December 28, 2022

Top 10 new singles & EPs of 2022

In the current era of home studios, direct-to-consumer distribution, mobile listening and streaming, the single is no longer just for Top 40 music.  If you're not following singles and EPs in whatever genres you listen to, much of today's most compelling music is breezing right past you.
 
I've made a concerted effort in recent years to play singles and EPs on Global A Go-Go, and for the past 4 years I've done a year-end recap of the best singles and EPs of the year.  This year's recap (Sunday January 1, 1:00-3:00 PM on WRIR, for two weeks afterwards at wrir.org/listen, check your local listings for airing on other radio stations, and any old time at my podcast site) once again has some killer material, just as good if not better than what I played on the top albums of 2022 episode two weeks ago.  Tune in and hear for yourself.

Without further ado, here are my top singles and EPs of 2022:

December 20, 2022

Irie Christmas Spectacular

Breadfruit roasting on an open fire / Mongrels nipping at your toes / Dancehall songs being sung by a choir / An' we dress up in we bashment clothes
 
Yes, nothing says "Deck the halls with lots of collie" quite like two hours of Christmas songs from the Caribbean.  Reggae, ska, dancehall, calypso, soca, steelpan -- you'll hear them all on this special Christmas Day edition of Global A Go-Go: Sunday December 25, 1:00-3:00 PM on WRIR, for two weeks afterwards at wrir.org/listen, check your local listings for airing on other radio stations, and any old time at my podcast site.
 
Bill's guest co-host is an even bigger reggae fan, Eric Walters of Wide Ear Folk (alternate Tuesdays at 5 PM on WRIR).  Together they'll be putting the pum-pum back in rum-pa-pum-pum.  Fun for the whole family, if you're that kind of family.

December 16, 2022

Top 10 new albums of 2022


It's the most wonderful time of the year, the time to find out who's been naughty and nice.  No, I'm not talking about the holiday season; I'm talking about when everyone's Best Of The Year lists come out.
 
I'll be rolling out my own lists over the next three weeks on Global A Go-Go.  On this week's program (Sunday December 18, 1:00-3:00 PM on WRIR, for two weeks afterwards at wrir.org/listen, check your local listings for airing on other radio stations, and any old time at my podcast site) I'll present my top ten new albums of 2022 plus ten honorable mentions.
 
Next week on Christmas Day it will be Global A Go-Go's Irie Christmas Spectacular: all reggae, calypso and soca Christmas songs with myself and special guest selector Eric Walters (host of Wide Ear Folk, heard alternate Tuesdays at 5 PM on WRIR) at the controls.
 
In two weeks on New Year's Day, you'll hear my favorite singles and EPs of the year gone by, and in three weeks it will be selections from my favorite compilations, reissues and historic recordings of 2022.
 
Without further ado, here are my top new albums of 2022:

December 13, 2022

Charts December 5-11, 2022

WRIR World's NACC Top Ten
1 PERU SELVATICO: SONIC EXPEDITION INTO THE PERUVIAN AMAZON 1972-1986 | various artists | Analog Africa
2 SUPERFONICOS | "Primera Luz" [Single] | self-released
3 OLIVER NAYOKA | Oka Mmadu | Odogwu/Palenque
4 BABA COMMANDANT AND THE MANDINGO BAND | Sonbonbela | Sublime Frequencies
5 PABLO MOSES | Revolutionary Dream | Baco
6 LA SONORA MAZUREN | "Charanga Mazuren" b/w "Cachicha" [Single] | Names You Can Trust
7 T.P. ORCHESTRE POLY-RYTHMO | Afro-Funk | Albarika Store
8 SHURWAYNE WINCHESTER AND DAVID RUDDER | "Bacchanal Come" [Single] | SW Limited
9 JULIVERT | A Tamarit! | Microscopi
10 AL-QASAR | Who Are We? | Glitterbeat

December 9, 2022

Land of the honest men

December 11, 2022 is Burkina Faso's 64th Independence Day.  This small (roughly the size of Colorado), densely populated (about 22 million people), landlocked West African nation formerly known as Upper Volta has had its struggles: eight coups d'etat including two in 2022 and a current bout of Islamic fundamentalist terrorism among them.
 
No Burkinabè musician has yet become a pan-African or worldwide star, but the music that has been produced in Burkina Faso since independence is superb in quality and variety.  This week on Global A Go-Go, you'll hear an hour of some of my Voltaic favorites, and I assure you that I'll only be scratching the surface of what's out there.

Also this week (Sunday December 11, 1:00-3:00 PM on WRIR, for two weeks afterwards on the wrir.org archive player, check your local listings for airing on other radio stations, and any old time at my podcast site): Latin soul and a new single from Austin's Superfónicos, and birthday tributes to Cuban bandleader Pérez Prado and Yugoslavian mischief-maker Dr. Nele Karajlić.

December 6, 2022

Charts Nov 28 - Dec 4, 2022

WRIR World's NACC Top Ten
1 CABRUERA | Sol A Pino | Polen
2 SONA JOBARTEH | Badinyaa Kumoo | African Guild
3 FILA BASELE | La Kumba Music | Une Plume Une Voix Une Guitare
4 ZINA GASRINIA | Ya Ammi El Khateb | Star Voice
5 IFTIN BAND | Mogadishu’s Finest: The Al-Aruba Sessions | Ostinato
6 MOONLIGHT BENJAMIN | "Haut La Haut" [Single] | Ma Case
7 JOAO SELVA | "Passarinho" [Single] | Underdog
8 LUCIANA DEMINGONGO | Rando Une Plume | Une Voix Une Guitare
9 EL COMBO BATANGA | "Toca La Campana" [Single] | Lovemonk
10 LIRAZ | Roya | Glitterbeat

December 2, 2022

Album of the year?

Sona Jobarteh is the world's first female virtuoso of the kora, the West African harp-lute which is the characteristic instrument of the Mande musical tradition.  She and her band were a highlight of 2018's Richmond Folk Festival, but her performances in Richmond in no way prepared me for her new album Badinyaa Kumoo, which might be my favorite new record of 2022.
 
