Top 10 compilations, reissues & historic recordings of 2024

This week on Global A Go-Go (Sunday December 29, 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'm wrapping up a 3-week-long look at the top releases of 2024 by playing tracks from my favorite compilations, reissues and historic recordings of the year.

 

I admit to spending a lot of time keeping up with what's new in the world of world music.  At the same time, there's so much older music that I'm still unaware of and that I'd like to know more about.  How to work on both simultaneously?  That's precisely where compilations, reissues and historic recordings come in.  I make sure to pay special attention to this category every year -- it's one of the primary ways I backfill my own musical knowledge.

 

Without further ado, here are my favorite compilations, reissues and historic recordings of 2024:

Top 10 new singles & EPs of 2024

I've been recapping my favorite singles and EPs of the year for each of the last six years.  In the current era of home studios, direct-to-consumer distribution, mobile listening and streaming, the music industry has become more singles-focused than it's been since before 1967.  Singles aren't just for Top 40 any more -- whatever styles of music you like, if you're ignoring singles you're missing some of the best music being released today.

 

This year's edition (Sunday December 22, 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 killer material, every bit as good as what you heard on my best albums of 2024 episode last week.

 

Without further ado, here are my favorite singles and EPs of 2024:

Top 10 new albums of 2024

It's the most wonderful time of the year, the time to find out who's been naughty and who's been 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 Sundays on Global A Go-Go.  On this week's program (Sunday December 15, 1:00-3:00 PM on WRIR, for two weeks afterwards at wrir.org/listen and any old time at my podcast site) I'll present my top ten new albums of 2024 plus ten honorable mentions.

 

Next week on December 22 I'll play my favorite singles and EPs of the departing year.  And in two weeks' time on December 29 you'll hear selections from my favorite compilations, reissues and historic recordings of 2024.

 

Without further ado, here are my favorite new albums of 2024:

Charts December 2-8, 2024

WRIR World's NACC Top Ten

1 LAST POETS, THE AND TONY ALLEN | Africanism | Africa Seven

2 FLORENCE ADOONI |  "Vocalize My Luv" [Single] | Philophon

3 DJEUHDJOAH AND LIEUTENANT NICHOLSON | "Sarah Solo" [Single] | Hot Casa

4 SUPER DISCO PIRATA: DE TEPITO PARA EL MUNDO 1965-1980 | various artists | Analog Africa

5 JULIAN MAYORGA | Chak Chak Chak Chak | Glitterbeat

6 JUNIORE | Trois, Deux, Un | Le Phonographe

7 ORCHESTRE TOUT PUISSANT MARCEL DUCHAMP | Ventre Unique | Bongo Joe

8 NIGERIA 70: THE DEFINITIVE STORY OF 1970'S FUNKY LAGOS | various artists | Strut

9 TOGO SOUL 2 | various artists | Hot Casa

10 DOGO DU TOGO AND THE ALAGAA BEAT BAND | Avoude | We Are Busy Bodies

Charts Nov 25 - Dec 1, 2024

WRIR World's NACC Top Ten

1 JOAO SELVA | "Banho De Mar" [Single] | Underdog

2 AL-QASAR | Uncovered | Wewantsounds

3 HEPCAT | Scientific | Trust

4 FEMI KUTI | "Politics Don Expose Them" [Single] | Partisan

5 U BROWN | Still Chanting Rub-A-Dub | Irie Ites

6 WIZKID | Morayo | Starboy/Sony International/RCA

7 JAH 9 | "Match" [Single] | VP

8 BONGO HOP, THE | La Pata Coja | Underdog

9 MIRAMAR | "En Mis Suenos" [Single] | Ansonia

10 SONGHOY BLUES | "Gara" [Single] | Studio Mali/Transgressive

Mahmoud Ahmed, the Johnny Carson of Ethiopia and George Lowe

 

For 30 years, George Lowe has been a fan of (some might say "obsessed with") Ethiopia's Golden Age of Music: the 1960s and 70s, the last years of the Haile Selassie monarchy and the time when "Ethio-jazz" was invented.  George's band, the Afro-Zen Allstars, feature a large number of his arrangements of Ethio-jazz classics, and the band has been recognized as among the foremost interpreters of this style of music in the USA.

 

The audience for Ethio-jazz in America is admittedly a niche market, but in Ethiopia it's a little different story.  And all of a sudden last week, George and Afro-Zen became household names in Ethiopia.  The photo above is a screenshot from the Zoom interview George did with Seifu Fantahun, who hosts the most popular show on Ethiopian broadcast TV.  That episode has been viewed over 350,000 time on YouTube, which is certainly not the main way the show is watched.

