March 30, 2014

Charts March 30, 2014

WRIR's CMJ New World Top Ten
1 LA MISA NEGRA | Misa De Medianoche | NAM Entertainment
2 SIERRA LEONE'S REFUGEE ALL STARS | Libation | Cumbancha
3 SKINTS | Short Change | Penny Drop
4 SEUN KUTI AND EGYPT 80 | A Long Way To The Beginning | Because Music
5 VARIOUS ARTISTS | Zanzibara 7: Sikinde Vs. Ndekule | Buda Musique
6 FLACO JIMENEZ AND MAX BACA | Flaco & Max: Legends & Legacies | Smithsonian Folkways
7 SOUSOU AND MAHER CISSOKO | Africa Moo Baalu | ARC
8 ADRIAN RASO AND FANFARE CIOCARLIA | Devil's Tale | Asphalt Tango
9 VARIOUS ARTISTS | Angola Soundtrack, Vol. 2: Hypnosis, Distortions And Other Sonic Innovations 1969-1978 | Analog Africa
10 SOULJAZZ ORCHESTRA | Inner Fire | Strut

March 28, 2014

La Misa Negra | Misa De Medianoche

ARTIST: La Misa Negra
TITLE: Misa De Medianoche
LABEL: NAM Entertainment
The world is in the midst of a great cumbia revival, with burgeoning interest in everything from old Colombian 78s to nueva cumbia-electronica mashups. I’ve been waiting to hear an American cumbia-revival band, and here they are: La Misa Negra from Oakland.

Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars | Libation

ARTIST: Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars
TITLE: Libation
LABEL: Cumbancha
Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars is one of those bands whose back-story threatens to overshadow its music. Formed during the bloody Leonean civil war, the band’s three founders started by entertaining their fellow refugee camp residents.

March 27, 2014

Program March 28, 2014

First of all, I want to say thank you to the more than 500 folks who donated over $36,000 during WRIR's Spring '14 Fund Drive.  And if donating somehow slipped your mind, it's not too late; just click here to spread the generosity:

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

Johnny Clegg (pictured above with Nelson Mandela), the man who led Juluka, South Africa's most successful (and therefore most dangerous) integrated band, is making a rare appearance in our area: he's at the Lisner Auditorium in DC on Saturday night.  In honor of the event, I'll spin a few of my favorites from his catalog on this week's program.

Also this week: a brand new release from Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars; the border sounds of conjunto and mariachi; and a cumbia dance party.

March 24, 2014

Charts March 23, 2014

WRIR's CMJ New World Top Ten
1 BLACK MASALA | Black Masala | self-released
2 IMARHAN TIMBUKTU | Akal Warled | Clermont Music
3 GAROTAS SUECAS | Feras Miticas | Vampisoul
4 ALSARAH AND THE NUBATONES | Silt | Wonderwheel
5 VARIOUS ARTISTS | Let's Boogaloo, Vol. 6: Explosive Deep Funk, Northern Soul And Dancefloor Jazz En El Barrio | Record Kicks
6 TINARIWEN | Emmaar | Anti-
7 ADRIAN RASO AND FANFARE CIOCARLIA | Devil's Tale | Asphalt Tango
8 VARIOUS ARTISTS | Angola Soundtrack, Vol. 2: Hypnosis, Distortions And Other Sonic Innovations 1969-1978 | Analog Africa
9 VARIOUS ARTISTS | Haiti Direct: Big Band, Mini-Jazz And Twoubadou Sounds 1960-1978 | Strut
10 SIERRA LEONE'S REFUGEE ALL STARS | Libation | Cumbancha

March 21, 2014

Program March 21, 2014

We're in the midst of WRIR's Spring '14 Fund Drive -- as I write this post at noon on Friday, we've already raised $23,000 from 300 donors.  Thank you to all 300 of you!  We need to raise $40,000 by Tuesday night, and we're looking for another 200 of you to join our team to make it happen.

We always try to make our fund drives something special for our listeners, so you're not just hearing us drone on boringly (at best, annoyingly at worst) about money.  And I do have something very special lined up for this evening's program.

My guests in the studio will be Miramar, a fabulous Richmond band that features Rei Alvarez and Marlysse Simmons of Bio Ritmo and Laura Ann Singh from Quatro Na Bossa (that's Rei and Laura Ann pictured above):

http://www.miramar-music.com

Miramar specializes in boleros: lush romantic ballads that have been a staple of the Puerto Rican repertoire (and slow-dance favorites of many salsa bands) since at least the 1950's.  They're a truly unique band, the kind of thing it's hard to imagine you'd ever hear on the radio -- and that's why WRIR is so necessary.  They'll be live in the studio some time after 5:30 -- tune in or stop and listen in person.

March 13, 2014

Program March 14, 2014

WRIR's Spring '14 Fund Drive gets underway Friday at 5:00 PM on Global A Go-Go.  For our opening event, Richmond's home-grown Balinese gamelan ensemble Gamelan Raga Kusuma will perform on-air in our Live Room.  This event kicks off 12 days of extraordinary radio, including 19 live performances from our studios.

You can hear the kickoff event on the radio at 97.3 FM in the Richmond area, or you can listen anywhere in the world that has an internet connection by browsing over to:

http://wrir.org/tunein

Our fund drive runs through March 25.  If you'd like to make a donation to support this remarkable project, you can do so by calling 804-622-9747, by visiting us in person at 1621-B West Broad Street, or via our secure online donation site at:

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

Thank you for your support throughout our first nine years, and thank you for considering making a donation during the Spring 2014 Fund Drive!

