GLOBAL A GO-GO: February 2016

February 29, 2016

Charts February 28, 2016

Sidestepper | Supernatural Love

ARTIST: Sidestepper
TITLE: Supernatural Love
LABEL: Real World
Richard Blair is an English producer and engineer who decamped to Colombia in 1993 in search of new rhythms to pair with his electronic beat-making.

ARTIST: Rokia Traore
TITLE: Ne So
LABEL: Nonesuch
Rokia Traore, one of the world’s most original musical artists, is back with the sixth album in her 18-year recording career.

Program February 24, 2016

I've been getting deep into Haitian music of late, and there's a new band from Haiti that I'm excited about. They're called Lakou Mizik (pictured above); they're a nine-piece, multi-generational, multi-genre ensemble. Lakou's debut album comes out in April; this week you'll hear their take on mizik rasin ("roots music" in Haitian creole) alongside three older Hatian combos.

Also this week: new Malian music from Rokia Traore and Adama Yalomba, current Afro-tronica by Baaba Maal and Luka Productions (as promised last week but pre-empted by my interview with Olivier Conan), and some reggae to get us started.

Lakou Mizik | Wa Di Yo

ARTIST: Lakou Mizik
TITLE: Wa Di Yo
LABEL: Cumbancha Discovery
Here’s the first album from Lakou Mizik, a new nine-piece multi-generational, multi-idiom band from Haiti.

ARTIST: various artists
TITLE: The Rough Guide To A World Of Psychedelia
LABEL: World Music Network
Here’s a pro tip: the fastest, cheapest way to build a useful music collection is to make liberal use of compilation albums, where top-notch compilers have thematically selected deep, outstanding tracks from a wide variety of artists.

Program February 17, 2016

Last week, I played music from 26 different countries in two hours on Global A Go-Go -- I wasn't trying to make a point, it's just how things worked out. Perhaps more surprising is this factoid: none of those countries was in Africa (well, there was Mauritius but it's off Africa in the Indian Ocean, not on it).

This week I'm intentionally making amends by playing mostly music from Africa. And there'll be plenty of variety: 70s and 80s classics including Tanzania's Mlimani Park Orchestra (pictured above), desert blueswomen Aziza Brahim and Setona, current Afro-tronica by Baaba Maal and Luka Productions, and a track from my favorite reggae album of 2015, by Tiken Jah Fakoly of Cote D'Ivoire.

And this as well: Olivier Conan of Barbes (bar, record label and booking agency) and the late, lamented Chicha Libre will stop by sometime during the program for an interview. [Added later: Olivier and I had such a good time that we let the interview run for a second half-hour. Some of the music I planned for this week will be on next week's show instead.]

Aziza Brahim | Abbar El Hamada

ARTIST: Aziza Brahim
TITLE: Abbar El Hamada
LABEL: Glitterbeat
With the passing of Mariem Hassan in 2015, Aziza Brahim has inherited the mantle of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic’s most important musician.

ARTIST: various artists
TITLE: Czech Up! Vol. 1: Chain Of Fools
LABEL: Vampisoul
Supraphon and Panton were two of the three state-owned record companies in Czechoslovakia after the second world war. They’re best known for classical music, but their popular music catalogs are extensive and Munster/Vampisoul has been mining them in recent years.

Program February 10, 2016

At Global A Go-Go, we pride ourselves on covering a lot of ground in the world of world music. So, how about garage-rock from Czechoslovakia, circa 1967? Got you covered, courtesy of the band Flamengo (pictured above) and a new compilation from Vampisoul Records called Czech Up! Vol. 1: Chain Of Fools.

Also this week: a Latin groove thing; Balkan singers, songwriters and rockers; and music from tropical islands once colonized by France.

Charts February 7, 2016

Gepe | Estilo Libre

ARTIST: Gepe
TITLE: Estilo Libre
LABEL: Quemasucabeza
Daniel Riveros, aka Gepe, is a singer-songwriter from Santiago de Chile whose music touches on folk, pop and electronica. You could describe him as a Chilean version of Beck or Devendra Banhart.

There's some hair-raising electronic music coming out of the Arab world today; you'll get a primer on this week's program.

I'll play Omar Souleyman, the legendary Syrian wedding singer who brought electronic dabke to a world audience, plus a new solo album by his long-time collaborator Rizan Said, and the amazing power trio EEK (pictured above) featuring Islam Chipsy, the Egyptian Cecil Taylor.

Also this week: Saharan desert blues, American blues and reflexivity; music inspired by the brass bands of Mexico and Chile; mellow, righteous and rockin' reggae.

Charts January 31, 2016

GLOBAL A GO-GO

February 29, 2016

Charts February 28, 2016

February 24, 2016

Sidestepper | Supernatural Love

Rokia Traore | Ne So

February 22, 2016

Program February 24, 2016

Charts February 21, 2016

February 17, 2016

Lakou Mizik | Wa Di Yo

The Rough Guide To A World Of Psychedelia

February 15, 2016

Program February 17, 2016

Charts February 14, 2016

February 10, 2016

Aziza Brahim | Abbar El Hamada

Czech Up! Vol. 1: Chain Of Fools

February 9, 2016

Program February 10, 2016

February 8, 2016

Charts February 7, 2016

February 2, 2016

Gepe | Estilo Libre

Program February 3, 2016

February 1, 2016

Charts January 31, 2016

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