How did this happen?  When George explained it all to me, my comment was "This whole story reads like the plot summary of a particularly implausible movie."  I'm not going to give you any spoilers here -- I've invited George to join me this week on Global A Go-Go so you can hear the whole story direct from the horse's mouth.  And we'll play some of the music in question, by Afro-Zen and by the original artists, as well.

 

Also this week (Sunday December 1, 1:00-3:00 PM on WRIR, for two weeks afterwards at wrir.org/listen, and any old time at my podcast site): Songhoy Blues and the music of Mali's Songhai people, The Bongo Hop's Afro-Latin groove and new samba-funk from João Selva.

Charts November 18-24, 2024

WRIR World's NACC Top Ten

1 KIN'GONGOLO KINIATA | "Lisekite" [Single] | Helico

2 JULIAN MAYORGA | Chak Chak Chak Chak | Glitterbeat

3 CEM KARACA | Bekle Beni | Turkishvinyl

4 MULATU ASTATKE AND HOODNA ORCHESTRA | Tension | Batov

5 FAT FREDDY'S DROP | Slo Mo | The Drop

6 DOGO DU TOGO AND THE ALAGAA BEAT BAND | Avoude | We Are Busy Bodies

7 ABOUBAKAR TRAORE AND BALIMA | "Gnani" b/w "Turamagan" [Single] | Zephyrus

8 LEENALCHI | Lesser Gods And Chimeras [EP] | Hike

9 ZANZIBARA 11: CONGO IN DAR | various artists | Buda

10 MAGNIFICO BOOGALOO | various artists | Vampisoul

The sound that crushes

The teeming metropolis of Kinshasa is home to the music some folks call Congotronics, although that name is a bit too reductive to describe what's going on.  The artists in question may or may not be using electronics, but they are tapping into traditional rhythms from all across their vast nation, as did the founders of Congolese rumba more than a half century ago.

But it's a new era for better or worse (for many in Kinshasa, a lot worse) and bands like Kin'Gongolo Kiniata ("the sound that crushes" in Lingala) with their MacGyvered homemade instruments fabricated from trash and their thoroughly punk-rock attitude are what Kinshasa sounds like in 2024.  You'll hear Kin'Gongolo Kiniata's new single this week on Global A Go-Go, along with a couple of their predecessors.

Also this week (Sunday November 24, 1:00-3:00 PM on WRIR, for two weeks afterwards at wrir.org/listen, and any old time at my podcast site): An all-African first hour featuring new music from Aboubakar Traoré & Balima and Dogo Du Togo & The Alagaa Beat Band, plus a new compilation of the best of Benin's Albarika Store record label; Leenalchi's post-modern take on Korean pansori; more Anatolian rock with Aylin's Soulgarden's debut album and a vintage reissue of Cem Karaca; and some Macedonian brass madness including a band from Indiana from the 1940s.

Charts November 11-17, 2024

WRIR World's NACC Top Ten

1 MIRAMAR | "En Mis Suenos" [Single] | Ansonia

2 BONGO HOP, THE | La Pata Coja | Underdog

3 DOGO DU TOGO AND THE ALAGAA BEAT BAND | Avoude | We Are Busy Bodies

4 MULATU ASTATKE AND HOODNA ORCHESTRA | Tension | Batov

5 FAT FREDDY'S DROP | Slo Mo | The Drop

6 MAX ROMEO | Every Man Ought To Know | Gorgon

7 CHEO | Refresco Vol. 2: Cheo Goes Funk [EP] | Nacional

8 ORQUESTA LA MURALLA | Como Me La Pides [EP] | Hyperopia

9 SCIENTIST MEETS HEPCAT | Scientific Dub Special | Trust 

10 KEITH AND TEX | "Righteous Man" (feat. Inna De Yard) [Single] | Kebar/Rebel Sound

It's really not as bad as it sounds

Lance Koehler arrived in Richmond's Oregon Hill neighborhood in 2001 from New Orleans; soon thereafter he opened a studio, Minimum Wage Recording.  For more than 20 years, Minimum Wage has been a fulcrum of Richmond's DIY music scene -- an affordable, congenial place where musicians of all genres could make a quality recording.

