ten
1 E.N YOUNG | Live Love Stay Up | Roots Musician
2 REBEL TUMBAO | Rebel Tumbao | Sacred Rhythm
3 RED BARAAT | Gaadi Of Truth | Sinj
4 BABA COMMANDANT AND THE MANDINGO BAND | Juguya | Sublime Frequencies
5 PARADISE BANGKOK MOLAM INTERNATIONAL BAND | 21st Century Molam | Studio Lam
6 VERCKYS ET L'ORCHESTRE VEVE | Congolese Funk, Afrobeat And Psychedelic Rumba 1969-1978 | Analog Africa
7 VARIOUS ARTISTS | 25 Years Of Mr Bongo | Mr Bongo
8 VARIOUS ARTISTS | The Rough Guide To Psychedelic Salsa | World Music Network
9 FAIANATUR | "Hail Selassi I" [Single] | self-released
10 VARIOUS ARTISTS | The Rough Guide To African Rare Groove (Volume 1) | World Music Network

Red Baraat | Gaadi Of Truth

ARTIST: Red Baraat
TITLE: Gaadi Of Truth
LABEL: Sinj
Red Baraat is one the most unique, explosive bands in America today. Led by dhol (double-headed Indian drum) player Sunny Jain, this 8-piece ensemble puts bhangra music into a whole new context: all horns and drums, they’re a desi brass band that draws as much on jazz, funk, hip hop and DC go-go as on any music from the subcontinent.

E.N Young | Live Love Stay Up

ARTIST: E.N Young
TITLE: Live Love Stay Up
LABEL: Roots Musician
E.N Young is a busy young San Diego-based reggae musician – he sings and writes songs, plays keyboards and melodica in the band Tribal Seeds, runs his own record label, and produces and engineers at his own recording studio.

Program January 23, 2015

I have a whole set of Brazilian music cued up for you this week, including one from the great Jorge Ben (pictured above with his VW Beetle) and covers of two of his hits.  Also new music from Brooklyn dhol-and brass octet Red Baraat and west coast reggae jack-of-all-trades E.N Young, a set of Congolese classics, and much more.

Charts January 18, 2015

WRIR's CMJ New World Top Ten
1 BABA COMMANDANT AND THE MANDINGO BAND | Juguya | Sublime Frequencies
2 REBEL TUMBAO | Rebel Tumbao | Sacred Rhythm
3 AZIZ SAHMAOUI AND UNIVERSITY OF GNAWA | Mazal | World Village
4 HAILU MERGIA AND THE WALIAS | Tche Belew | Awesome Tapes From Africa
5 VERCKYS ET L'ORCHESTRE VEVE | Congolese Funk, Afrobeat And Psychedelic Rumba 1969-1978 | Analog Africa
6 CARLOU D | A New Day | World Village
7 VARIOUS ARTISTS | Feedback Madagascar | ARC
8 VARIOUS ARTISTS | Golden Afrique, Vol. 1 | Network
9 VARIOUS ARTISTS | Glitterbeat: Dubs And Versions I | Glitterbeat
10 ALMA AFROBEAT ENSEMBLE | Life No Get Dublicate | Slow Walk

Program January 16, 2015

What does a West African garage band sound like?  You'll hear one this week on Global A Go-Go -- Baba Commandant (pictured above) & The Mandingo Band from Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso.

They do rehearse in a garage (videos are available), and they rock out just as aggressively as an American garage band.  It's just that the rhythms are a hell of a lot more complicated.

Also this week: the sound of spiritual jazz, music of Morocco and Algeria, and a visit to NYC's barrio.

Baba Commandant & The Mandingo Band | Juguya

ARTIST: Baba Commandant & The Mandingo Band
TITLE: Juguya
LABEL: Sublime Frequencies
The Sublime Frequencies label is best known for its audio verite recordings and for reissues from Asia, Africa and the Middle East. Recently they’ve dipped their toe into releasing studio recordings of current artists, most famously Omar Souleyman.