I still have a couple of weeks to make up my mind about that -- the December 18 edition of Global A Go-Go will feature my top 10 new releases for the last year.  But on this week's show (Sunday December 4, 1:00-3:00 PM on WRIR, for two weeks afterwards on the wrir.org archive player, check your local listings for airing on other radio stations, and any old time at my podcast site) you'll hear a track from Badinyaa Kumoo for yourself.
 
Also this week: new Brazilian sounds from João Selva and Cabruêra, salsa con sabor cubano, electro-cumbia since last week's cumbia wasn't enough, Moonlight Benjamin's brand new single, and the amazing sounds of Somalia.

November 29, 2022

Charts November 21-27, 2022

WRIR World's NACC Top Ten
1 C.A.M.P.O.S. | The 8th Door | Peace & Rhythm
2 BALKA SOUND | Balka Sound | Strut
3 18TH PARALLEL, THE | Downtown Sessions | Fruits
4 TINARIWEN | Kel Tinariwen | Wedge
5 SYSTEMA SOLAR | "Comer De Verdad" [Single] | self-released
6 SONIDO VERDE DE MOYOBAMBA | Limited Dance Edition Nr. 17 | Analog Africa
7 LOS SANDER'S DE ÑAÑA | Tú Y Yo | Discos Fantastico
8 SINERGIA | "S.O.S." [Single] | Guspira
9 ROGER DAMAWUZAN | Seda | Hot Casa
10 WGANDA KENYA | Africa 5000 | Vampisoul

November 26, 2022

Los twangüeros de la selva

Welcome to the Sunday-after-Thanksgiving edition of Global A Go-Go (Sunday November 27, 1:00-3:00 PM on WRIR, for two weeks afterwards on the wrir.org archive player, check your local listings for airing on other radio stations, and any old time at my podcast site), also known as the "Sitting In Traffic on I-95 Show."  Hopefully you're comfortable wherever you are and have good radio or internet reception, because this program will be a lot of fun.
 
The first hour features desert blues out of the Sahara including a track from the very first Tinariwen studio album from back in 1991, high energy African-style reggae with a new song by Catalunya's Sinergia, and more folky and rocking sounds from across Spain's autonomous communities.
 
In the second hour we'll dig deep into the twangy jungle psychedelia of chicha and guitar-driven cumbia with an assortment of oldies from Perú plus new tracks by ex-Richmonder Joshua Camp aka C.A.M.P.O.S., Colombia's La Sonora Mazurén, plus Sonido Gallo Negro and Los Pao Paos from México.

November 22, 2022

Charts November 14-20, 2022

WRIR World's NACC Top Ten
1 WAU WAU COLLECTIF | Mariage | Sahel Sounds
2 ADEDEJI | Yoruba Odyssey | One World
3 LUCIANA DEMINGONGO | Rando | Une Plume Une Voix Une Guitare
4 IZIS LA ENFERMA DE LA SALSA | La Enfermera Llego | self-released
5 LADY AICHA AND PISKO CRANE'S ORIGINAL FULU MIZIKI OF KINSHASA | N'Djila Wa Mudujimu | Nyege Nyege Tapes
6 EL COMBO BATANGA | "Toca La Campana" [Single] | Lovemonk
7 JOE BATAAN | "Call My Name" [Single] | Vampisoul
8 LIRAZ | Roya | Glitterbeat
9 ROGER DAMAWUZAN | Seda | Hot Casa
10 ORCHESTRA GOLD | "Keleya" [Single] | self-released

November 18, 2022

The James Brown of Lomé

Back in the 1970s and early 80s when he was performing 5 nights a week at the beachfront Hotel Tropicana with his killer Togolese band Les As Du Bénin, Roger Damawuzan was known as "the James Brown of Lomé."  At age 70, he has just released Seda ("Listen" in the Mina language), his first album in 40 years, and Roger feels good -- he feels better than James Brown.
 
Part of the reason why Roger feels good is that he's being backed up by one of the best funk bands in the world: Vaudou Game from Lyon France led by Roger's nephew Peter Solo.  They recorded the album at the OTODI studio in Lomé, where Roger cut his early 45s and which has been reclaimed from the jungle by Peter and his friends.
 
Seda is one of the feel-good albums of 2022 -- you'll hear a track from it this week on Global A Go-Go.  Also this week (Sunday November 20, 1:00-3:00 PM on WRIR, for two weeks afterwards on the wrir.org archive player, check your local listings for airing on other radio stations, and any old time at my podcast site): vintage and new Nigerian highlife, more Wassoulou rock, deep roots reggae featuring a terrific Pablo Moses reissue, the bacchanal sounds of soca from Trinidad, and Joe Bataan's Latin soul.

November 15, 2022

Charts November 7-13, 2022

WRIR World's NACC Top Ten
1 SLAVO RICAN ASSEMBLY |  Intercosmic | Riverboat
2 LIRAZ | Roya | Glitterbeat
3 T.P. ORCHESTRE POLY-RYTHMO | Afro-Funk | Albarika Store
4 KIMI DJABATE | "Alidonke" [Single] | Cumbancha
5 STAR FEMININE BAND | Star Feminine Band In Paris | Born Bad
6 WESLI | Tradisyon | Cumbancha
7 LORRAINE KLAASEN AND MONGEZI NTAKA | Ukubonga (Gratitude) | Justin Time
8 EL COMBO BATANGA | "El Que La Rompe La Paga" [Single] | Lovemonk
9 REDDY AMISI | Bailo Canto | Casa Do Canto
10 NACIONAL RECORDS CLASSICS VOL. 1 | various artists | Nacional

November 11, 2022

Language

I'm excited to welcome the Ethiopian band Qwanqwa to WRIR's studio this week.  The band, whose name means "language" in Amharic, embodies one of the most radical ideas in music: they play traditional music in a brand new way.
 
Using indigenous instruments like masinko (one-stringed fiddle), krar (harp), kebero (barrel drum) and of course the human voice, they expand Ethiopia's broad musical heritage, especially the music of the azmari bards (Ethiopia's version of griots), with improvisational strategies drawn from jazz, contemporary and experimental music.
 