Black Masala | Black Masala

ARTIST: Black Masala
TITLE: Black Masala
LABEL: self-released
Here’s an exciting debut from a brassy Washington-based multicultural outfit. Black Masala’s members come from some of DC’s most notable globally-attuned combos, including Thievery Corp, Yellow Dubmarine and See-I.

Garotas Suecas | Feras Miticas

ARTIST: Garotas Suecas
TITLE: Feras Miticas
LABEL: Vampisoul
This is the second album from the young Sao Paolo-based rock band Garotas Suecas (Swedish Girls), who sing mostly in Portuguese but not infrequently in English. They’re received a healthy bit of buzz in the USA, much of it describing them as neo-Tropicalia.

March 9, 2014

Charts March 9, 2014

WRIR's CMJ New World Top Ten
1 MAMANI KEITA | Kanou | World Village
2 WILLIAM ONYEABOR | World Psychedelic Classics 5: Who Is William Onyeabor? | Luaka Bop
3 TED SIROTA'S HEAVYWEIGHT DUB | The Scientist Meets Ted Sirota's Heavyweight Dub | Liberated Zone
4 VARIOUS ARTISTS | Let's Boogaloo, Vol. 6: Explosive Deep Funk, Northern Soul And Dancefloor Jazz En El Barrio | Record Kicks
5 ALSARAH AND THE NUBATONES | Silt | Wonderwheel
6 VARIOUS ARTISTS | Rough Guide To Latin Rare Groove | World Music Network
7 SOUSOU AND MAHER CISSOKO | Africa Moo Baalu | ARC
8 BIO RITMO | "Se Les Olvido" [Single] | Locutor
9 PENNY PENNY | Shaka Bundu | Awesome Tapes From Africa
10 JOE DRISCOLL AND SEKOU KOUYATE | Faya | Cumbancha Discovery

March 6, 2014

Let's Boogaloo, Vol. 6

ARTIST: various artists
TITLE: Let’s Boogaloo, Vol. 6: Explosive Deep Funk, Northern Soul And Dancefloor Jazz En El Barrio
LABEL: Record Kicks
Volume 6 of this always-stellar series is compiled by noted British cratedigger Dean Rudland (Take Me To The River: A Southern Soul Story), and his focus here is on producer/A&R man Bobby Marin, who was a major factor in the boogaloo and Latin-soul movements of the 60’s and early 70’s.

Ted Sirota's Heavyweight Dub | The Scientist Meets Ted Sirota's Heavyweight Dub

ARTIST: Ted Sirota’s Heavyweight Dub
TITLE: The Scientist Meets Ted Sirota’s Heavyweight Dub
LABEL: Liberated Zone
Ted Sirota is a Chicago-based drummer best known for his jazz work – he leads a fine band called Rebel Souls and has played in the Sabertooth Organ Quartet for 19 years.

Program March 7, 2014

Maybe it's a phenomenon unique to my ears, but I've always felt that reggae and jazz go together like beer and pretzels (or fill in your preferred "complements" analogy here).  Whenever I hear a good one-drop riddim, I immediately jump to all the great improvisational ideas that it triggers.

I don't hear too many bands working in that direction, so when I do I pay extra close attention.  You'll hear a new one on this week's show: they're from Chicago, they're called Ted Sirota's Heavyweight Dub, their debut album is produced by legendary Jamaican mixologist Scientist and it's the real deal.

Also this week: a few recent favorites from West Africa, the "spatial organ" (his term) of Peru's Carlos Pickling, and the glory days of South African kwaito.

March 2, 2014

Charts March 2, 2014

WRIR's CMJ New World Top Ten
1 ALSARAH AND THE NUBATONES | Silt | Wonderwheel
2 IMARHAN TIMBUKTU | Akal Warled | Clermont Music
3 SOULJAZZ ORCHESTRA | Inner Fire | Strut
4 VARIOUS ARTISTS | GlobalFEST Selector | Magenta
5 VARIOUS ARTISTS | Rough Guide To Latin Rare Groove | World Music Network
6 TINARIWEN | Emmaar | Anti-
7 FEEDEL BAND | Ethiopian Ocean | self-released
8 MAMANI KEITA | Kanou | World Village
9 VARIOUS ARTISTS | Haiti Direct: Big Band, Mini-Jazz And Twoubadou Sounds 1960-1978 | Strut
10 VARIOUS ARTISTS | Angola Soundtrack, Vol. 2: Hypnosis, Distortions And Other Sonic Innovations 1969-1978 | Analog Africa

March 1, 2014

March 2014 Concert Calendar

March's Global A Go-Go picks:
  1. Bio Ritmo continues its monthly residence at the Camel on Friday March 14, with Quatro Na Bossa opening
  2. The heavyweight champions of desert blues, Mali's Tinariwen (pictured above), visit DC's Sixth & I Historic Synagogue on Saturday March 22
  3. South African legend Johnny Clegg makes a rare USA appearance at George Washington University's Lisner Auditorium on Saturday March 29
  4. A really imaginative double bill at the National on Saturday March 29: Northern Virginia reggae powerhouse SOJA with LA punks-gone-mariachi Mariachi El Bronx
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.