March 31, 2013

Charts March 31, 2013

WRIR's CMJ New World Top Ten
1 CRIOLO | No Na Orelha | Sterns
2 FELA KUTI | The Best Of The Black President 2 | Knitting Factory
3 DUR-DUR BAND | Volume 5 | Awesome Tapes From Africa
4 QUATRO NA BOSSA | Bossa Nossa | self-released
5 BOMBA ESTEREO | Elegancia Tropical | Soundway
6 VARIOUS ARTISTS | Pop Yeh Yeh: Psychedelic Rock From Singapore And Malaysia - 1964-1970 | Sublime Frequencies
7 RED BARAAT | Shruggy Ji | Sinj
8 BARRINGTON LEVY | Reggae Anthology: Sweet Reggae Music 1979-84 | VP
9 GYPSYPHONIC DISKO | Mardi Gras Mixtape | self-released
10 GYEDU-BLAY AMBOLLEY | Simigwa | Academy LPs

March 28, 2013

Criolo | No Na Orelha

ARTIST: Criolo
TITLE: No Na Orelha
LABEL: Sterns
Kieber Gomes, aka Criolo, is a gifted Brazilian singer and songwriter. On this album, he shows that he can handle almost any genre from rumba and Afrobeat to samba and rap.

Program March 29, 2013

I'll have a special guest co-host in the studio with me this week.  Cayman Mooney (pictured above) is the accordionist for the band My Son The Doctor, a former WRIR DJ and, like me, an enthusiast for Central and Eastern European music.

I invited Cayman to join me to spin some of his favorites -- what we came up with is a show of music of Europe's untouchables: the Gypsies and the Jews.  You'll hear everything from haunting melodies to punk rock, by artists from Clejani (Romania) and Kodyma (Ukraine) to Paris and New York City.  It's going to be a blast, y'all.

March 24, 2013

Charts March 24, 2013

WRIR's CMJ New World Top Ten
1 VARIOUS ARTISTS | Dabke: Sounds Of The Syrian Houran | Sham Palace
2 ORQUESTA EL MACABEO | Salsa Bestial | Vampisoul
3 SORIE KONDI | Thogolobea | Dutty Artz
4 CHICHA LIBRE | Cuatro Tigres | Barbes
5 VARIOUS ARTISTS | The Rough Guide To Latin Psychedelia | World Music Network
6 BABA SALAH | Dangay (The North) | Studio Mali
7 DUR-DUR BAND | Volume 5 | Awesome Tapes From Africa
8 NURU KANE | Exile | Riverboat
9 VARIOUS ARTISTS | Change The Beat: The Celluloid Records Story 1980–1987 | Strut
10 CRIOLO | No Na Orelha | Sterns

March 2013 Concert Calendar

 March's Global A Go-Go Picks:
  1. Brooklyn Balkan kingpins Slavic Soul Party (pictured above) at Balliceaux on Friday March 15 and at the Kennedy Center's Millenium Stage on Saturday March 16
  2. More Balkan madness: Balkan Beat Box and Delhi 2 Dublin at the 9:30 Club in Washington on Tuesday March 19
  3. The legendary Afro-Cuban All Stars at DC's newly renovated historic Howard Theatre on Sunday March 24
  4. South African jazz direct from the source: the University of KwaZulu-Natal Jazz Legacy Ensemble plus the VCU Africa Combo and special guest J. Plunky Branch at VCU's Singleton Center on Thursday March 28
Have an event you'd like me to include, or a suggestion for the concert calendar?  Just drop me a line at globalagogoradio [at] gmail [dot] com, or leave me a message right here.

Click "Read More" to see the entire March calendar.

March 22, 2013

Chicha Libre | Cuatro Tigres

ARTIST: Chicha Libre
TITLE: Cuatro Tigres
LABEL: Barbes
Chicha Libre is back with a 4-song EP for Record Store Day (the vinyl edition will be released on April 20, the download is available beginning on April 2). Cuatro Tigres includes four covers of four very different songs, with each getting the band’s Peruvian-psychedelic treatment.

Dabke: Sounds Of The Syrian Houran

ARTIST: various artists
TITLE: Dabke: Sounds Of The Syrian Houran
LABEL: Sham Palace
Dabke wedding music from Syria is known in the West because of the breakout success of Omar Souleyman. And Souleyman was introduced to us by Mark Gergis, who released four albums of his work on the Sublime Frequencies label and produced his collaboration with Bjork in 2011.

The Rough Guide To Latin Psychedelia

ARTIST: various artists
TITLE: The Rough Guide To Latin Psychedelia
LABEL: World Music Network
Here’s a terrific collection of mostly lesser-known artists and tracks from Latin America and Latino USA incorporating the influence of psychedelic rock.

March 21, 2013

Program March 22, 2013

As I write this post on Thursday afternoon, WRIR's Spring '13 Fund Drive has just crossed a major milestone: 500 people have now donated, making this only the second drive in which we've gone over the 500-donor mark.  Thank you to all of our donors for helping keep this amazing experiment in community-made radio thriving for another six months.