The result is a new strain of Ethio-jazz that takes off in directions only imagined by Mulatu Astatke or Hailu Mergia.  They're a dance band and a jam band at the same time, and for me one of the most exciting musical acts anywhere in the world right now.  They totally speak Global A Go-Go's language.

Members of Qwanqwa will visit WRIR's studio this week (Sunday November 13, 1:00-3:00 PM on WRIR, for two weeks afterwards on the wrir.org archive player, check your local listings for airing on other radio stations, and any old time at my podcast site) for an interview, before they head over to Capital Ale House's Richmond Music Hall for their 6:00 PM (doors open) performance alongside Richmond's own Ethio-jazz masters, the Afro-Zen Allstars.

You'll hear the music of both of those bands on the show this week, along with tributes to Brazilian singer Gal Costa, who passed away this week, and to Congolese superstar Tabu Ley Rochereau, born on this broadcast date in 1940.

November 9, 2022

Charts Oct 31 - Nov 6, 2022

WRIR World's NACC Top Ten
1 WESLI | Tradisyon | Cumbancha
2 LIRAZ | Roya | Glitterbeat
3 BIO RITMO | Salsa System [EP] | Electric Cowbell
4 TOUMANI DIABATE | Toumani, Family & Friends | Universal Africa
5 KANDA BONGO MAN | Kekete Bue | No Wahala Sounds
6 LA SONORA MAZUREN | "Charanga Mazuren" b/w "Cachicha" [Single] | Names You Can Trust
7 ROGE | "Pra Vida" [Single] | Diamond West
8 KOTTARASHKY AND THE RAIN DOGS | Doghouse | Asphalt Tango
9 ROGER DAMAWUZAN | Seda | Hot Casa
10 DERYA YILDIRIM AND GRUP SIMSEK | Dost 2 | Bongo Joe/Catapulte

November 5, 2022

Fantasy

Israeli singer Liraz Charhi's 2018 debut album Naz, a set of pre-revolutionary Iranian songs sung in Farsi, was a sensation in her parents' birth country, and needless to say was banned there as well.  She followed with Zan in 2020, which features Iranian musicians illegally collaborating with her via encrypted file sharing.
 
On her brand new album Roya (fantasy in Farsi), Liraz and her death-defying Iranian collaborators actually worked face to face for ten days in a secure underground recording studio in Istanbul.  The result is one of the most timely and urgent albums of 2022.  You'll hear Roya's title track this week on Global A Go-Go.

Also this week (Sunday November 6, 1:00-3:00 PM on WRIR, for two weeks afterwards on the wrir.org archive player, check your local listings for airing on other radio stations, and any old time at my podcast site): new music from Haiti via Canada by Wesli, the return of Balkan bangers, cumbias and champetas (primarily) from Colombia, and some soukous leading into Ambiance Congo.

November 3, 2022

Charts October 17-30, 2022

WRIR World's NACC Top Ten
1 SHAOLIN AFRONAUTS, THE | The Fundamental Nature Of Being | Freestyle
2 DUNGEN | En År För Mycket Och Tusen Aldrig Nog | Mexican Summer
3 MUKAMBO PRESENTS GLOBAL AFROBEAT MOVEMENT VOL. 3 | various artists | NYP
4 TP ORCHESTRE POLY-RYTHMO | Afro-Funk | Albarika Store
5 GYEDU-BLAY AMBOLLEY | Gyedu-Blay Ambolley And Hi Life Jazz | Agogo
6 KIMI DJABATE | "Alidonke" [Single] | Cumbancha
7 STAR FEMININE BAND | Star Feminine Band In Paris | Born Bad
8 LATIN BROTHERS, THE | El Picotero | Vampisoul
9 VIEUX FARKA TOURE AND KHRUANGBIN | Ali | Dead Oceans
10 NACIONAL RECORDS CLASSICS VOL. 1 | various artists | Nacional

October 29, 2022

The fundamental nature of being

The Shaolin Afronauts are an 11-piece ensemble from Adelaide, Australia who describe their sound as "interstellar futurist afro-soul" influenced equally by Fela Kuti and Sun Ra.  After three excellent albums of progressive Afrobeat in the early 2010s, they went silent from recording for eight years.
 
Now they're back with their most audacious project yet: a five-album box set of all original material called The Fundamental Nature Of Being that expands the band's sonic vision to incorporate experimental and new age electronica, Ethio-jazz, South African marabi, West Africa's post-colonial big band sounds, psychedelic rock and more alongside with their origins in Afrobeat and spiritual jazz.  It's a sprawling set, unwieldy at times, brilliant at others, and so much more ambitious than anything I've heard all year.

This week on Global A Go-Go (Sunday October 30, 1:00-3:00 PM on WRIR, for two weeks afterwards on the wrir.org archive player, check your local listings for airing on other radio stations, and any old time at my podcast site) I've selected three tracks from The Fundamental Nature Of Being to give you an idea of what's inside the tin.  You'll also hear a whole lot of new African music: highlife-jazz from Ghana, Afropop out of Guineé-Bissau and Togo, young Nigerians playing Afrobeat, Wassoulou rock from Burkina Faso, and a smoking new reissue of Orchestre Poly-Rythmo De Cotonou Benin.

October 18, 2022

Charts October 10-16, 2022

WRIR World's NACC Top Ten
1 LA FEMME | Teatro Lucido | Disque Pointu/IDOL
2 DUNGEN | En År För Mycket Och Tusen Aldrig Nog | Mexican Summer
3 DERYA YILDIRIM AND GRUP SIMSEK | Dost 2 | Bongo Joe/Catapulte
4 STAR FEMININE BAND | Star Feminine Band In Paris | Born Bad
5 LATIN BROTHERS, THE | El Picotero | Vampisoul
6 EL COMBO BATANGA | "El Que La Rompe La Paga" [Single] | Lovemonk
7 HAMSI BOUBEKER | Le Chant Des Profondeurs | Frederiksberg
8 RAY PEREZ Y EL GRUPO CASABE | Ray Perez Y El Grupo Casabe | El Palmas
9 LOS DEMENTES | Manicomio A Locha | Vampisoul
10 AFROSOUND OF COLOMBIA VOL. 3, THE | various artists | Vampisoul

October 13, 2022

30 years of more sabor


When you think of Richmond's most famous musical exports, what comes to mind?  Maybe Jimmy Dean the sausage king?  Or possibly jazz legends like Lonnie Liston Smith and James "Plunky" Branch?  Probably Richmond's punk and metal scene: Lamb of God, Avail, Municipal Waste, Strike Anywhere and of course Gwar.
 
