Charts August 31, 2014

WRIR's CMJ New World Top Ten
1 CECILIA NOEL | Havana Rocks | Compass
2 LES AMBASSADEURS | Les Ambassadeurs Du Motel De Bamako | Sterns
3 EDIP AKBAYRAM | Edip Akbayram | Pharaway Sounds
4 MESTRE CUPIJO E SEU RITMO | Siria | Analog Africa
5 RICARDO LEMVO AND MAKINA LOCA | La Rumba SoYo | Cumbancha
6 BIO RITMO | Puerta Del Sur | Vampisoul
7 NOURA MINT SEYMALI | Tzenni | Glitterbeat
8 HASSAN HAKMOUN | Unity | Healing
9 VARIOUS ARTISTS | Ola Cabo Verde | Lusafrica
10 SIMO LAGNAWI | The Gnawa Berber | Riverboat

Les Ambassadeurs | Les Ambassadeurs Du Motel De Bamako

ARTIST: Les Ambassadeurs
TITLE: Les Ambassadeurs Du Motel De Bamako
LABEL: Sterns
Mali’s Les Ambassadeurs recently reunited for a brief European tour; that makes this 2-disc compilation of their original 1975-77 recordings timely.

Cecilia Noel | Havana Rocks

ARTIST: Cecilia Noel
TITLE: Havana Rocks
LABEL: Compass
Lima-born, LA-based singer Cecilia Noel has been working on her personal mix of Latin, jazz and pop for more than 20 years now. For her latest album, she journeyed to Havana and enlisted an A-team of Cuban players and singers, led by Carlos Alfonso of the groundbreaking rock band Sintesis.

Program August 29, 2014

With Ukraine (in dark blue above, graphic courtesy of the Canadian Joint Delegation to NATO, @CanadaNATO) in the news every day, I thought this would be a good time to feature that country's music on the radio.

I have some assistance in this effort: my frequent guest Vlad Cuiujuclu, the only person I know who has four U's in his surname, has selected most of the music for this week's program.  Vlad, a native of Moldova, is well-versed in all forms of Eastern European music -- we'll spin everything from folk to punk and electronica on this mind-broadening, newsworthy edition of Global A Go-Go.

Charts August 24, 2014

WRIR's CMJ New World Top Ten
1 VARIOUS ARTISTS | Brazil! The Birth Of Bossa Nova | Le Chant Du Monde
2 CUMBIA ALL STARS | Tigres En Fuga | Harmonia Mundi
3 VARIOUS ARTISTS | Salsa De Hoy: An Independent Salsa Caliente Compilation | Discos De Hoy
4 QUANTIC | Magnetica | Tru Thoughts
5 BOBBY VALENTIN | El Mensajero | Andale
6 BIO RITMO | Puerta Del Sur | Vampisoul
7 TOUMANI DIABATE AND SIDIKI DIABATE | Toumani And Sidiki | World Circuit
8 NOURA MINT SEYMALI | Tzenni | Glitterbeat
9 SONIDO GALLO NEGRO | Sendero Mistico | Glitterbeat
10 DOCTOR KRAPULA AND COLECTIVO JAGUAR | Ama-Zonas | self-released

Finding Fela: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

ARTIST: various artists
TITLE: Finding Fela: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
LABEL: Knitting Factory
This two-disc soundtrack to the new Fela Kuti biopic (in theaters right now) is a worthwhile document in its own right.

Zongo Junction | No Discount

ARTIST: Zongo Junction
TITLE: No Discount
LABEL: Electric Cowbell
The second album from this Brooklyn-based ensemble, which ranges from 8 to 11 players, is a superb example of progressive Afrobeat.

Program August 22, 2014

My colleague David Noyes of The Motherland Influence (Sundays at 5 PM on WRIR) has been raving all year about the compilation of music from Burkina Faso that's pictured above.  I finally bought a copy, and guess what -- he's right to rave, it's fabulous, one of the best things I've heard all year.  I'll play you a track this week (first of many to come, I'm sure) so you can hear for yourself.

Also on this week's program: brand new music by Malouma (not only one of Mauritania's most famous singers, also the first woman ever elected to that country's legislature); Manu Chao collaborating with Colombia's Doctor Krapula; and some killer salsa dura.

