January 29, 2015

Dengue Fever | The Deepest Lake

ARTIST: Dengue Fever
TITLE: The Deepest Lake
LABEL: Tuk Tuk
Los Angeles-based band Dengue Fever is back with the sixth full-length album of their now 14-year career, and it’s their best one yet.

Program January 30, 2015

Black Masala (pictured above) returns to Global A Go-Go this week.  They're a gypsy-inspired brass band from Washington DC who damn near blew the doors down when they played in WRIR's Live Room back in June.

Black Masala is back in Richmond for another live performance -- they're at the Camel Friday night along with M.H. And His Orchestra and Love Logic.  But before that, they'll be back in the Live Room on Global A Go-Go -- don't miss it!

January 25, 2015

Charts January 25, 2015

WRIR's CMJ New World Top Ten
1 E.N YOUNG | Live Love Stay Up | Roots Musician
2 REBEL TUMBAO | Rebel Tumbao | Sacred Rhythm
3 RED BARAAT | Gaadi Of Truth | Sinj
4 BABA COMMANDANT AND THE MANDINGO BAND | Juguya | Sublime Frequencies
5 PARADISE BANGKOK MOLAM INTERNATIONAL BAND | 21st Century Molam | Studio Lam
6 VERCKYS ET L'ORCHESTRE VEVE | Congolese Funk, Afrobeat And Psychedelic Rumba 1969-1978 | Analog Africa
7 VARIOUS ARTISTS | 25 Years Of Mr Bongo | Mr Bongo
8 VARIOUS ARTISTS | The Rough Guide To Psychedelic Salsa | World Music Network
9 FAIANATUR | "Hail Selassi I" [Single] | self-released
10 VARIOUS ARTISTS | The Rough Guide To African Rare Groove (Volume 1) | World Music Network

January 23, 2015

Red Baraat | Gaadi Of Truth

ARTIST: Red Baraat
TITLE: Gaadi Of Truth
LABEL: Sinj
Red Baraat is one the most unique, explosive bands in America today. Led by dhol (double-headed Indian drum) player Sunny Jain, this 8-piece ensemble puts bhangra music into a whole new context: all horns and drums, they’re a desi brass band that draws as much on jazz, funk, hip hop and DC go-go as on any music from the subcontinent.

E.N Young | Live Love Stay Up

ARTIST: E.N Young
TITLE: Live Love Stay Up
LABEL: Roots Musician
E.N Young is a busy young San Diego-based reggae musician – he sings and writes songs, plays keyboards and melodica in the band Tribal Seeds, runs his own record label, and produces and engineers at his own recording studio.

January 22, 2015

Program January 23, 2015

I have a whole set of Brazilian music cued up for you this week, including one from the great Jorge Ben (pictured above with his VW Beetle) and covers of two of his hits.  Also new music from Brooklyn dhol-and brass octet Red Baraat and west coast reggae jack-of-all-trades E.N Young, a set of Congolese classics, and much more.

January 18, 2015

Charts January 18, 2015

WRIR's CMJ New World Top Ten
1 BABA COMMANDANT AND THE MANDINGO BAND | Juguya | Sublime Frequencies
2 REBEL TUMBAO | Rebel Tumbao | Sacred Rhythm
3 AZIZ SAHMAOUI AND UNIVERSITY OF GNAWA | Mazal | World Village
4 HAILU MERGIA AND THE WALIAS | Tche Belew | Awesome Tapes From Africa
5 VERCKYS ET L'ORCHESTRE VEVE | Congolese Funk, Afrobeat And Psychedelic Rumba 1969-1978 | Analog Africa
6 CARLOU D | A New Day | World Village
7 VARIOUS ARTISTS | Feedback Madagascar | ARC
8 VARIOUS ARTISTS | Golden Afrique, Vol. 1 | Network
9 VARIOUS ARTISTS | Glitterbeat: Dubs And Versions I | Glitterbeat
10 ALMA AFROBEAT ENSEMBLE | Life No Get Dublicate | Slow Walk

January 15, 2015

Program January 16, 2015

What does a West African garage band sound like?  You'll hear one this week on Global A Go-Go -- Baba Commandant (pictured above) & The Mandingo Band from Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso.

They do rehearse in a garage (videos are available), and they rock out just as aggressively as an American garage band.  It's just that the rhythms are a hell of a lot more complicated.

Also this week: the sound of spiritual jazz, music of Morocco and Algeria, and a visit to NYC's barrio.

Baba Commandant & The Mandingo Band | Juguya

ARTIST: Baba Commandant & The Mandingo Band
TITLE: Juguya
LABEL: Sublime Frequencies
The Sublime Frequencies label is best known for its audio verite recordings and for reissues from Asia, Africa and the Middle East. Recently they’ve dipped their toe into releasing studio recordings of current artists, most famously Omar Souleyman.

Rebel Tumbao | Rebel Tumbao

ARTIST: Rebel Tumbao
TITLE: Rebel Tumbao
LABEL: Sacred Rhythm
Rebel Tumbao is a project originally conceived by Jose Claussell and Matt Jenson way back in 2002 based on their shared interest in deep groove music and the fight for social justice. It’s been a long time in the making, but their debut album is finally here.

Aziz Sahmaoui & University Of Gnawa | Mazal

ARTIST: Aziz Sahmaoui & University Of Gnawa
TITLE: Mazal
LABEL: World Village

Aziz Sahmaoui is a singer and multi-instrumentalist from France via Morocco who founded the excellent pan-Maghrebi ensemble Orchestre National De Barbes and went on to join Joe Zawinul’s jazz group as a percussionist.