Well, if you're in Colombia, the correct answer by a mile is Bio Ritmo, Richmond's salsa machine and one of the top salsa bands anywhere in the world.  Gwar may have opened their own bar in Richmond, but Bio Ritmo actually has a bar named for them in Cali, Colombia!
 
Bio Ritmo is celebrating 30 years of "more sabor" with a special event next Sunday afternoon, October 23, at Hardywood's Richmond taproom, with emeritus members Jorge Negrón, Gabo Tomasini and Jim Thomson jetting in from Puerto Rico, New York and DC, respectively, to sit in.  Global A Go-Go will get you warmed up for the event with a set of Bio Ritmo music on this week's program.

Also this week (Sunday October 16, 1:00-3:00 PM on WRIR, for two weeks afterwards on the wrir.org archive player, check your local listings for airing on other radio stations, and any old time at my podcast site): new music from Benin's all female (ages 12-18 to boot) Star Feminine Band, Derya Yıldırım's Anatolian rock, Kabyle folk by Hamsi Boubeker, French rockers La Femme go Brazilian, and even more sabor from Spain's El Combo Batanga.

October 12, 2022

Charts October 3-9, 2022

WRIR World's NACC Top Ten
1 REDDY AMISI | Bailo Canto | Casa Do Canto Entertainment
2 STAR FEMININE BAND | Star Feminine Band In Paris | Born Bad
3 ERNESTO DJEDJE | Roi Du Ziglibithy | Analog Africa
4 JULIVERT | A Tamarit! | Microscopi
5 ALHAJI WAZIRI OSHOMAH | World Spirituality Classics 3: The Muslim Highlife Of Alhaji Waziri Oshomah | Luaka Bop
6 14 MAGNIFICOS BAILABLES | various artists | Vampisoul
7 DUNGEN | En År För Mycket Och Tusen Aldrig Nog | Mexican Summer
8 EL COMBO BATANGA | "El Que La Rompe La Paga" [Single] | Lovemonk
9 KABAKA PYRAMID | The Kalling | Ghetto Youths International / Bebble Rock
10 PAPA SAN | "Love About You" b/w "Lessons" [Single] | Beloved Group

October 5, 2022

A brother with perfect timing

Abdullah Ibrahim (formerly known as Dollar Brand) is 88 years young on October 9.  This week, Global A Go-Go gives him his roses while he's still among us (and still making fine music: he's doing a solo concert in Riedering, Germany on his birthday) with three selections from his vast catalogue, including the song that's been described as what you would get if you combined "A Love Supreme" with "Say It Loud - I'm Black And I'm Proud."
 
Also this week (Sunday October 9, 1:00-3:00 PM on WRIR, for two weeks afterwards on the wrir.org archive player, check your local listings for airing on other radio stations, and any old time at my podcast site): we recognize another piano playing birthday boy, Chucho Valdés (a mere 81 years old on Sunday); new Catalunyan folk-rock by the band Julivert; an introduction to Zamrock pioneers Witch, who come to Richmond on October 15; and Afropop classics from Cote D'Ivoire and Cameroon.

October 4, 2022

Charts Sep 26 - Oct 2, 2022

WRIR World's NACC Top Ten
1 ORCHESTRA FUEGO | Candela | self-released
2 REDDY AMISI | Bailo Canto | Casa Do Canto Entertainment
3 RIVERITA Y SU ORQUESTA NOCHE CALIENTE | Mi Linda Musica | Jibaro Productions
4 OLIVER NAYOKA | Oka Mmadu | Odogwu Entertainment / Palenque
5 LOS PAO PAOS | Los Pao Paos | Devil In The Woods
6 AYAHUASCA VOL. 2: CUMBIAS PSICODELICAS PERUANAS | various artists | Repsychled
7 CROSSROADS KENYA - EAST AFRICAN BENGA AND RUMBA, 1980-1985 | various artists | No Wahala Sounds
8 JOAO SELVA | Se Acabou [EP] | Underdog
9 SON ROMPE PERA AND GIL GUTIERREZ | "El Saleroso" b/w "Proteus" [Single] | Barbes
10 SONNY SINGH | Chardi Kala | self-released

September 30, 2022

The creator has a master plan

Pharoah Sanders, the American saxophonist who passed away on September 24 at age 81, was perhaps the most spiritual, ecstatic musician that jazz has ever produced.  Not surprisingly, musical traditions from around the world were essential elements of his body of work.  On this week's edition of Global A Go-Go, we pay tribute to Pharoah by playing three of his recordings that reflect his interest in global music: Indian, Moroccan and West African.
 
Also this week (Sunday October 2, 1:00-3:00 PM on WRIR, for two weeks afterwards on the wrir.org archive player, check your local listings for airing on other radio stations, and any old time at my podcast site): a tribute to the amazing music of the République de Guinée (aka Guinée Conakry) on the occasion of that nation's 65th Independence Day featuring Bembeya Jazz National, Kaloum Star and more; and a deep dive into the music of two artists who will be performing at this year's Richmond Folk Festival: Mauritania's Noura Mint Seymali and Son Rompe Pera from Mexico.

