Canzoniere Grecanico Salentino | Canzoniere

ARTIST: Canzoniere Grecanico Salentino
TITLE: Canzoniere
LABEL: Ponderosa
Canzoniere Grecanico Salentino (CGS), from Lecce in the Salentine Peninsula, is Italy’s leading traditional music ensemble.

Da Cruz | Eco Do Futuro

ARTIST: Da Cruz
TITLE: Eco Do Futuro
LABEL: Boom Jah / Broken Silence
Brazilian Mariana Da Cruz was singing bossa nova in Lisbon when she met musician-producer Ane Hebeisen of the Swiss industrial band Swamp Terrorists.

Program November 1, 2017

First of all, I want to thank the over 500 listeners who donated more than $46,000 during WRIR's Fall 2017 Fund Drive, our most successful fund drive of all time.  You made it happen and in record time too: the drive was two days shorter than it's been in recent years!

You can still get in on the action: just visit wrir.org, fill out the online form, and get a boss Fall '17 T-shirt and hoodie.  If you donated and haven't picked up your swag yet, please email fundraising@wrir.org -- we'll set up a time for you to come by and get your premiums.

With things getting back to normal after two fund drive editions of Global A Go-Go, I have a bunch of new music for you to hear, starting with a fabulous album by the band that was for me the revelation of 2016's Richmond Folk Festival, Canzoniere Grecanico Salentino (pictured above).

Other recent releases you'll hear on this week's program include Brit-folk-rockers Offa Rex, Richmond's own Rumput, Kries from Croatia, the rockin' cumbia of La Misa Negra, Afro-sounds from Trio Da Kali & Kronos Quartet and Leila Gobi, Banda Magda's world chanson, and Australia's The Bombay Royale.

Charts October 29, 2017

WRIR's NACC World Top Ten
1 CANZONIERE GRECANICO SALENTINO | Canzoniere | Ponderosa
2 DA CRUZ | Eco Do Futuro | Boom Jah/Broken Silence
3 RUMPUT | Rumput | self-released
4 MEKLIT | When the People Move, The Music Moves Too | Six Degrees
5 ELIDA ALMEIDA | Kebrada | Lusafrica
6 JESSE ROYAL | Lily Of Da Valley | Easy Star
7 ANTIBALAS | Where the Gods Are in Peace | Daptone
8 RAYCE | African Juice | Shanachie
9 ESSO! AFROJAM FUNKBEAT | Juntos | Sonic Octopus
10 LADAMA | Ladama | Six Degrees

Program October 25, 2017

WRIR's Fall 2017 Fund Drive wraps up on Wednesday October 25 at 11 PM.  If you've been waiting until the end of the drive to contribute --- well, now is that time.

We're within shouting distance of our $40,000 goal, so your help right now can push us across the finish line and ensure that WRIR's next six months are filled with great locally produced and nationally sourced music and news programming that provides a true radio alternative, demonstrating that making the public airwaves available to the public results in the highest level of community service.

I'll be doing a special fund drive program this week, answering one of the questions I'm most often asked: "How do you find out about the music you play on Global A Go-Go?"

And I'll be back on the air Wednesday between 7 and 11 PM, encouraging listeners to contribute during the drive's last four hours.  I'd love to be able to announce your name on the air (with your permission, of course), thank you for your support, and say that it's folks like you who make community radio in Richmond an ongoing reality.

We have three easy ways for you to donate:

• Online at http://wrir.org/station/donate
• By calling 804-622-9747
• Or by visiting us in person at 1621-B W. Broad Street (2nd floor)

Thank you for considering it, and extra thanks if you've already contributed this fall.  Love live Richmond Independent Radio!

Program October 18, 2017

WRIR's Fall 2017 Fund Drive is now underway. Thank you if you've donated previously to Richmond Independent Radio; I'm writing to encourage you to make a donation this fall.

You can make it happen in two minutes by clicking this link: http://wrir.org/station/donate. Or you can call or visit us between 9 AM and 9 PM during the drive, now through October 25. Our phone number is 804-622-9747; our address is 1621 W. Broad Street, 2nd floor.

Richmond Independent Radio is a one-of-a-kind project: airing 115 different programs of news, public affairs and music; staffed by 150 volunteers contributing their own time, money and enthusiasm; providing a soapbox for all the people of our community to get their ideas, passions and knowledge out to the broader populace. I don't know of another radio station in the USA that combines professionalism, idealism and raw energy the way WRIR does.

I'm proud to produce "Global A Go-Go" on Richmond Independent Radio. I'm even prouder to be one of the people who helped this station get on the air in 2005. And I'm no ways tired -- I'm on the station's board of directors once again, helping guide it through this most interesting period for all media outlets.

As a board member I'm not only an active volunteer, I'm also a generous donor. How generous? Well, I will match every donation made this week during "Global A Go-Go," up to a total of $500. So if you donate during my show, your contribution will be doubled.

I have another incentive for you to tune in to "Global A Go-Go" this week. The band Hotel X (pictured above, a long time ago) will mark its 25th anniversary playing Afrodelic jazz with a live performance on my program this Wednesday. Join us as we celebrate both community radio in Richmond and the silver anniversary of Richmond's ambassadors of the avant-groove.

To donate either now or on Wednesday between 3 and 5 PM, just click this link: http://wrir.org/station/donate. Or you can call or visit us any time between 9 AM and 9 PM during the drive, now through October 25. Our phone number is 804-622-9747; our address is 1621 W. Broad Street, 2nd floor.

Thank you so much for your support in the past, and I hope WRIR can count on you once again in Fall 2017. Long live Richmond Independent Radio!