 

Now Lance is moving out to Staunton where he plans to rebuild a Shenandoah Valley version of Minimum Wage.  Lance's clients and friends (and when you do good work at a fair price, lots of your clients become your friends) are sending him off with a celebration at the Broadberry on Sunday night, where a few of them will perform: Bio Ritmo, Justin Golden and Lance's own band No BS! Brass are on the bill, and special guests are expected.

 

Many of my favorite Richmond recordings of the last 20 years were made by Lance at Minimum Wage, and a few of them will make up the whole first hour of this week's program.  You'll hear Afro-Zen Allstars, Bio Ritmo, Hotel X, Miramar, No BS! Brass, Oregon Hill Funk All-Stars, Rattlemouth, Yeni Nostalji -- basically a who's who of Richmond's global-facing music scene, all from Minimum Wage sessions.

Also this week (Sunday November 17, 1:00-3:00 PM on WRIR, for two weeks afterwards at wrir.org/listen, and any old time at my podcast site): Nobody expects unexpected reggae versions, including Max Romeo vs. The Partridge Family and Paketo Wilson vs. Marty Robbins; new funk from Fat Freddy's Drop and Cheo; and the late 60s/early 70s Nigerian sounds of Afrobeat being born.

Charts November 4-10, 2024

WRIR World's NACC Top Ten

1 ZANZIBARA 11: CONGO IN DAR | various artists | Buda

2 JUSTIN ADAMS AND MAURO DURANTE | Sweet Release | Ponderosa

3 LA RUEDA | Calentando La Nevera | Mambo Negro

4 ROMPERAYO | Insurgentes Carismaticos | Elgozo/Girando

5 WAAJU FEAT. MAJID BEKKAS | Alouane | BBE

6 KARANTAMBA | Galgi | Teranga Beat

7 SAULO DUARTE | "Cancao Do Povo" [Single] | YB

8 MILTON NASCIMENTO AND ESPERANZA SPALDING | Milton + esperanza | Concord

9 PASSEPARTOUT DUO AND INOYAMA LAND | Radio Yugawara | Tonal Union

10 MERIDIAN BROTHERS | Mi Latinoamerica Sufre | Ansonia/Bongo Joe

These strings / This drum / From another world they come

British guitarist Justin Adams and Italian drummer-violinist Mauro Durante might seem to inhabit entirely separate musical universes.  Adams is Robert Plant's right-hand man, produced Tinariwen and Rachid Taha, and has worked with Brian Eno, Sinéad O'Connor and Jah Wobble.

 

Durante leads Canzoniere Grecanico Salentino (who have now played twice at the Richmond Folk Festival), who have reinvigorated the Southern Italian music and dance tradition of pizzica or tarantella, and is a virtuoso of the tamburello frame drum.

 

When they met, they quickly figured out what they had in common -- trance music and the blues.  That became the framework for their duo, which has toured the world and has now released one of the most fully realized albums of 2024, Sweet Release.  You'll hear two songs from it this week on Global A Go-Go.

Also this week (Sunday November 10, 1:00-3:00 PM on WRIR, for two weeks afterwards at wrir.org/listen, and any old time at my podcast site): Back to Colombia for bullerengue, cumbia (including Yeison Landero, who will be playing Richmond in January) and Bogotá tropical prog; new jazzy gnawa from Waaju featuring Majid Bekkas; the killer Afro-Manding groove of The Gambia's Bai Janha; and the latest in Buda Musique's Zanzibara series of the historic sounds of Tanzania.

Charts Oct 21 - Nov 3, 2024

WRIR World's NACC Top Ten

1 ABOUBAKAR TRAORE AND BALIMA | "Sabubu" b/w "Sonfo" [Single] | Zephyrus

2 MANU CHAO | Viva Tu | Because

3 NYBOMA | Double Double | No Wahala Sounds

4 KOG | Don't Take My Soul | Pura Vida/Heavenly Sweetness

5 LA SONORA MAZUREN | Magnetismo Animal | Barbes

6 SISTER NANCY | "Bam Bam" b/w "Stalag" [Single] | VP

7 KAMPIRE PRESENTS A DANCEFLOOR IN NDOLA | various artists | Strut

8 SWEET POISON VICTIM | Ringgold Avenue Highlife | self-released

9 PENI CANDRA RINI | Wulansih | New Amsterdam

10 REYNA TROPICAL | Malegría | Psychic Hotline

I need some money

WRIR's Fall 2024 Fund Drive is now underway -- we're hard at work toward raising $45,000 by Saturday November 2nd to power Richmond Community Radio for another six months.  It's supporters like you who have made WRIR possible for the last 20 years, and now is the time that we ask you to donate what you can afford, and what this marvelous, successful experiment in community-built media is worth to you.

