July 29, 2012

Charts July 29, 2012

WRIR's CMJ New World Top Ten
1 JANKA NABAY AND THE BUBU GANG | En Yay Sah | Luaka Bop
2 BALKANIZE! | For You Are Made Of Stars | self-released
3 TEX SOUL AND THE BAYONETS | "Uto Nwa" B/w "Osi Na Ngada" | Academy
4 VARIOUS ARTISTS | L'Afrique Enchantee: C'est Moi Le Chef! | Sony France
5 KONKOMA | KonKoma | Soundway
6 TERAKAFT | Kel Tamasheq | World Village
7 ALHOUSSEINI ANIVOLLA | Anewal/The Walking Man | Riverboat
8 DEBO BAND | Debo Band | Sub Pop/Next Ambiance
9 KRAR COLLECTIVE | Ethiopia Super Krar | World Music Network
10 BA CISSOKO | Nimissa | Cristal

July 26, 2012

The Rough Guide To The Music Of Ethiopia

ARTIST:  various artists
TITLE:  The Rough Guide To The Music Of Ethiopia
LABEL:  World Music Network 
Buda Musique’s Ethiopiques series (27 volumes and counting) is without a doubt the gold standard of Ethiopian music reissues.  What can the Rough Guide folks add to justify a release like this one?  Plenty, as it turns out.

L'Afrique Enchantee: C'est Moi Le Chef!

ARTIST:  various artists
TITLE:  L’Afrique Enchantee: C’est Moi Le Chef!
LABEL:  Sony France 
“L’Afrique Enchantee” is a weekly African music radio program on France Inter (French public radio).  Hosts Soro Solo and Vladimir Cagnolari have curated this superb compilation with the theme “African musical meditations on the exercise of power.”

Janka Nabay & The Bubu Gang | En Yay Sah

ARTIST:  Janka Nabay & The Bubu Gang
TITLE:  En Yay Sah
LABEL:  Luaka Bop 
Ahmed Janka Nabay released a series of popular cassettes of what he calls bubu music in his native Sierra Leone in the 1990’s.  Civil war drove Nabay into exile in the USA, where he formed a full band in 2010; this is their first full-length album.

Program July 27, 2012

For some time now, I've been arguing that the best rock music in the world today is being made in the Sahara Desert -- for energy, intensity, directness of communication and sheer bad-assery (all dearly-held values across rock's history), you just can't top it.  On this week's program, I'll illustrate with new releases by Mali's Terakaft (pictured above) and Niger's Alhousseini Anivolla, and more.

July 22, 2012

Charts July 22, 2012

WRIR's CMJ New World Top Ten
1 LACK OF AFRO | One Way: Remixes And Rarities | Freestyle
2 VARIOUS ARTISTS | Sensacional Soul, Vol. 3 | Vampisoul
3 ELIKEH | Between 2 Worlds | Azalea City
4 TERAKAFT | Kel Tamasheq | World Village
5 DEBO BAND | Debo Band | Sub Pop / Next Ambiance
6 KRAR COLLECTIVE | Ethiopia Super Krar | Riverboat
7 BALKANIZE! | ... For You Are Made Of Stars | self-released
8 KONKOMA | KonKoma | Soundway
9 KOO NIMO | Highlife Roots Revival | Riverboat
10 BOBAN I MARKO MARKOVIC ORKESTAR | Golden Horns | Piranha

July 21, 2012

Terakaft | Kel Tamasheq

ARTIST:  Terakaft
TITLE:  Kel Tamasheq
LABEL:  World Village 
Terakaft (“Caravan” in the Tamasheq language) is a four-piece desert rock band from northern Mali; this is their fourth studio album.

July 19, 2012

Program July 20, 2012

No prizes this week on Global A Go-Go -- just the great variety of international music that you can always expect on Fridays at 5 PM.

On this week's program: a Soul Spot (an occasional feature of this show) featuring R&B from Panama to Togo to Japan; a set of East Asian rock music with a couple of local ringers throw in; a half-hour of female reggae vocalists, including Marcia Griffith's new single; and some Balkan bangers to send you off dancing into Friday evening.

July 15, 2012

Charts July 15, 2012

WRIR's CMJ New World Top Ten
1 HOLLIE COOK | Prince Fatty Presents Hollie Cook In Dub | Mr Bongo
2 DEBO BAND | Debo Band | Sub Pop/Next Ambiance
3 KRAR COLLECTIVE | Ethiopia Super Krar | Riverboat
4 BALKANIZE! | ... For You Are Made Of Stars | self-released
5 ANTIBALAS | "Dirty Money" [Single] | Daptone
6 ALHOUSSEINI ANIVOLLA | Anewal/The Walking Man | Riverboat
7 KONKOMA | KonKoma | Soundway
8 KOO NIMO | Highlife Roots Revival | Riverboat
9 KOTTARASHKY AND THE RAIN DOGS | Demoni | Asphalt Tango
10 BOBAN I MARKO MARKOVIC ORKESTAR | Golden Horns | Piranha

July 13, 2012

Alhousseini Anivolla | Anewal/The Walking Man

ARTIST:  Alhousseini Anivolla
TITLE:  Anewal / The Walking Man
LABEL:  Riverboat
Alhousseini Anivolla is the guitarist in the band Etran Finatawa, a Niger-based based desert blues group that includes Tuareg and Fulani members.

Debo Band | Debo Band

ARTIST:  Debo Band
TITLE:  Debo Band
LABEL:  Sub Pop / Next Ambiance 
Here’s Debo Band’s widely-anticipated debut album (their 4-song EP in 2010 was stellar, and they’ve released a couple of singles for Electric Cowbell), and it’s the real deal.

Krar Collective | Ethiopia Super Krar

ARTIST:  Krar Collective
TITLE:  Ethiopia Super Krar
LABEL:  Riverboat 
Krar Collective is a London-based trio that plays Ethiopian azmari music with a modern, urban edge.  The azmari are Ethiopia’s answer to West Africa’s griots – minstrels, keepers of the tradition, social commenters and jesters.

July 12, 2012

Program July 13, 2012

What's new in the world of world music this week is: Ethiopian.  I'll play two brand-new releases from young bands, one from the USA (Debo Band, pictured above) and the other from the UK (Krar Collective), who are putting their personal stamps on classic 60s and 70s Ethiopian music.

July 9, 2012

Charts July 8, 2012

WRIR's CMJ New World Top Ten
1 CHICHA LIBRE | Canibalismo | Barbes
2 BA CISSOKO | Nimissa | Cristal
3 KONKOMA | KonKoma | Soundway
4 KOTTARASHKY AND THE RAIN DOGS | Demoni | Asphalt Tango
5 HOLLIE COOK | Prince Fatty Presents Hollie Cook In Dub | Mr Bongo
6 LACK OF AFRO | One Way: Remixes And Rarities | Freestyle
7 EBO TAYLOR | Appia Kwa Bridge | Strut
8 BLACK BAZAR | Black Bazar | Lusafrica
9 QUANTIC AND ALICE RUSSELL WITH THE COMBO BARBARO | Look Around The Corner | Tru Thoughts
10 MARIEM HASSAN | El Aaiun Egdat (El Aaiun On Fire) | Nubenegra

July 5, 2012

Program July 6, 2012

I'm back from a week's vacation (thanks to DJ Graybeard for filling in for me last Friday) and we've crossed 2012's halfway point, so it's time for a look at the best new releases of the year so far.  That's Chicha Libre pictured above, whose Canibalismo is probably my favorite album thus far in 2012.