Program July 1, 2015

I've been listening to a lot of vintage South African music lately, courtesy of the incredible music blog Electric Jive (http://electricjive.blogspot.com), which is run by a group of record collectors that includes Richmond's own Siemon Allen.

On this week's show I'll spin a set of SA music from the late 70s and early 80s that combines local traditions with the influence of globally-popular African-American music of that era.  There are a few terms for it: Soul Jive, Disco Jive, Bump Jive.  Whatever you call it, it's all funky, catchy, danceable music and really hard to find nowadays.  Tune in and check it out for yourself.

Also this week: folk-rock in French, the golden age of Mali is now, and psychedelic cumbia.

The Rough Guide To Psychedelic Cumbia

ARTIST: various artists
TITLE: The Rough Guide To Psychedelic Cumbia
LABEL: World Music Network
Here’s a nicely curated compilation that weaves together several threads from the current worldwide cumbia revival.

Charts June 29, 2015

WRIR's CMJ New World Top Ten
1 AMARA TOURE | 1973-1980 | Analog Africa
2 LES AMBASSADEURS | Rebirth | World Village
3 BOMBA ESTEREO | Amanecer | Sony Music Latin
4 CHICO TRUJILLO | Reina De Todas Las Fiestas | Barbes
5 NOZINJA | Lodge | Warp
6 LILA DOWNS | Balas Y Chocolate | Sony Music Latin
7 BASSEKOU KOUYATE AND NGONI BA | Ba Power | Glitterbeat
8 MORGAN HERITAGE | Strictly Roots | CTBC
9 TIPSY OXCART | Upside Down | self-released
10 THOMAS MAPFUMO | Lion Songs: Essential Tracks In The Making Of Zimbabwe | Lion Songs

Les Ambassadeurs | Rebirth

ARTIST: Les Ambassadeurs
TITLE: Rebirth
LABEL: World Village
Les Ambassadeurs Du Motel De Bamako (their full name) is one of the greatest ensembles in African musical history; their reunion is a major event and has produced a superb new four-song EP.

Bomba Estereo | Amanecer

ARTIST: Bomba Estereo
TITLE: Amanecer
LABEL: Sony Music Latin
This is the fourth album in Bomba Estereo’s ten-year career; it’s their first for a major label (Sony) and the first time they’ve used an outside producer (Ricky Reed, a hitmaker for Jason Derulo and Pitbull).

Amara Toure | 1973-1980

ARTIST: Amara Toure
TITLE: 1973-1980
LABEL: Analog Africa
Analog Africa returns from the seemingly bottomless sea of great, neglected West African recordings with this pearl.

Program June 24, 2015

The June solstice is in the rear view mirror, and we've hit 99 degrees on the thermometer.  So it must be time for a summer dance party, and Global A Go-Go delivers the goods this week.

Colombia's Bomba Estereo (pictured above), Trinidad's Bunji Garlin and South Africa's Nozinja are making the music you'll hear on global dance floors this summer -- you get all of them and more on this week's program.

Also this week: some jazzy ska, Balkan brass & beats, and the golden age of West Africa featuring new discs from Les Ambassadeurs and Amara Toure.

Charts June 22, 2015

WRIR's CMJ New World Top Ten, June 9-22
1 CHICO TRUJILLO | Reina De Todas Las Fiestas | Barbes
2 VARIOUS ARTISTS | Big Box Of Afrosound | Vampisoul
3 GINGER JOHNSON AND HIS AFRICAN MESSENGERS | African Party | Freestyle
4 NOZINJA | Lodge | Warp
5 LILA DOWNS | Balas Y Chocolate | Sony Music Latin
6 DENGUE FEVER | The Deepest Lake | Tuk Tuk
7 BOMBA ESTEREO | Amanecer | Sony Music Latin
8 VERY BEST | Makes A King | Moshi Moshi
9 NOVALIMA | Planetario | Wonderwheel
10 BASSEKOU KOUYATE AND NGONI BA | Ba Power | Glitterbeat

Program June 10, 2015

One of the best party bands in the world, Chile's cumbia ambassadors Chico Trujillo (pictured above) have a new album -- you'll hear their take on Tex-Mex norteno music on this week's show, along with some artists who are closer to the source.

Also this week: Turkish folk-rock from the 1970s, a roots reggae sampler, and salsa with trombones.

Big Box Of Afrosound

ARTIST: various artists
TITLE: Big Box Of Afrosound
LABEL: Vampisoul
Vampisoul and DJ Bongohead are back with their third installment in the Afrosound series, collecting the best psych and funk-inflected material from Discos Fuentes, Colombia’s oldest and largest record label.