Charts August 17, 2014

WRIR's CMJ New World Top Ten
1 MESTRE CUPIJO E SEU RITMO | Siria | Analog Africa
2 SHAOLIN AFRONAUTS | Follow The Path | Freestyle
3 EDIP AKBAYRAM | Edip Akbayram | Pharaway Sounds
4 VARIOUS ARTISTS | Finding Fela: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack | Knitting Factory
5 ZONGO JUNCTION | No Discount | Electric Cowbell
6 JUNGLE FIRE | Tropicoso | Nacional
7 VARIOUS ARTISTS | Salsa De Hoy: An Independent Salsa Caliente Compilation | Discos De Hoy
8 BOBBY VALENTIN | El Mensajero | Andale
9 BIO RITMO | Puerta Del Sur | Vampisoul
10 SON PALENQUE | Afrocolombian Sound Modernizers | Vampisoul

Edip Akbayram | Edip Akbayram

ARTIST: Edip Akbayram
TITLE: Edip Akbayram
LABEL: Pharaway Sounds
More from the wonderful world of Turkish psychedelia. Edip Akbayram is a singer who reached popular consciousness by recording traditional songs with lyrics by some of Turkey’s most famous poets set to buzzing electric folk-psych-rock arrangements.

Mestre Cupijo E Seu Ritmo | Siria

ARTIST: Mestre Cupijo E Seu Ritmo
TITLE: Siria
LABEL: Analog Africa
Analog Africa branched out to a second continent in 2010 when it started reissuing Colombian music; now it’s moved into Brazil with a band that barely sounds Brazilian at all.

The Shaolin Afronauts | Follow The Path

ARTIST: The Shaolin Afronauts
TITLE: Follow The Path
LABEL: Freestyle
The Adelaide, Australia-based Shaolin Afronauts straddle two worlds – they have one foot planted in soulful, funky Afrobeat and the other in avant-garde and spiritual jazz.

Program August 15, 2014

This week on Global A Go-Go, you'll hear Afrobeat in all its varieties: a 1969 Fela Kuti classic reissued; the jazzy influences of Shaolin Afronauts, Zongo Junction and Somi; and an Afro-Latin burner by Jungle Fire (pictured above).  And they're all new releases, to boot.

Also this week: Turkish psych from the 60s, 70s and 80s; music of the maroons -- escaped African slaves in the Caribbean and South America; the Berlin beat -- my favorite Berlin bands that didn't play in town when I was there.

Charts August 10, 2014

WRIR's CMJ New World Top Ten
1 BIO RITMO | Puerta Del Sur | Vampisoul
2 RICARDO LEMVO AND MAKINA LOCA | La Rumba SoYo | Cumbancha
3 VARIOUS ARTISTS | Salsa De Hoy: An Independent Salsa Caliente Compilation | Discos De Hoy
4 BLACK HIPPIES | The Black Hippies | Academy LPs
5 SLIM ALI AND HODI BOYS | 70s Soul! | ARC
6 QUANTIC | Magnetica | Tru Thoughts
7 CUMBIA ALL STARS | Tigres En Fuga | World Village
8 SIA TOLNO | African Woman | Lusafrica
9 SONIDO GALLO NEGRO | Sendero Mistico | Glitterbeat
10 NOURA MINT SEYMALI | Tzenni | Glitterbeat

Charts August 3, 2014

WRIR's CMJ New World Top Ten
1 RICARDO LEMVO AND MAKINA LOCA | La Rumba SoYo | Cumbancha
2 SONIDO GALLO NEGRO | Sendero Mistico | Glitterbeat
3 SIA TOLNO | African Woman | Lusafrica
4 BIO RITMO | Puerta Del Sur | Vampisoul
5 DEXTER JOHNSON AND LE SUPER STAR DE DAKAR | Live A L'Etoile | Teranga Beat
6 SEUN KUTI AND EGYPT 80 | A Long Way To The Beginning | Knitting Factory
7 VARIOUS ARTISTS | Ola Cabo Verde | Lusafrica
8 MARCIO FARACO | Cajueiro | World Village
9 SALLY NYOLO | Tiger Run | Riverboat
10 JOHNNY SEDES AND HIS ORCHESTRA | Mama Calunga | Andale