 

You can become a monthly supporter at this link: https://bit.ly/3QnrP5H.  Or make a one-time contribution here: https://bit.ly/3FnagN1.  Or simply go to wrir.org to donate and to find out more about the Fall 2024 Fund Drive, including the premiums available to donors and the events happening during the fund drive.

Global A Go-Go is here this week (Sunday October 27, 1:00-3:00 PM on WRIR, for two weeks afterwards at wrir.org/listen, and any old time at my podcast site) giving you some extra incentive to make that contribution.  The first $500 donated during Global A Go-Go will be doubled because I will personally match your gift.  Let's raise $1,000 and more for Richmond Community Radio on this edition of Global A Go-Go!

The background music for your generosity will be a South African dance party: two hours of bubblegum, kwaito, Shangaan electro and gqom from the 1980s through today for your listening, and especially your dancing, pleasure.  As it is every week, it's all free to anyone who tunes in via radio or internet.  But this week is special: it's one of just two weeks out of the year where we ask you to donate what you can to keep WRIR powered up.  Thank you for making Richmond Independent Radio's first 20 years possible, and we're counting on you once again in Fall 2024!

Loboko takes over Cause & Effect

Cause & Effect (Saturday 1-3 PM) is WRIR's weekly program focusing on a single artist and exploring in detail their work, their influences and their peers.  We don't often have the artist in question here in person for their own Cause & Effect.  But that's what's happening this week.

 

I will be hosting Cause & Effect this week (Saturday October 26, 1:00-3:00 PM on WRIR, for two weeks afterwards at wrir.org/listen, and any old time at my podcast site), and my in-studio guests will be the New York City-based Congolese band Loboko, who are performing Saturday night at Révéler Experiences.

 

David Noyes of WRIR's Ambiance Congo (alternate Sundays 3-5 PM, the only Congolese broadcast radio show in the USA) and The Motherland Influence (Sunday 5-7 PM) and I will interview the band.  And the band will take over the selector chair, spinning sounds they love, music that's influenced them, other artists working in related spaces, and maybe some of their unreleased recordings.

 

You can participate too by making a donation on Saturday, the first full day of WRIR's Fall 2024 Fund Drive, which is raising money to make programming like this show possible, powering "The Tower of Low Power" to keep Richmond Community Radio in the pink for another six months.  Just visit wrir.org, click the Donate button, and you're almost done!  Thank you for your support!

Charts October 14-20, 2024

WRIR World's NACC Top Ten

1 DOGO DU TOGO AND THE ALAGAA BEAT BAND | "Enouwo Lagnon" [Single] | We Are Busy Bodies

2 ABOUBAKAR TRAORE AND BALIMA | "Sabubu" b/w "Sonfo" [Single] | Zephyrus

3 SUPERFONICOS | Renaceré | Spaceflight

4 SECKOU KEITA | Homeland (Chapter 1) | Hudson

5 ROGER DAMAWUZAN AND LE AS DU BENIN | Tropicana Souvenir Vol. 2 | Hot Casa

6 SONGHOY BLUES | "Toukambela" [Single] | Studio Mali/Transgressive

7 NOVALIMA | "Exodus" [Single] | Six Degrees

8 ORIENTAL BROTHERS INTERNATIONAL BAND | Onye Rie Ibe Ya Erie | Odogwu/Palenque

9 NFALY DIAKITE | Hunter Folk Vol. 1: Tribute To Toumani Kone | Mieruba

10 META AND THE CORNERSTONES | "Lively & Up" [Single] | Metarize/Rebel Sound

The next Baba Commandant?

It seems like much of Richmond fell in love with the music of Baba Commandant & The Mandingo Band when they played here last spring at the Get Tight Lounge and last fall at the Richmond Folk Festival.  And we all mourned the tragic passing of Mamadou Sanou, aka Baba Commandant, of complications from malaria in November of 2023, just weeks after his last appearance here.

 

If you, like me, are missing Baba Commandant, let me recommend Aboubakar Traoré & Balima to your attention.  He's from Bobo-Dioulasso in Burkina Faso, the town where the Mandingo Band formed; he plays kamale ngoni (youth harp), a smaller cousin of Baba's donso ngoni (hunter's harp); and his music draws from the same Wassoulou groove, based on Mande hunters' traditional songs, as Baba's.  To me, Aboubakar Traoré & Balima are the next best thing to Baba Commandant & The Mandingo Band.  Hear them for yourself this week on Global A Go-Go.