September 28, 2022

Charts September 19-25, 2022

WRIR World's NACC Top Ten
1 LEE SCRATCH PERRY | King Scratch: Musical Masterpieces From The Upsetter Ark-ive | Trojan
2 WGANDA KENYA | Africa 5000 | Vampisoul
3 VIEUX FARKA TOURE AND KHRUANGBIN | Ali | Dead Oceans
4 AL-QASAR | Who Are We? | Glitterbeat
5 ROBERTO LOPEZ | Ritual [EP] | Curura
6 WESLI | Tradisyon | Cumbancha
7 ALHAJI WAZIRI OSHOMAH | World Spirituality Classics 3: The Muslim Highlife Of Alhaji Waziri Oshomah | Luaka Bop
8 14 MAGNIFICOS BAILABLES | various artists | Vampisoul
9 GYEDU-BLAY AMBOLLEY | "Yekor Ye A Yeaba" [Single] | Agogo
10 TIMPANA | "Pajaro" [Single] | Sounds & Colours

September 23, 2022

King Scratch

Jamaican popular music has long been a producer's medium, and no Jamaican producer has ever been more prolific, confounding or just plain unique than Lee "Scratch" Perry.  Perry's oeuvre runs the gamut from unlistenable to transcendent (often from the same session), and his output was so vast that it's hard for the uninitiated to get a handle on it.
 
The folks at Trojan and Sanctuary Records have done all of us the great favor of putting together what is for the moment the definitive Lee "Scratch" Perry beginner's compilation.  Entitled King Scratch (Musical Masterpieces From The Upsetter Ark-ive), its short version includes 40 mostly essential tracks, and its long version expands to a box of 4 LPs, 4 more CDs and a 50 page book.  I'll play you a few tracks from the short version this week, and add a couple more that I assume they just weren't able to license.

Also this week (Sunday September 25, 1:00-3:00 PM on WRIR, for two weeks afterwards on the wrir.org archive player, check your local listings for airing on other radio stations, and any old time at my podcast site): Nigerian highlife's Etsako Super Star, new music from the James Brown of Ghana, Al-Qasar's Arabian fuzz, songs Bio Ritmo has covered and hot new Haitian mizik rasin by Wesli.

September 20, 2022

Charts September 12-18, 2022

WRIR World's NACC Top Ten
1 BABA COMMANDANT AND THE MANDINGO BAND | Sonbonbela | Sublime Frequencies
2 DOGO DU TOGO | Dogo Du Togo | self-released
3 DEERHOOF | "My Lovely Cat!" [Single] | Joyful Noise
4 BOMBA ESTEREO AND MANU CHAO | "Me Duele" [Single] | Sony Latin
5 LORRAINE KLAASEN AND MONGEZI NTAKA | Ukubonga (Gratitude) | Justin Time
6 SHOTNEZ | "Contagious" [Single] | Batov
7 AYAHUASCA VOL. 2: CUMBIAS PSICODELICAS PERUANAS | various artists | Repsychled
8 MOVERS, THE | The Movers Vol. 1 - 1970-1976 | Analog Africa
9 SUPER DJATA BAND DE BAMAKO | Authentique 80 | Numero Group
10 OMAR PENE AND SUPER DIAMONO | Direct From Dakar | Real World

September 17, 2022

Afrobeat groove in our Mandingo tongue

There's a lot of competition for this title, but I think Baba Commandant & The Mandingo Band is my favorite African ensemble right now.  They're based in Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso, and as bandleader Mamadou (Baba Commandant) Sanou says, "we have chosen to make Afrobeat groove in our Mandingo tongue."
 
Baba plays donso ngoni, the hunter's harp, an instrument that until recently was only used for ceremonial music.  In combining traditional music and instruments with the modern, they're in alignment with the Authenticité movement of post-colonial Africa.  But they sound like 2022, not 1972: always aggressive, sometimes dissonant, they're like West African post-rock.

This week (Sunday September 18, 1:00-3:00 PM on WRIR, for two weeks afterwards on the wrir.org archive player, check your local listings for airing on other radio stations, and any old time at my podcast site) you'll hear a track from Baba Commandant's brand new album Sonbonbela alongside a new reissue from one of the bands that inspire them, the Super Djata Band.  Also this week: Bomba Estéreo meets Manu Chao, outstanding new Afropop from DC's Dogo Du Togo, a deep dive into South African township music, mbalax thunder and Middle Eastern Afrofunk.

September 13, 2022

Charts September 5-11, 2022

WRIR World's NACC Top Ten
1 DOGO DU TOGO | Dogo Du Togo | self-released
2 SON PALENQUE (KAINE SOUND BAND) | Es La Idea | Palenque
3 ORCHESTRE SOMO SOMO | "Molengo b/w Menga" [Single] | LAA
4 TIMPANA | "Pajaro" [Single] | Sounds & Colours
5 VIEUX FARKA TOURE AND KHRUANGBIN | "Tonga Barra" [Single] | Dead Oceans / Night Time Stories
6 LEE SCRATCH PERRY | King Scratch: Musical Masterpieces From The Upsetter Ark-ive | Trojan
7 VIEUX FARKA TOURE | Les Racines | World Circuit
8 AFRODELIC | Dusunkun Hakili | self-released
9 DEATH BY DUB | Abundance | Color Red
10 KOKOROKO | Could We Be More | Brownswood

September 9, 2022

Rally round the red, gold, black & green

Living legends of reggae music Steel Pulse play the National in Richmond on Friday September 16.  Founded in Birmingham, England, they were one of the first British reggae bands to break out in the late 1970s, with a political message that naturally allied them with punk and new wave acts like the Clash, the Police and XTC, among other bands they've shared bills with.
 
Recordings like Handsworth Revolution and True Democracy are in the reggae pantheon, and ongoing touring (which never stopped even when they didn't have a new album) and their first new release in 15 years, 2019's Mass Manipulation, shows they still have it.  You'll hear two Steel Pulse tracks that bookend their career on Global A Go-Go this week, and I'll give away a pair of tickets for the National show as well.

Also this week (Sunday September 11, 1:00-3:00 PM on WRIR, for two weeks afterwards on the wrir.org archive player, check your local listings for airing on other radio stations, and any old time at my podcast site): Noori & His Dorpa Band stretch out, Vieux & Khru channel Ali Farka Toure, two generations of Malian songbirds, Andean-Amazonian futurism from Bolivia by Timpana, and champeta classics from the 70s and 80s.

