Charts October 16-29, 2023

WRIR World's NACC Top Ten

1 KULTUR SHOCK | Acoustic Live | Old Age

2 LADANIVA | Ladaniva | Le Label/PIAS

3 PAT KALLA ET LE SUPER MOJO | Belle Terre | Heavenly Sweetness

4 FERRE GOLA | Dynastie 2 Vol. 1 | Sony East Africa

5 CREATION REBEL | Hostile Environment | On-U Sound

6 CANTARES DEL PACIFICO | Aguajes De Mar Y Manglar | Chaco World

7 SUPER DJATA BAND DU MALI | Zani Diabate Et Le Super Djata Band Du Mali, Volume 2 | Numero Group

8 IF YOU ASK ME TO: VICTOR AXELROD PRODUCTIONS FOR DAPTONE RECORDS | various artists | Daptone

9 MUKAMBO PRESENTS GLOBAL AFROBEAT MOVEMENT VOL. 4 | various artists | NYP

10 DELE SOSIMI AND THE ESTUARY 21 | "For The Love Of It" [Single] | Wah Wah 45s

God is busy, may I help you?

Kultur Shock is the "other" pioneering American gypsy punk band, the one you might not have heard of yet.  They were founded three years earlier than Gogol Bordello, in Seattle in 1996 by Bosnian immigrant Gino Yevdjevich.  They've released eleven albums so far plus a boatload of singles; their latest 45 is for the Alternative Tentacles label, whose founder Jello Biafra of Dead Kennedys said "Kultur Shock is what punk rock should sound like."

 

Kultur Shock's brand new album is called Acoustic Live, recorded at Seattle's Town Hall.  Even unplugged, this band rocks harder than just about anybody, which you'll hear this week when I play two songs from the new album on Global A Go-Go.

Also this week (Sunday October 29nd, 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): New Brazilian samba-soul from Rogê and Toco; Ladaniva's Balkan beats via Armenia, Belarus and France; Victor Axelrod's rocksteady has soul; the East African jazz and funk of Nègarit Band and The Scorpions; and the My Sahel Initiative brings six of that region's top musical acts together to raise awareness and funding.

Musical chairs

WRIR's Fall 2023 Fund Drive is now underway -- we're working to raise $45,000 by Saturday October 28th to power "the tower of low power" in Richmond for another six months.  Thank you for your previous donations to Richmond Independent Radio and for your continuing support if you're a monthly donor!  I'm writing to encourage you to make a contribution once again this fall, if you can.  Become a monthly donor by clicking this link: https://bit.ly/3QnrP5H.  Or make a one-time donation to WRIR here: https://bit.ly/3FnagN1.

Charts October 9-15, 2023

WRIR World's NACC Top Ten

1 PACHYMAN | Switched-On | ATO

2 LEON KEITA | Dance Edition No. 16 | Analog Africa

3 ALOGTE OHO AND HIS SOUNDS OF JOY | O Yinne! | Philophon

4 MAHLATHINI AND THE MAHOTELLA QUEENS | Music Inferno: The Indestructible Beat Tour 1988-89 | Umsakazo

5 KING AYISOBA | Work Hard | Glitterbeat

6 SHIKAMOO JAZZ | East African Legends Live | RetroTan

7 RUUT | Kirikuut | Nordic Notes

8 INNA KOVTUN | Burning Fires | Alchemy

9 PRINCE FAR I | Under Heavy Manners | 17 North Parade

10 TONY ALLEN AND ADRIAN YOUNGE | Tony Allen JID018 | Jazz Is Dead

Global A Go-Go Classico: Felabration

I'm out at the Richmond Folk Festival today (Sunday October 15, 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), so this week you'll hear a Classico edition of Global A Go-Go.

 

Today would have been the 85th birthday of Fela Anikulapo Kuti, the man who carried death in his pouch (and played ping-pong in his briefs), the Nigerian troublemaker, superstar and founder of Afrobeat, a style of music that's guaranteed to live for as long as people are rebelling against something.

Global A Go-Go joins the annual worldwide Felabration with a 2-hour look at the life and music of Fela Kuti.  This episode was originally broadcast way back on January 1, 2010, but it has stood the test of time and still sounds good to me.  I hope you feel the same way about it.

Charts October 2-8, 2023

WRIR World's NACC Top Ten

1 LARRY AND JOE | Nuevo South Train | SideHustle

2 VICTOR AXELROD | If You Ask Me To: Victor Axelrod Productions For Daptone Records | Daptone

3 MLDVA AND CINAR TIMUR | MLDVA & Cinar Timur | Shapes Of Rhythm

4 IBRAHIM HESNAWI | The Father Of Libyan Reggae | Habibi Funk

5 FRANDER | Frander II | Nordic Notes

6 VENEZONIX | "Ponsigue (feat. Carlos Talez)" [Single] | Nacional

7 GENTICORUM | Au Coeur De L'Aube | self-released

8 KAVITA SHAH | Cape Verdean Blues | Folkalist

9 STEPHEN MARLEY | Old Soul | Tuff Gong Collective/UMe/Ghetto Youths

10 SOUL OF CONGO, THE: TREASURES OF THE NGOMA LABEL | various artists | Planet Ilunga

My favorite weekend of the year

Every year, it's my favorite weekend of the year.  It's the first thing I put on my calendar.  You know I'm talking about the weekend of the Richmond Folk Festival, which this year is next weekend, October 13-15.

 

The Festival seems to get more international with each passing year, and this week on Global A Go-Go (Sunday October 8, 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 highlight a number of global artists that I'm looking forward to seeing at the 2023 Richmond Folk Festival.

You'll hear Stanley & The Ten Sleepless Knights from St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands, Grupo Mono Blanco from Veracruz Mexico, Lutchinha from Cabo Verde (via Massachusetts) and the amazing Baba Commandant & The Mandingo Band from Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso.

 

And let me put two others on your list: Genticorum from Quebec Canada and Bio Ritmo from right here in the RVA.  Both were played on this show within the last two weeks, so I'm skipping them today but you shouldn't skip them at the Festival.

Also on this week's program: New Scandinavian folk-rock by Rüüt and Fränder, new Anatolian rock from Poland (no lie) by MLDVA and a reissue of one of West Africa's finest: Léon Keïta & Les Ambassadeurs Internationaux.

Charts Sep 25 - Oct 1, 2023

WRIR World's NACC Top Ten

1 IDRISSA SOUMAORO | Diré | Mieruba

2 BLASSICS, THE | Sounding Times | Odd Funk

3 IDRIS ACKAMOOR AND THE PYRAMIDS | Afro Futuristic Dreams | Strut

4 VUMBI DEKULA | Congo Guitar | Hive Mind/Sing-A-Song Fighter

5 LURA | Multicolor | Produtores Associados

6 FRUKO Y SUS TESOS | El Violento | Vampisoul

7 ALPACAS COLLECTIVE | "Gunkali" [Single] | Catalpas

8 MARIA RAQUEL | "Cumbia Del Presente" [Single] | Chulo

9 BATSUKH DORJ | Ogbelerim: Music For My Ancestors | Buda

10 LOS ASES DE LA TIMBA | Mano A Mano | Envidia