Also this week (Sunday October 20, 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): More sounds coming out of Malian tradition including new music from Songhoy Blues and Nfaly Diakité, the latest DC-via-Lomé release of Dogo Du Togo, the reunion of Nigeria's legendary highlife stars the Oriental Brothers, some old-fashioned Colombian big band porro cumbia, and the Latin hyphenate sounds of Superfónicos and La Mambanegra.

Charts October 7-13, 2024

WRIR World's NACC Top Ten

1 CELIA CRUZ AND JOHNNY PACHECO | Celia & Johnny | Fania

2 PRABIR TRIO | Long After The Empire | self-released

3 MIRAMAR | "Un Astro" [Single] | Ansonia

4 MARTIN LOPEZ Y SUS ESTRELLAS | Cocinando | Vampisoul

5 NUSRAT FATEH ALI KHAN | Chain Of Light | Real World

6 NYBOMA | Double Double | No Wahala Sounds

7 BONGO HOP, THE | "Dekonekte" [Single] | Underdog

8 ELISEO GOMES AND JOAQUIM VALERA | Chuma Lopes | Arabusta

9 ORQUESTA AKOKAN | Caracoles | Daptone

10 ROLANDO BRUNO Y EL GRUPO AREVALO | Cosas Raras | Peace & Rhythm/Electric Cowbell/DJ Cajon

Who is Loboko?

New York City-based Congolese band Loboko are coming to Richmond's Révéler Experiences on Saturday October 26.  You'll hear Loboko's music this week on Global A Go-Go, alongside other bands playing the awesome contemporary Congolese guitar-driven dance music called sebene.

 

(Just as a heads up, Loboko will also be my in-studio guest on WRIR's Cause & Effect program on the afternoon of October 26, during WRIR's Fall 2024 Fund Drive.  I'll be interviewing the band members at that time, and they'll also take over the show, spinning some of their favorite recordings, Congolese and otherwise, and maybe playing their own unreleased recordings too.)

As for the rest of what I'm playing this week (Sunday October 13, 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), you'll hear more great African guitar music including a reissue of classic 1980s Congolese rumba by Nyboma and some smoking funaná from Cabo Verde by Eliseo Gomes & Joaquim Valera, plus a newly discovered qawwali recording by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, the new single by Richmond's own Miramar, and The Bongo Hop's hot new French Caribbean-style track.

Charts Sep 30 - Oct 6, 2024

WRIR World's NACC Top Ten

1 MANU CHAO | Viva Tu | Because

2 AMADOU AND MARIAM | La Vie Est Belle | Because

3 MULATU ASTATKE AND HOODNA ORCHESTRA | "Tension" [Single] | Batov

4 CIMAFUNK | Pa' Tu Cuerpa | Terapia

5 SEUN KUTI AND EGYPT 80 | Heavier Yet (Lays The Crownless Head) | Record Kicks

6 KIT SEBASTIAN | New Internationale | Brainfeeder

7 VOILAAA | C'est Tout | Favorite

8 LOS DUTIS | Surreal [EP] | Matachin

9 MIGHTY DIAMONDS AND TETRACK | Trouble Backstage | Reggae Library

10 TAJ WEEKES AND ZION ALBERT | "Cornerstone" [Single] | Jatta/Skank

Beaux dimanches

It's always a beautiful Sunday here on the radio at WRIR, what with programs like The Motherland Influence, Ambiance Congo, The Other Black Music, If Music Could Talk, Bebop & Beyond with Mr. Jazz, Club Unity and more, along with Global A Go-Go of course.

 

And none more beautiful than this Sunday (October 6, 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) as we're featuring the new albums from both Manu Chao and Amadou & Mariam.

 

We're highlighting lots of new fall releases this week, including new Brazilian sounds from Saulo Duarte and MOMO.; new reggae by Taj Weekes & Zion Albert, Vincent Price & The Young Spirits (Halloween alert!), Pasnbesa and Big Boss Sound; the Turkish stylings of Aylin's Soulgarden and Altın Gün; and the Ethio-jazz of Mulatu Astatke & Hoodna Orchestra.

 

Plus I'll be giving away a pair of tickets for the October 12 Broadberry show of Cimafunk, Cuba's answer to Prince or George Clinton, so tune in to win, and to enjoy another beautiful Sunday on WRIR!