Charts October 15, 2017

WRIR's NACC World Music Top Ten
1 EXPANDERS, THE | Old Time Something Come Back Again, Vol. 2 | Easy Star
2 LOS CAMAROES | Resurrection Los | Analog Africa
3 LA MISA NEGRA | La Misa Negra | NAM Entertainment
4 SON PALENQUE | Kutu Prieta Pa Saranguia | Palenque
5 CHOPTEETH AFROFUNK BIG BAND | Bone Reader | self-released
6 BETSAYDA MACHADO | Loé Loá - Rural Recordings Under the Mango Tree | Odelia
7 BOMBAY ROYALE, THE | Run Kitty Run | HopeStreet
8 OM ALEC KHAOLI | Say You Love Me [EP] | Awesome Tapes From Africa
9 DA CRUZ|  Eco Do Futuro | Boom Jah / Broken Silence
10 SAZ'ISO | At Least Wave Your Handerchief At Me: The Joys And Sorrows Of Southern Albanian Song | Glitterbeat

Program October 11, 2017

It's my favorite weekend of the year: the weekend of the annual Richmond Folk Festival, three days of great music in the great outdoors, right here in downtown Richmond.

On this week's program, you'll hear six artists who'll be playing the festival: the psychedelic cumbia of Peru's Los Wembler's (pictured above), on their first American tour since they were founded in 1968; the drums and voices of Betsayda Machado & La Parranda El Clavo from Venezuela; Iranian tar virtuoso Sahba Motallebi; Romanian gypsy cimbalom player Nicolae Feraru; accordionist Bitori, who made the very first album of traditional Cape Verdean funana; and the Moroccan Sufi music of Innov Gnawa.

This week's show is the perfect way to figure out which international artists you need to check out at the festival.  I'm thinking you're going to want to see all six of them.

Charts October 8, 2017

WRIR's NACC World Top Ten
1 MDOU MOCTAR | Sousoume Tamachek | Sahel Sounds
2 LOS CAMAROES | Resurrection Los | Analog Africa
3 KRIES | Selo Na Okuke / Village Tracks | Riverboat
4 LA MISA NEGRA | La Misa Negra | NAM Entertainment
5 BETSAYDA MACHADO AND LA PARRANDA EL CLAVO | Loe Loa: Rural Recordings Under The Mango Tree | Odelia
6 GOGOL BORDELLO | Seekers And Finders | Cooking Vinyl
7 RAMON GOOSE | Long Road To Tiznit | Riverboat
8 MYRKUR | Mareridt | Relapse
9 LADAMA | LADAMA | Six Degrees
10 THE EXPANDERS | Old Time Something Come Back Again, Vol. 2 | Easy Star

Los Camaroes | Resurrection Los

ARTIST: Los Camaroes
TITLE: Resurrection Los
LABEL: Analog Africa
With all the recent years’ crate-digging activity, one might think that he’d heard all the great African records of the 60s, 70s and 80s.

The Expanders | Old Time Something Come Back Again, Vol. 2

ARTIST: The Expanders
TITLE: Old Time Something Come Back Again, Vol. 2
LABEL: Easy Star
The Expanders are a Los Angeles-based reggae quintet that seems entirely uninterested in the reggae-rock hybrid that dominates the current West Coast sound.

Kries | Selo Na Okuke / Village Tracks

ARTIST: Kries
TITLE: Selo Na Okuke / Village Tracks
LABEL: Riverboat
Folk music played differently can be the most radical act there is. Kries (“Bonfire” in a Croatian dialect) plays traditional music from their country and region in a manner like no one else.

Program October 4, 2017

Gumboot (pictured above), a dance style originally developed by gold miners, is one of the true symbols of the black working class experience in South Africa.  Gumboot dancers stamp, slap, clap and kick their heels in perfect synchronization while wearing wellingtons.

Jazz musician Darius Brubeck described a gumboot dancer as "looking and sounding like Fred Astaire only with 10 pairs of shoes on!"  If you've seen African-American stepping, that's a dance derived from gumboot.

The Festival of South African Dance is bringing gumboot and pantsula (another South African vernacular dance style) to Richmond's Carpenter Theatre on Thursday.  On this week's program, you'll hear a gumboot performance recorded by Janet Topp Fargion, lead curator for world and traditional music at the British Library (my summary for this week's show is adapted from her liner notes).  You'll also hear maskanda, the music that usually accompanies gumboot.

Also this week: the music of Mdou Moctar, who's performing at the University of Richmond on Friday; Central African dance hits from the 70s and 80s; and Balkan folk-rock with the emphasis on "rock."

Charts October 1, 2017

WRIR's NACC World Top Ten
1 BETSAYDA MACHADO & LA PARRANDA EL CLAVO | Loé Loá - Rural Recordings Under the Mango Tree | Odelia
2 LOS CAMAROES | Resurrection Los | Analog Africa
3 SON PALENQUE | Kutu Prieta Pa Saranguia | Palenque
4 CHOPTEETH AFROFUNK BIG BAND | Bone Reader | self-released
5 GOGOL BORDELLO | Seekers and Finders | Cooking Vinyl
6 RIO MIRA | Marimba Del Pacifico | AYA
7 SWEET AS BROKEN DATES: LOST SOMALI TAPES FROM THE HORN OF AFRICA | various artists | Ostinato
8 RUBEN GONZALEZ | Introducing... Rubén González | World Circuit
9 OM ALEC KHAOLI | Say You Love Me [EP] | Awesome Tapes From Africa
10 BUYEPONGO | Tumbalo | self-released