Rebel Tumbao | Rebel Tumbao

ARTIST: Rebel Tumbao
TITLE: Rebel Tumbao
LABEL: Sacred Rhythm
Rebel Tumbao is a project originally conceived by Jose Claussell and Matt Jenson way back in 2002 based on their shared interest in deep groove music and the fight for social justice. It’s been a long time in the making, but their debut album is finally here.

Aziz Sahmaoui & University Of Gnawa | Mazal

ARTIST: Aziz Sahmaoui & University Of Gnawa
TITLE: Mazal
LABEL: World Village
Aziz Sahmaoui is a singer and multi-instrumentalist from France via Morocco who founded the excellent pan-Maghrebi ensemble Orchestre National De Barbes and went on to join Joe Zawinul’s jazz group as a percussionist.

Charts January 11, 2015

WRIR's CMJ New World Top Ten
1 KASSE MADY DIABATE | Kirike | Six Degrees
2 BOUBACAR TRAORE | Mbalimaou | Lusafrica
3 SAMBA TOURE | Gandadiko | Glitterbeat
4 DJESSOU MORY KANTE | River Strings: Maninka Guitar | Sterns
5 PARADISE BANGKOK MOLAM INTERNATIONAL BAND | 21st Century Molam | Studio Lam
6 VARIOUS ARTISTS | The Afrosound Of Colombia, Vol. 2 | Vampisoul
7 KHUN NARIN | Khun Narin's Electric Phin Band | Innovative Leisure
8 TINARIWEN | The Radio Tisdas Sessions | Modern Classics
9 ZAZ | "Champs Elysees" [Single] | Play On
10 BANG DATA | Mucho Poco | Futuro Sonico-Rockolito Music

Program January 9, 2015

This week's program is my first chance to share 2015's music with you.  The year may still be very young, but I already have some winners to bring to your attention, starting with Gandadiko by Mali's Samba Toure (pictured above), which I already can tell will be one of my favorite albums of the year.

I also have excellent new releases to share from Kasse Mady Diabate, Boubacar Traore (looks like another banner year for Malian music, what else is new?) and the Paradise Bangkok Molam International Band.  Plus some old favorites sprinkled throughout, because that's how we roll on Global A Go-Go.

Kasse Mady Diabate | Kirike

ARTIST: Kasse Mady Diabate
TITLE: Kirike
LABEL: Six Degrees
Kasse Mady Diabate is probably Mali’s greatest living traditional singer, justly famous for his griot praise-song repertoire. Here’s he’s placed in an intimate setting devised by kora player Ballake Sissoko and cellist and producer Vincent Segal, whose duo collaborations have won wide acclaim.

Paradise Bangkok Molam International Band | 21st Century Molam

ARTIST: Paradise Bangkok Molam International Band
TITLE: 21st Century Molam
LABEL: Studio Lam
Chris Menist and Maft Sai are best known for their Thai pop music compilations The Sound Of Siam and Thai? Dai! Now they’ve put together a band to play north-eastern Thai molam music.

Samba Toure | Gandadiko

ARTIST: Samba Toure
TITLE: Gandadiko
LABEL: Glitterbeat
This is the fourth solo album by Samba Toure, a guitarist, singer and songwriter from near Tombouctou who is best known for his work with Ali Farka Toure (no relation) and for standing in for the late Farka on Toumani Diabate’s Ali Farka Toure Variations tour.

Boubacar Traore | Mbalimaou

ARTIST: Boubacar Traore
TITLE: Mbalimaou
LABEL: Lusafrica
Before Ali Farka Toure, Tinariwen and the desert blues explosion, there was Boubacar Traore. Arguably the original Malian bluesman, his unique fusion of American blues, North African and Mande music was popular at the end of the era of colonial occupation; his song “Kar Kar Madison” was virtually the soundtrack of Malian independence.