Charts September 23-29, 2024

WRIR World's NACC Top Ten

1 PENI CANDRA RINI | Wulansih | New Amsterdam

2 SERGE BULAT | Omorphita Cornershop | self-released

3 PENI CANDRA RINI | Wani | New Amsterdam

4 AMADOU AND MARIAM | La Vie Est Belle | Because

5 MOLCHAT DOMA | Belaya Polosa | Sacred Bones

6 NICOLE MITCHELL AND BALLAKE SISSOKO | Bamako Chicago Sound System | FPE

7 DJ VADIM | Soundcatcher 2.0 | King Dada Sounds

8 ACCRA QUARTET | Gbɛfalɔi (Travelers) | FPE

9 TAMADA | 9 Deadly Sins For Tamada | Alt Orient

10 HOWIE LEE | At The Drolma Wesel-Ling Monastery | Mais Um

Serge Bulat's Cornershop mixes

I recently met a musician from the Moldovan-Ukrainian border named Serge Bulat.  I'd classify his music as electronica; Aphex Twin and Bonobo are two artists you might know who Serge has cited as influences.  He’s also a field recordist and he integrates those sounds into his music.

 

Serge has a new album called Omorphita Cornershop and it has a song on it that includes Serge’s recording of the Bulgarian kaval player Theodosii Spassov. I’ve played Spassov’s music on Global A Go-Go before, so that caught my attention right away.  The other thing that caught my attention is that Serge says he’s currently based in Virginia. So I reached out to him to get more details.

 

In the course of our correspondence, Serge asked if I’d like to hear some mixes of the eclectic music that he listens to. You’re going to hear those mixes for yourself this week on Global A Go-Go (Sunday September 29, 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’m presenting Serge Bulat's Cornershop mixes as Serge created them: two 48-minute sets, one for each of the program's hours, with no breaks or talking in between, just a continuous flow of music that includes sounds from Moldova, Ukraine and the Roma world, but also from Kurdistan, Palestine, Japan, Africa and more.

Charts September 16-22, 2024

WRIR World's NACC Top Ten

1 LA SONORA MAZUREN | Magnetismo Animal | Barbes

2 KIT SEBASTIAN | "Bul Bul Bul" [Single] | Brainfeeder

3 SONGHOY BLUES | "Issa" [Single] | Studio Mali/Transgressive

4 AMADOU AND MARIAM | La Vie Est Belle | Because

5 ACCRA QUARTET | Gbɛfalɔi (Travelers) | FPE

6 AHMED MALIK | Musique Originale De Films (Volume 2) | Habibi Funk

7 ZAWOSE QUEENS, THE | Maisha | Real World

8 BAB L'BLUZ | Swaken | Real World

9 AZIZA BRAHIM | Mawja (Wave) | Glitterbeat

10 SARAMACCAN SOUND | Where The River Ends Is Only The Beginning | Glitterbeat

More polyrhythmic, even more lysergic

The music scene in Bogotá, Colombia is red-hot right now, and one of that city's finest bands will be visiting Richmond this week.  La Sonora Mazurén play at the Get Tight Lounge on Wednesday September 25, and you'll hear their music this week on Global A Go-Go.  I'll put them in context alongside tracks from other current bogotana bands like Meridian Brothers, Frente Cumbiero, La Perla, Romperayo and Conjunto Media Luna (the last three bands all share members with La Sonora Mazurén).

 

Speaking of hot, Richmond's bolero royalty Miramar have a new single coming out imminently on the legendary salsa label Ansonia.  And they will be performing with a slightly larger ensemble, the Richmond Symphony, at the Carpenter Theatre on October 5, so I'll play some Miramar music as well.

 

And trainee Tim joins me in the studio to spin a tasty selection of African and Brazilian vinyl.  So it's a jam-packed show this week (Sunday September 22, 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), don't miss it!