September 8, 2022

Charts Aug 29 - Sep 4, 2022

WRIR World's NACC Top Ten
1 AYAHUASCA VOL. 2: CUMBIAS PSICODELICAS PERUANAS | various artists | Repsychled
2 LOS PAO PAOS | Los Pao Paos | Devil In The Woods
3 BALIMAYA PROJECT | "Season Of Baraka" [Single] | Jazz Re:freshed
4 SUPER DJATA BAND DE BAMAKO | Authentique 80 | Numero Group
5 SONIDO GALLO NEGRO | Paganismo | T-Vox
6 JOAO SELVA | Se Acabou [EP] | Underdog
7 PEDRO LIMA | Recordar E Viver: Antogolia Vol. 1 | Bongo Joe
8 BKO | Djine Bora | Bongo Joe
9 SAM REDMORE | Universal Vibrations | Jalapeno
10 SESSA | Estrela Acesa | Mexican Summer

September 1, 2022

Se acabou

Autumn is election season here in the USA.  And it's really election season right now in Brazil, where Jair (Bozo) Bolsonaro, "the Trump of the tropics," is running in October for a second term as president against Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (known to all simply as Lula), who was jailed after a 2018 show trial that prevented him from running against Bolsonaro.  No doubt about it -- it's a grudge match.
 
Singer João Selva has chosen his side: he released an EP in July called Se Acabou ("It's Over") that's more like a pamphlet aimed at Bozo.  You'll hear the title track this week on Global A Go-Go, which will lead us into a whole set of Brazilian carnival sounds.

Also this week (Sunday September 4, 1:00-3:00 PM on WRIR, for two weeks afterwards on the wrir.org archive player, check your local listings for airing on other radio stations, and any old time at my podcast site): Latin psych and garage, spoken word Afrobeat, stinging Wassoulou rock from Mali, a larger-than-life new single by Balimaya Project, and danceable sounds from Lusophone Africa.

August 30, 2022

Charts August 22-28, 2022

WRIR World's NACC Top 10
1 VIEUX FARKA TOURE | Les Racines | World Circuit
2 CELESTINE UKWU | No Condition Is Permanent | Mississippi
3 LEE SCRATCH PERRY | King Scratch: Musical Masterpieces From The Upsetter Ark-ive | Trojan
4 SONIDO GALLO NEGRO | Paganismo | T-Vox
5 SUPER DJATA BAND DE BAMAKO | Authentique 80 | Numero Group
6 MOVERS, THE | Vol. 1: 1970-1976 | Analog Africa
7 GNAWA MUSIC OF MARRAKESH | Night Spirit Masters | Zehra
8 CROSSROADS KENYA: EAST AFRICAN BENGA AND RUMBA, 1980-1985 | various artists | No Wahala Sounds
9 SABABA 5 AND SHIRAN TZFIRA | Rali [EP] | Batov
10 ROBERTO LOPEZ | "Solo Tu Vibra" [Single] | Curura

August 26, 2022

Summer singles roundup

Well, I deserve a D for attendance this summer.  First there was the Chicago weekend, then the two-week European vacation.  Subtract another week for traveler's disease and two more for COVID, and I've been absent from the airwaves as often as I've been present since June.  Then factor in the two special programs (Madagascar independence day in June, Joe Strummer's birthday last week) and it's a wonder I've played any new releases at all this summer.
 
I'll remedy the latter situation this week (Sunday August 28, 1:00-3:00 PM on WRIR, for two weeks afterwards on the wrir.org archive player, check your local listings for airing on other radio stations, and any old time at my podcast site).  I'm spinning nothing but new material and new reissues, no track released before May, only one track from an album I've played anything at all from in past shows.
 
And most of what I'll play will be singles, either stand-alones or pre-issues from albums coming out in the fall.  Seems appropriate -- I've always thought 45s were the premiere summer format.  Tune in and mark the unofficial end of summer with Global A Go-Go's Summer Singles Roundup.

August 23, 2022

Charts August 15-21, 2022

WRIR World's NACC Top Ten
1 NOORI AND HIS DORPA BAND | Beja Power! Electric Soul & Brass From Sudan's Red Sea Coast | Ostinato
2 ROMAN STEWART | "Never Too Young To Learn" [Single] | Pantomine
3 MONTE AND DINASTIA TORRES | El Duende | Palenque
4 AKAE BEKA | Ride Tru | Before Zero
5 HOLLIE COOK | Happy Hour | Merge
6 CLINTON FEARON | Breaking News | Baco
7 CAREY JAMES, THE | Self Fulfillment | Morelove
8 TIKEN JAH FAKOLY | "I Can Hear" feat. Winston McAnuff [Single] | Chapter Two/Wagram
9 KABAKA PYRAMID AND DAMIAN MARLEY | "Red, Gold & Green" [Single] | Ghetto Youths International/Bebble Rock
10 BARRINGTON LEVY | "Black Heart Man" [Single] | Jah Guidance

August 18, 2022

The future is unwritten

John Graham Mellor was born in Ankara, Turkey on August 21, 1952.  Who's that, you say?  Well, you might know him better by his stage name: Joe Strummer.
 
Strummer was, of course, the co-founder, front man and principal lyricist for the Clash, a band that, when I was younger, some people called "the only band that matters."  After the Clash disbanded in 1986, he spent the next 13 years being whatever the opposite of a rock star is: he worked on projects that appealed to him as a musician, songwriter, producer and actor, but mostly stayed out of the limelight until he founded the second great rock band of his career, the Mescaleros.

One of those projects was an radio show that Joe occasionally hosted for the BBC World Service called London Calling, where he got to explore all of the wide variety of music that inspired him: early rock 'n' roll, reggae, blues and jazz, music from Africa and Latin America, anything that pushed his buttons.

Joe and London Calling are among the primary inspirations for this radio program (which is named after one of the Mescaleros' songs; that song has kicked off this program every week for 18 years).  So it's only appropriate that Global A Go-Go celebrates Joe Strummer's 70th birthday today (Sunday August 21, 1:00-3:00 PM on WRIR, for two weeks afterwards on the wrir.org archive player, check your local listings for airing on other radio stations, and any old time at my podcast site) with a 2-hour tribute.
 