January 12, 2015

Charts January 11, 2015

WRIR's CMJ New World Top Ten
1 KASSE MADY DIABATE | Kirike | Six Degrees
2 BOUBACAR TRAORE | Mbalimaou | Lusafrica
3 SAMBA TOURE | Gandadiko | Glitterbeat
4 DJESSOU MORY KANTE | River Strings: Maninka Guitar | Sterns
5 PARADISE BANGKOK MOLAM INTERNATIONAL BAND | 21st Century Molam | Studio Lam
6 VARIOUS ARTISTS | The Afrosound Of Colombia, Vol. 2 | Vampisoul
7 KHUN NARIN | Khun Narin's Electric Phin Band | Innovative Leisure
8 TINARIWEN | The Radio Tisdas Sessions | Modern Classics
9 ZAZ | "Champs Elysees" [Single] | Play On
10 BANG DATA | Mucho Poco | Futuro Sonico-Rockolito Music

January 8, 2015

Program January 9, 2015

This week's program is my first chance to share 2015's music with you.  The year may still be very young, but I already have some winners to bring to your attention, starting with Gandadiko by Mali's Samba Toure (pictured above), which I already can tell will be one of my favorite albums of the year.

I also have excellent new releases to share from Kasse Mady Diabate, Boubacar Traore (looks like another banner year for Malian music, what else is new?) and the Paradise Bangkok Molam International Band.  Plus some old favorites sprinkled throughout, because that's how we roll on Global A Go-Go.

January 7, 2015

Kasse Mady Diabate | Kirike

ARTIST: Kasse Mady Diabate
TITLE: Kirike
LABEL: Six Degrees
Kasse Mady Diabate is probably Mali’s greatest living traditional singer, justly famous for his griot praise-song repertoire. Here’s he’s placed in an intimate setting devised by kora player Ballake Sissoko and cellist and producer Vincent Segal, whose duo collaborations have won wide acclaim.

Paradise Bangkok Molam International Band | 21st Century Molam

ARTIST: Paradise Bangkok Molam International Band
TITLE: 21st Century Molam
LABEL: Studio Lam
Chris Menist and Maft Sai are best known for their Thai pop music compilations The Sound Of Siam and Thai? Dai! Now they’ve put together a band to play north-eastern Thai molam music.

Samba Toure | Gandadiko

ARTIST: Samba Toure
TITLE: Gandadiko
LABEL: Glitterbeat
This is the fourth solo album by Samba Toure, a guitarist, singer and songwriter from near Tombouctou who is best known for his work with Ali Farka Toure (no relation) and for standing in for the late Farka on Toumani Diabate’s Ali Farka Toure Variations tour.

Boubacar Traore | Mbalimaou

ARTIST: Boubacar Traore
TITLE: Mbalimaou
LABEL: Lusafrica
Before Ali Farka Toure, Tinariwen and the desert blues explosion, there was Boubacar Traore. Arguably the original Malian bluesman, his unique fusion of American blues, North African and Mande music was popular at the end of the era of colonial occupation; his song “Kar Kar Madison” was virtually the soundtrack of Malian independence.

January 4, 2015

January 2015 Concert Calendar

January's Global A Go-Go picks:
  1. The University of Richmond's Gamelan Raga Kusuma will perform a Balinese wayang kulit (shadow puppet play) with master puppeteer Gusti Sudarta at Balliceaux on Thursday January 8; they'll perform it again in DC at the Indonesian Embassy on Saturday January 10
  2. The Spanish Harlem Orchestra, America's number one salsa repertory ensemble, visits the University of Richmond;s Alice Jepson Theatre on Thursday January 22, as part of the Modlin Center's performance series
  3. Zap Mama and Antibalas (the latter is pictured above) are on tour together: they visit Richmond's Carpenter Theatre (in another Modlin Center event) on Wednesday January 28 and DC's Lisner Auditorium on Friday January 30
  4. George Lowe (ex-Rattlemouth) premieres his new 7-piece Ethio-funk-jazz band Afro-Zen Allstars at Balliceaux on Thursday January 29
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 January calendar.

Charts January 4, 2015

WRIR's CMJ New World Top Ten
1 BUDOS BAND | Burnt Offering | Daptone
2 VARIOUS ARTISTS | Feedback Madagascar | ARC
3 VARIOUS ARTISTS | 25 Years Of Mr Bongo | Mr Bongo
4 VARIOUS ARTISTS | The Afrosound Of Colombia, Vol. 2 | Vampisoul
5 HAILU MERGIA AND THE WALIAS | Tche Belew | Awesome Tapes From Africa
6 VERCKYS ET L'ORCHESTRE VEVE | Congolese Funk, Afrobeat And Psychedelic Rumba 1969-1978 | Analog Africa
7 VARIOUS ARTISTS | Golden Afrique, Vol. 1 | Network
8 ABELARDO BARROSO WITH ORQUESTA SENSACION | Cha Cha Cha | World Circuit
9 VARIOUS ARTISTS |  Peru Bravo: Funk, Soul & Psych From Peru's Radical Decade | Tiger's Milk
10 ALMA AFROBEAT ENSEMBLE | Life No Get Dublicate | Slow Walk Music

January 2, 2015

Program January 2, 2015: Best of the Rest of 2014

Global A Go-Go kicks off 2015 with one last look back at 2014.  This week, the focus is on individual songs: my favorite singles of the year, top tracks from albums that didn't quite make my best-of lists, and great songs hidden on otherwise forgettable long-players.

This annual "Best of the Rest" show invariably turns out to have just as much great music as the two program ("Best New Releases" and "Best Reissues/Compliations") that precede it -- like it or not, we're living in a singles era again, so recapping my favorite albums of the year misses a lot of top-shelf material.  Check it out for yourself and see.