Charts September 9-15, 2024

WRIR World's NACC Top Ten

1 ETRAN DE L'AIR | 100% Sahara Guitar | Sahel Sounds

2 DOGO DU TOGO AND THE ALAGAA BEAT BAND | "Avoude" [Single] | We Are Busy Bodies

3 SEUN KUTI AND EGYPT 80 | "Stand Well Well" [Single] | Record Kicks

4 MANU CHAO | "Tu Te Vas" feat. Laeti [Single] | Because

5 LA SONORA MAZUREN | Magnetismo Animal | Barbes

6 OLAMINA AND AWARENESS | Chant Down Babylon | Love City

7 PENI CANDRA RINI | Wulansih | New Amsterdam

8 LOS FULANOS | "Blue Monday b/w Why Don't We Do Some Boogaloo?" [Single] | Lovemonk

9 ZANJA ALL STARS | Cuban Jam Session, Vol. 1 | Zanja

10 MYRIAM GENDRON | Mayday | Thrill Jockey/Feeding Tube

Thumbs up for Mother Universe

The 20th annual Richmond Folk Festival is coming up Friday through Sunday, September 27th through the 29th.  And this week (Sunday September 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) it's time for Global A Go-Go's annual preview of the Folk Festival.

 

I'll be focusing on six artists: Javanese singer (and frequent Richmond visitor) Peni Candra Rini from Indonesia; psychedelic 79 year old benju player Ustad Noor Bakhsh from Balochistan; Tuareg Nigerien guitar shredder Bombino; theatrical Pugliese ensemble Canzioniere Grecanico Salentino (CGS for short), the biggest stars of Italian traditional music; chirimía brass band Rancho Aparte from Colombia's Pacific Coast; and self-taught Afro-futurist American musician and visual artist Lonnie Holley (pictured above).

 

Tune in and find out which international artists you don't want to miss at the Folk Festival, even if (or maybe, especially because) you've never heard of them before.

Charts September 2-8, 2024

WRIR World's NACC Top Ten

1 NIGERIA 70: THE DEFINITIVE STORY OF 1970'S FUNKY LAGOS | various artists | Strut

2 AFRICA NEGRA | Antologia Vol. 2 | Bongo Joe

3 LOS BITCHOS | Talkie Talkie | City Slang

4 ANNARELLA AND DJANGO | "Dakar Orebro" [Single] | We Are Busy Bodies/Sing A Song Fighter

5 LA SONORA MAZUREN | Magnetismo Animal | Barbes

6 PRISCILLA FRADE | "Baiao De Quatro Toques" [Single] | Mills

7 WE'VE GOT A GROOVY THING GOING: THE LATIN SOUL OF BOBBY MARIN | various artists | Vampisoul

8 TIDIANE THIAM | Africa Yontii | Sahel Sounds

9 MDOU MOCTAR | Funeral For Justice | Matador

10 HERMANOS GUTIERREZ | Sonido Cósmico | Easy Eye Sound/Concord

The compilation that started it all

As part of their 25th anniversary celebration, Strut Records on August 30th reissued Nigeria 70, the 2001 compilation that originally got the great African vinyl gold rush started.

 

Nigeria 70 certainly wasn't the first anthology of African music ever released, but it hit the zeitgeist at just the right time.  Its formula of deeply funky and deeply obscure music, extensive and erudite liner notes, brilliant graphic design, sensitive remastering and ethical licensing are the template for labels like Soundway, Analog Africa, Ostinato, Awesome Tapes From Africa and others (including Strut itself, of course) who are making great African recordings accessible to all listeners.

 

I'll play a couple of my favorite Nigeria 70 tracks on this week's program, and also a couple of selections from the outstanding recent compilation of the São Toméan band África Negra.

 

Also this week (Sunday September 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): New acoustic African sounds from Tidiane Thiam and Annarella & Django, Brazilian forró including a new single by Priscilla Frade, the Latin psychedelia of Los Bitchos and La Sonora Mazurén, and some Latin soul to finish up the show.

Charts Aug 25 - Sep 1, 2024

WRIR World's NACC Top Ten

1 LA SONORA MAZUREN | Magnetismo Animal | Barbes

2 SANTROFI | "Amina" [Single] | Outhere

3 KAMPIRE PRESENTS: A DANCEFLOOR IN NDOLA | various artists | Strut

4 CIMAFUNK | Pa' Tu Cuerpa | Terapia

5 K.O.G | "Don't Take My Soul" [Single] | Pura Vida/Heavenly Sweetness

6 SISTER NANCY | "Bam Bam b/w Stalag" [Single] | VP

7 LINVAL THOMPSON, JONQUAN AND TICKLAH | "Bound To Fall" [Single] | Easy Star

8 SOWETO GOSPEL CHOIR X GROOVE TERMINATOR | History Of House | Music Is Fun/House Of Latroit/Gallo

9 OLAMINA AND AWARENESS | Chant Down Babylon | Love City

10 KANKOU KOUYATE | N'Darila | One World

Meet La Sonora Mazurén

Richmond has hosted three Colombian bands in the last six months: La Perla, Meridian Brothers and Los Gaiteros de San Jacinto.  And now add a fourth, the biggest and maybe the most exciting of all of them: La Sonora Mazurén (LSM), who will play the Get Tight Lounge on Wednesday September 25.