P.S.  You can listen to all 7 hours of Joe Strummer's London Calling BBC radio shows here: exchange.prx.org/series/27024-joe-strummer-s-london-calling
 
And here's a Spotify playlist that includes almost all the songs that Joe played on that radio show: open.spotify.com/playlist/0PWMzSdWNHNOESR912xQmg?go=1&sp_cid=33ef6cb3fc38155b67d61a8333e5df54 

One more thing -- a complete tracklisting for each episode of Joe Strummer's London Calling:  rateyourmusic.com/list/Zed/joe_strummers_london_calling_from_bbc_world_service

August 15, 2022

Charts August 8-14, 2022

WRIR World's NACC Top Ten
1 STAR FEMININE BAND | "Le Mariage Forcé" [Single] | Born Bad
2 CUMBIAMUFFIN | Cumbiamuffin | Peace & Rhythm / Hyperopia / Sounds & Colours
3 RAY PEREZ Y EL GRUPO CASABE | "Lamento Del Campesino" [Single] | El Palmas
4 LOS CALVOS | Estos Son Los Calvos | El Palmas
5 PEDRO LIMA | Recordar E Viver: Antogolia Vol. 1 | Bongo Joe
6 BKO | Djine Bora | Bongo Joe
7 LUCIBELA | Amdjer | Lusafrica
8 JESUS PAGAN Y SU ORQUESTA | Salsa De La Mata 'From The Roots' | Peace & Rhythm
9 ORQUESTA LA JUSTICIA | Salsa Con Nostalgia | Numero Group
10 FERRE GOLA | Dynastie | Sony East Africa

August 10, 2022

Charts Jul 25 - Aug 7, 2022

WRIR World's NACC Top Ten, July 25-31
1 CUMBIAMUFFIN |  Cumbiamuffin | Peace & Rhythm/Hyperopia/Sounds & Colours
2 SHAOLIN AFRONAUTS, THE | "Broken Flowers" b/w "Sun Spiral" [Single] | Freestyle
3 LUCHO BERMUDEZ | The Coastal Invasion: Cumbia, Porro, Gaita And Mapalé From Colombia's Caribbean Coast (1946-1961) | Radio Martiko
4 JOAO SELVA | Se Acabou [EP] | Underdog
5 PEDRO LIMA | Recordar E Viver: Antogolia Vol. 1 | Bongo Joe
6 EZRA COLLECTIVE | "Victory Dance" [Single] | Partisan
7 LUCIANA DEMINGONGO AND DESOUZA SANTU MONGONGO ELENGI | Let's Go! | Une Plume Une Voix Une Guitare
8 PAHUA AND TERROR/CACTUS | Amuleto | Nacional
9 IBIBIO SOUND MACHINE | Electricity | Merge
10 S.E. ROGIE | Dead Men Don't Smoke Marijuana | Real World
 
 
WRIR World's NACC Top Ten, August 1-7
1 VIEUX FARKA TOURE AND KHRUANGBIN | "Savanne" [Single] | Dead Oceans
2 PEDRO LIMA | Recordar E Viver: Antogolia Vol. 1 | Bongo Joe
3 MADE KUTI | "No More Wars" [Single] | Partisan
4 OMAR PENE AND SUPER DIAMONO | Direct From Dakar | Real World
5 FERRE GOLA | Dynastie | Sony East Africa
6 SON ROMPE PERA AND GIL GUTIERREZ | "El Saleroso" b/w "Proteus" [Single] | Barbes
7 LOS CALVOS | Estos Son Los Calvos | El Palmas
8 BORGA REVOLUTION!: GHANAIAN DANCE MUSIC IN THE DIGITAL AGE, 1983-1992 (VOLUME 1) | various artists | Kalita
9 LEYLA MCCALLA | Breaking The Thermometer | Anti-
10 GWENNO | Tresor | Heavenly/PIAS

August 6, 2022

Global A Go-Go Classico: Top reissues & compilations of 2014

Well, the COVID finally caught up with me this week.  Seems to be a mild case so far, but I certainly couldn't come into the studio and I really didn't have the energy to put together a whole new program.  So I've dug into the Global A Go-Go archives and found you a gem of a show from all the way back on December 19, 2014, back in the days when I was on the air on Friday evening.
 
This edition (Sunday August 7, 1:00-3:00 PM on WRIR, for two weeks afterwards on the wrir.org archive player, check your local listings for airing on other radio stations, and any old time at my podcast site) pulls together tracks from my favorite reissues, compilations and historic recordings that came out in the year 2014.  The music spans 19 different countries, with songs originally recorded in the 1950s, 60s, 70s, 80s, 90, oughts and right through the 20-teens.  Each selection has stood the test of time, both before 2014 and subsequently.  I think you're going to enjoy this program.
 
I'll be out again next week on August 14; WRIR super-sub Sean Kennedy, who definitely deserves his own show, will be sitting in for me then.  And I have something very special planned for you when I return on August 21.  I'll see you then!

July 29, 2022

What I did on my summer vacation

I'm psyched to be back in the studio for the first time since early July, after a big vacation followed by a brief but annoying case of traveler's disease.  Big ups to Albert Green, Enzo Adimari and Josh Bearman for holding down Global A Go-Go in my absence.
 
One of the things I did on my summer vacation was see two great concerts in Paris: Fat Freddy's Drop at the legendary L'Olympia and Goran Bregović's Wedding & Funeral Band at Cabaret Sauvage.  I'll regale you with stories of the shows and music by both bands.  Sunday night brings The Budos Band and Brazilian samba-soul star Rogê to Richmond's Broadberry, and you'll hear both of them as well on this week's show.

Also this week (Sunday July 31, 1:00-3:00 PM on WRIR, for two weeks afterwards on the wrir.org archive player, check your local listings for airing on other radio stations, and any old time at my podcast site): João Selva sings "get out Bolsonaro," Cumbiamuffin revives the sound of Colombian big band porro cumbia, and a new compilation of Pedro Lima's music brings the puxa fire from São Tomé.

