GLOBAL A GO-GO

December 7, 2019

A little dabke'll do ya

Omar Souleyman is back! Syria's king of dabke (living in Turkey right now for safety's sake), the best thing to happen to electronic dance music since the drum machine, has a new album. You'll hear a track on the December 9 edition of Global A Go-Go.

Also this week: Trinidad & Tobago's musical poetry called rapso, Latin soul with a rock 'n' roll beat, the Richmond group that's bringing together the sounds of Moroccan gnawa and jam bands, konpa from Haiti and beyond, and Malian remixes.

Charts November 23-29, 2019

Change at Jamaica for Babylon

In 1979, Vincent (Randy) Chin and his wife Patricia of Randy's Record Shop in Kingston, Jamaica started the VP Records imprint in Jamaica, Queens. Forty years on, VP is the world's largest independent reggae label and the genre's biggest distributor as well.

Global A Go-Go is getting in on the 40th birthday celebration on December 2nd by spinning two sets of reggae and dancehall, most of it released or distributed by VP. And we'll be giving away a pair of copies of VP's last release, Strictly The Best, Vol. 60. Call in and win.

Also this week: unique rhythms from the Islamic funk belt; Tinariwen recorded in a desert camp-out; Southeast Asian rock of the 60s and 70s; and new and old Anatolian rock.

Charts November 16-22, 2019

Well-behaved women seldom make history

On the November 25 edition of Global A Go-Go, I'll feature two African women making waves right now by playing instruments that had been reserved solely for men.

Asmaa Hamzaoui plays the Moroccan guembri (bass lute) and leads the band Bnat Timbouktou (pictured above), which may be the first all-female gnawa group. Hope Masike isn't the first Zimbabwean woman to play mbira (thumb piano); in fact, you'll also hear two of her predecessors on this week's show as well, Stella Chiweshe and Chiwoniso Maraire.

Also this week: mizik rasin (roots music) from Haiti, a throat singing version of Motorhead, Japanese minyo turned into Colombian cumbia, and new Afrobeat from London and New York.

Charts November 9-15, 2019

Funana for all

Funana is the accordion-based dance music of the badius, the escaped enslaved people who populate Santiago Island in Cabo Verde. It's fast-paced and exciting, and dangerous enough that it was essentially illegal until the Portuguese left in 1975. On the November 18 edition of Global A Go-Go, you'll hear three funana classics from the 80s and 90s that will get you some serious aerobic exercise.

Also this week: West African highlife, salsa dura from the USA and Colombia, a Balkan brassive attack, four songs the Garifuna Collective played during their visit to the Richmond Folk Festival, and a cool new female global-fusion duo from Berlin via Goa, India.

Charts November 2-8, 2019

Back in the saddle again

It's great to be in Studio A after a six month absence, feeling good and with a satchel full of music I've haven't yet played on the radio.

A prime example is Poetic Trance by Aziz Sahmaoui & University Of Gnawa (pictured above), linking the sounds of the Maghreb and sub-Saharan Africa. And there's plenty of room for long-time Global A Go-Go favorites like Gogol Bordello and Bembeya Jazz National, plus vintage finds like Stephen Cheng's 1967 reggae in Chinese.

Join me on November 11 in my new time slot, Mondays 3 to 5 PM, or catch the podcast later.

Charts Oct 26 - Nov 1, 2019

I'm back in the saddle again! I'm pleased to announce that Global A Go-Go is returning to WRIR's airwaves. The program will air on Mondays from 3 to 5 PM Eastern time beginning on November 11. You can hear the show in Richmond on 97.3 FM, or anywhere that you have an internet connection at wrir.org. Podcasts will also return at www.radio4all.net/index.php/series/Global+A+Go-Go.

WRIR's NACC World Top Ten
1 EARLY CONGO MUSIC 1946-1962: FIRST RUMBA TO THE REAL RUMBA | various artists | El Sur
2 POUR ME A GROG: THE FUNANA REVOLT IN 1990S CABO VERDE | various artists | Ostinato
3 AFROINS, LOS | A Gozar Salsomanos | Vampisoul
4 GARIFUNA COLLECTIVE, THE | Aban | Stonetree
5 CANALON DE TIMBIQUI | De Mar Y Rio | Llorona
6 ADNAN OTHMAN | Bershukor: A Retrospective Of Hits By A Malaysian Pop Yeh Yeh Legend | Sublime Frequencies
7 LOCOBEACH | Psychedelic Disco Cumbia | Dorsal Fin/Peace & Rhythm
8 KEITH AND TEX | Greatest Hits 1966-1970 | Rebel Sound
9 FARAFI | Calico Soul | Piranha
10 ADOLFO ECHEVERRIA Y SU ORQUESTA | Sabroso Bacalao | Vampisoul