And the drive isn't over yet: we're still trying to raise as close to $40,000 as we can, so if you haven't donated yet it's not too late to do so -- just click on the Donate button on our website (www.wrir.org), or simply use this link:

https://wrir.wufoo.com/forms/fund-drive-donation-wrirlp-973-fm

Richmond is being treated to another performance next week by the University of KwaZulu-Natal's Jazz Legacy Ensemble (pictured above) -- they played at the Camel last fall, and they'll be at VCU's Singleton Center on Thursday March 28, along with the VCU Africa Combo and special guest J. Plunky Branch.  To get you warmed up for this event, I'll play a set of some of my favorite South African jazz recordings by Abdullah Ibrahim, Dudu Pukwana and others.

March 17, 2013

Charts March 17, 2013

WRIR's CMJ New World Top Ten
1 VARIOUS ARTISTS | Pop Yeh Yeh: Psychedelic Rock From Singapore And Malaysia - 1964-1970 | Sublime Frequencies
2 BOMBA ESTEREO | Elegancia Tropical | Soundway
3 VARIOUS ARTISTS | Diablos Del Ritmo: The Colombian Melting Pot 1960-1985 | Analog Africa
4 BARRINGTON LEVY | Sweet Reggae Music 1979-84 | VP
5 GYEDU-BLAY AMBOLLEY | Simigwa | Academy LPs
6 FELA KUTI | The Best Of The Black President 2 | Knitting Factory
7 DUR-DUR BAND | Volume 5 | Awesome Tapes From Africa
8 VARIOUS ARTISTS | Santiago De Cuba: La Reina Del Son | Fremeaux & Associes
9 SOOTHSAYERS | Human Nature | Red Earth
10 VARIOUS ARTISTS | Best Of Buena Vista | ARC

March 15, 2013

Program March 15, 2013

WRIR is just past the midpoint of its Spring '13 Fund Drive, and I want to thank the more than 200 people who have already donated in the current drive.  If you haven't yet donated, we can really use your support right now to keep this unique radio station, one of the finest not only in Richmond but anywhere in the country, firing on all cylinders.

Our goal is to raise $40,000 (1/3rd of our 2013 budget) by Tuesday -- please help us get there by donating what you can sometime in the next five days.  You can donate by calling us at 804-622-9747 any time (we're here making great radio for you 24 hours a day, 365 days a year), by visiting us in person at 1621-B West Broad Street in Richmond between 9 AM and 9 PM, or by clicking the "Donate" button at www.wrir.org or this link:

https://wrir.wufoo.com/forms/fund-drive-donation-wrirlp-973-fm

March 10, 2013

Charts March 10, 2013

WRIR's Spring '13 fund drive is now underway, and we're off to a good start -- we raised about $8,000 in the first 48 hours, on the way to our goal of $40,000 by March 19. A big thank-you goes out to our friends in the world music community who have donated the following recordings for us to use as premiums:

March 8, 2013

Program March 8, 2013

WRIR's 17th (hard to believe, isn't it?) fund drive gets started today at 5 PM during Global A Go-Go.  I just want to say thank you for listening to WRIR and Global A Go-Go, and for your previous support of Richmond Independent Radio if you've made a donation in the past.  I also want to ask you to consider making a generous donation of any amount you can afford during the current drive.

You can donate by calling 804-622-9747, visiting us in person at 1621-B West Broad Street in Richmond, or via our secure online donation site at https://wrir.wufoo.com/forms/fund-drive-donation-wrirlp-973-fm.

March 4, 2013

Orquesta El Macabeo | Salsa Bestial

ARTIST: Orquesta El Macabeo
TITLE: Salsa Bestial
LABEL: Vampisoul
Hey, here’s Puerto Rico’s answer to Bio Ritmo. A 12-piece band of musicians with backgrounds in rock, punk and reggae, Orquesta El Macabeo plays classic NYC-style salsa dura with an imaginative, progressive edge that sets them apart from your standard salsa romantica and pa’l bailador combos.

Sorie Kondi | Thogolobea

ARTIST: Sorie Kondi
TITLE: Thogolobea
LABEL: Dutty Artz
Here’s another tradi-mod gem from 21st century Africa. “Tradi-mod” is a term coined to describe the music of Congolese bands like Konono No. 1 and Kasai All Stars, artists with both feet planted deep in the traditional sounds of their regions or ethnic groups, and both hands on the controls of synthesizers, samplers or other contemporary music-making devices that are reshaping the African audio landscape.

March 3, 2013

Charts March 3, 2013

WRIR's CMJ New World Top Ten
1 MALOKO | Soul On Fire | Introducing
2 VARIOUS ARTISTS | Pop Yeh Yeh: Psychedelic Rock From Singapore And Malaysia - 1964-1970 | Sublime Frequencies
3 SLIDE BROTHERS | Robert Randolph Presents: The Slide Brothers | Concord
4 BOMBA ESTEREO | Elegancia Tropical | Soundway
5 BARRINGTON LEVY | Reggae Anthology: Sweet Reggae Music (1979-84) | VP
6 FELA KUTI | The Best Of The Black President 2 | Knitting Factory
7 GYEDU-BLAY AMBOLLEY | Simigwa | Academy LPs
8 RED BARAAT | Shruggy Ji | Sinj
9 VARIOUS ARTISTS | Best Of Buena Vista | ARC
10 NILSON MATTA | Black Orpheus | Motema