July 27, 2022

Charts Jun 27 - Jul 24, 2022

WRIR World's NACC Top Ten
1 NOORI AND HIS DORPA BAND | Beja Power! Electric Soul & Brass From Sudan's Red Sea Coast | Ostinato
2 LOS BITCHOS | Let The Festivities Begin! | City Slang
3 HOLLIE COOK | Happy Hour | Merge
4 DELGRES | "Mwen Vlé Maché" [Single] | Le Label/PIAS
5 AFRODELIC | Dusunkun Hakili | self-released
6 SHAOLIN AFRONAUTS, THE | "The Simien Fox b/w Rumba Cyclique" [Single] | Freestyle
7 SALTPOND CITY BAND | Boko A Ko | Meet Me There
8 IBIBIO SOUND MACHINE | Electricity | Merge
9 AFRIGO BAND | Ensi Eno | Olila
10 OLIVER NAYOKA | Oka Mmadu | Odogwu/Palenque

July 1, 2022

Dead men don't smoke marijuana

I'm leaving for a summer vacation later this week, will be back to Global A Go-Go on July 24.  In my absence, you'll enjoy two of my favorite WRIR selectors: Albert Green returns on July 10, and Enzo of Pop Goes The World takes the chair on July 17.  Before I hit the road, I wanted to make sure you get to hear some of the new releases I've been digging lately while they're still new.
 
So this week (Sunday July 3, 1:00-3:00 PM on WRIR, for two weeks afterwards on the wrir.org archive player, check your local listings for airing on other radio stations, and any old time at my podcast site) tune in for Delgres' Caribbean creole; Son Rompe Pera, the band everyone will be talking about at this fall's Richmond Folk Festival; highlife from Oliver Nayoka and Saltpond City Band; a reissue of S.E. Rogie (pictured above), the king of palm wine; Shaolin Afronauts' spiritual jazz; Afrodelic from Mali via Lithuania; and of course much more.

June 28, 2022

Charts June 20-26, 2022

WRIR World's NACC Top Ten
1 SOOTHSAYERS | "Last Days" [Single] | Red Earth
2 NOORI AND HIS DORPA BAND | Beja Power! Electric Soul & Brass From Sudan's Red Sea Coast | Ostinato
3 TIKEN JAH FAKOLY | "Ou Est-Ce Que Tu Vas?" [Single] | Chapter Two/Wagram
4 LOS CALVOS | Estos Son Los Calvos | El Palmas
5 DERYA YILDIRIM AND GRUP SIMSEK | "Bal" [Single] | Bongo Joe/Catapulte
6 PEDRO LIMA | Recordar E Vivir: Antogolia Vol. 1 | Bongo Joe
7 BKO | Djine Bora | Bongo Joe
8 MADALISTO BAND | Musakayike | Bongo Joe
9 SOMI | Zenzile: The Reimagination Of Miriam Makeba | Salon Africana
10 SATELLITES | Satellites | Batov

June 24, 2022

A world out of time

June 26 is Independence Day in Madagascar, the world's second largest island nation (surpassed only by Indonesia) and one of its greatest biodiversity hot spots.  It's also a hot spot for indigenous music, with influences flowing in from East, Central and Southern Africa, Oceania, Southeast Asia, the Indian subcontinent, the Arab world, France and of course the USA.
 
But Malagasy music sounds like nothing else in the world.  Hear for yourself this week (Sunday June 26, 1:00-3:00 PM on WRIR, for two weeks afterwards on the wrir.org archive player, check your local listings for airing on other radio stations, and any old time at my podcast site) when I'll play an hour of music from Madagascar.  Also this week: new reggae from Soothsayers and Tiken Jah Fakoly, some Anatolian psych-rock and sounds of Sudan.

June 22, 2022

Charts June 13-19, 2022

WRIR World's NACC Top Ten
1 EZRA COLLECTIVE | "Victory Dance" [Single] | Partisan
2 LOS BITCHOS | Let The Festivities Begin! | City Slang
3 VIEUX FARKA TOURE | Les Racines | World Circuit
4 ORIENTAL BROTHERS INTERNATIONAL BAND | Oku Ngwo - Di Ochi | Palenque
5 SHAOLIN AFRONAUTS, THE | "The Simien Fox b/w Rumba Cyclique" [Single] | Freestyle
6 NOORI AND HIS DORPA BAND | Beja Power! Electric Soul and Brass from Sudan's Red Sea Coast | Ostinato
7 JESUS PAGAN Y SU ORQUESTA | Salsa De La Mata 'From The Roots' | Peace & Rhythm
8 DA CRUZ | "Serpentes" Feat Magogo [Single] | Horus
9 BORGA REVOLUTION!: GHANAIAN DANCE MUSIC IN THE DIGITAL AGE, 1983-1992 (VOLUME 1) | various artists | Kalita
10 MOKTAR GANIA AND GNAWA SOUL | Masterisé | Musjomusic/Nuits d'Afrique

June 15, 2022

Charts June 6-12, 2022

WRIR World's NACC Top Ten
1 LUCIBELA | Amdjer | Lusafrica
2 IBIBIO SOUND MACHINE | Electricity | Merge
3 AFRODELIC | Dusunkun Hakili | self-released
4 ORIENTAL BROTHERS INTERNATIONAL BAND | Oku Ngwo - Di Ochi | Palenque
5 BKO | Djine Bora | Bongo Joe
6 JESUS PAGAN Y SU ORQUESTA | Salsa De La Mata 'From The Roots' | Peace & Rhythm
7 SALTPOND CITY BAND | Boko A Ko | Meet Me There
8 DA CRUZ | "Serpentes feat. Magugu" [Single] | Horus
9 LEYLA MCCALLA | Breaking The Thermometer | Anti-
10 BRASIL NOVO | various artists | Musica Macondo

June 10, 2022

En super forme

I wouldn't say that I'm personally en super forme this week -- more like just managing to get by.  But the music on this week's program certainly is en super forme.  And especially this reissue of a 1982 album by one of Africa's greatest and most underappreciated bands, Super Djata of Mali.  You'll hear a track from them, and one from a current Malian band who are definitely influenced by them: BKO.
 
Also this week (Sunday June 12, 1:00-3:00 PM on WRIR, for two weeks afterwards on the wrir.org archive player, check your local listings for airing on other radio stations, and any old time at my podcast site): a continuation of the Congolese jams that ended last week's show, Afro-rap that most certainly isn't Afrobeats, the barefoot diva and her heirs, and an assortment of new and old salsa.