Chico Trujillo | Reina De Todas Las Fiestas

ARTIST: Chico Trujillo
TITLE: Reina De Todas Las Fiestas
LABEL: Barbes
Looking for the best party band in the world? These guys would be on the short list of contenders. Chico Trujillo is a cumbia band from Chile that started in 1999 on a lark, a side project of the ska-punk band La Floripondio.

Charts June 8, 2015

WRIR's CMJ New World Top Ten
1 GINGER JOHNSON AND HIS AFRICAN MESSENGERS | African Party | Freestyle
2 VARIOUS ARTISTS | Highlife On The Move: Selected Nigerian And Ghanaian Recordings From London And Lagos 1954-66 | Soundway
3 NOZINJA |  Lodge | Warp
4 LILA DOWNS | Balas Y Chocolate | Sony Music Latin
5 BASSEKOU KOUYATE AND NGONI BA | Ba Power | Glitterbeat
6 LETTA MBULU | In The Music The Village Never Ends | Be With
7 KHAIRA ARBY | Gossip | Clermont Music
8 BUENA VISTA SOCIAL CLUB | Lost And Found | World Circuit
9 VERY BEST | Makes A King | Moshi Moshi
10 MBONGWANA STAR | From Kinshasa | World Circuit

Program June 3, 2015

The latest and greatest sound in electronic dance music comes all the way from Limpopo, in northeast South Africa: that's the birthplace of Soweto-based producer Richard Mthetwa, aka Nozinja (above center, with two members of the Tshetsha Boys).

Nozinja's first-world debut album Lodge has just been released by Warp Records, and it's a blast.  You'll hear two tracks from it on this week's show, plus one by the Tshetsha Boys.

Also this week: contemporary son oriente from Cuba; calypso, konpa and highlife; and some new music from Mali and Niger.

Ginger Johnson & His African Messengers | African Party

ARTIST: Ginger Johnson & His African Messengers
TITLE: African Party
LABEL: Freestyle
Here’s a little slice of history – a crucial album in the dissemination of African music. Ginger Johnson was a Nigerian drummer who joined the British Merchant Navy and moved to London after World War II.

Nozinja | Lodge

ARTIST: Nozinja
TITLE: Lodge
LABEL: Warp
The latest flavor in electronic dance music comes from South Africa – specifically, from the Tsonga or Shangaan ethnic group hailing from Limpopo province in that country’s northeast. The style is called Shangaan electro; its leading exponent is producer Richard Mthetwa, aka Nozinja, who is based in Soweto like so many of his fellow Tsonga.

Charts June 1, 2015

Illustration by Ed Tucker

WRIR's CMJ New World Top Ten
1 THOMAS MAPFUMO | Lion Songs: Essential Tracks In The Making Of Zimbabwe | Lion Songs
2 MIDDLE EAST'S REVOLUTIONARY ARTISTS | "Zombie" [Single] | Freemuse
3 LETTA MBULU | In The Music The Village Never Ends | Be With
4 MORGAN HERITAGE | Strictly Roots | CTBC
5 RANA SANTACRUZ | Por Ahi | Chicavasco
6 LE VENT DU NORD | Tetu | Borealis
7 DOKKERMAN AND THE TURKEYING FELLAZ | Illegal Move | Tramp
8 SKINTS | FM | Easy Star
9 TITI ROBIN AND MEHDI NASSOULI | Taziri | World Village
10 BLUEBEATERS | Everybody Knows | Record Kicks

June 2015 Concert Calendar

June's Global A Go-Go picks:

1. Balliceaux is closing this summer for renovations, but not before the next installment of the Richmanian Ramblers' Travelers Series on Tuesday June 2, with special guests the Afro-Zen Allstars
2. An amazing double bill of Hungarian music on Thursday June 18 at DC's Sixth & I Historic Synagogue: folk-rock legends Muzsikas plus Frank London's Glass House Orchestra
3. Paul (DJ Spooky) Miller presents another of his mind-expanding global mashups: this one, called "DJ Spooky's Electric Imaginary: Compositions Inspired By Nam June Paik" happens at the Smithsonian's Freer & Sackler Galleries Meyer Auditorium on Sunday June 21
4. Nigeria's legendary King Sunny Ade (pictured above) & His African Beats, the pioneers of juju music and 20 members strong, play DC's Howard Theatre on Saturday June 27

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 June calendar.