 

LSM is a seven-piece rhythm machine from Bogotá with four percussionists (including two of the women from La Perla) and a bass guitar laying down the grooves, plus electric guitar, keyboards, accordion and lots of voices on top.  They're a sort of pan-American psychedelic dance band who take traditional rhythms from all over South and Central America in unexpectedly lysergic directions.

I'll introduce you to LSM this week on Global A Go-Go by playing a couple of tracks from their marvelous forthcoming third album Magnetismo Animal which will be released on October 4 (I think this will be an American radio premiere) and a couple of older ones as well.

Also this week (Sunday September 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): Some dubby reggae to get things started, Central African guitar hits, acoustic Mande music from Mali, West African funk and hip hop, and soulful house music from South Africa.

Charts August 19-25, 2024

WRIR World's NACC Top Ten

1 CHAKRAVYUH | various artists | Qilla

2 CIMAFUNK | Pa' Tu Cuerpa | Terapia Productions

3 K.O.G | "Don't Take My Soul" [Single] | Pura Vida/Heavenly Sweetness

4 SISTER NANCY | "Bam Bam b/w Stalag" [Single] | VP

5 PRISCILLA FRADE | "Baiao De Quatro Toques" [Single] | Mills

6 SOWETO GOSPEL CHOIR X GROOVE TERMINATOR | History Of House | Music Is Fun/House Of Latroit/Gallo

7 LA LOM | The Los Angeles League Of Musicians | Verve

8 THIAGO FRANCA AND A ESPETACULAR CHARANGA DO FRANCA | "Toxic" [Single] | Mais Um

9 PENI CANDRA RINI | Wulansih | New Amsterdam

10 COMBO DAGUERRE | Fracassines | Barbes

Charts August 12-18, 2024

WRIR World's NACC Top Ten

1 SOWETO GOSPEL CHOIR AND GROOVE TERMINATOR | History Of House | Music Is Fun/House Of Latroit/Gallo

2 MILTON NASCIMENTO AND ESPERANZA SPALDING | Milton + esperanza | Concord

3 KIT SEBASTIAN | "Metropolis" [Single] | Brainfeeder

4 PAULA MAYA | Rio De Janeiro | Yellow House

5 GIRL ULTRA | blush [EP] | Big Dada

6 AFRICA NEGRA | Antologia Vol. 2 | Bongo Joe

7 HERMANOS GUTIERREZ | Sonido Cósmico | Easy Eye Sound/Concord

8 ANGELICA GARCIA | Gemelo | Partisan

9 ROLANDO BRUNO Y EL GRUPO AREVALO | Cosas Raras | Peace & Rhythm/Electric Cowbell/DJ Cajon

10 MIGHTY JOSHUA | Dreaducation | Mighty Music

Charts Jul 29 - Aug 11, 2024

WRIR World's NACC Top Ten, Jul 29-Aug 4

1 ANGELICA GARCIA |  Gemelo | Partisan

2 THIAGO FRANCA & A ESPETACULAR CHARANGA DO FRANCA | "Toxic" [Single] | Mais Um

3 FANFARE CIOCARLIA | "Me Sem Rom" [Single] | Asphalt Tango

4 WAILERS, THE | The Best Of The Wailers | Jamwax

5 HERMANOS GUTIERREZ | Sonido Cósmico | Easy Eye Sound/Concord

6 ZANJA ALL STARS | Cuban Jam Session, Vol. 1 | Zanja

7 NATION BEAT | Archaic Humans | Ropeadope

8 BRUNA BLACK AND JOHN FINBURY | Va Revelacao | Green Flash

9 GHANA SPECIAL 2: ELECTRONIC HIGHLIFE AND AFRO SOUNDS IN THE DIASPORA, 1980-93 | various artists | Soundway

10 CONGO FUNK! SOUND MADNESS FROM THE SHORES OF THE MIGHTY CONGO RIVER | various artists | Analog Africa

 

 

WRIR World's NACC Top Ten, August 5-11

1 ANGELICA GARCIA | Gemelo | Partisan

2 JABULA | Afrika Awake | Strut

3 KIT SEBASTIAN | "Metropolis" [Single] | Brainfeeder

4 LAIZ AND THE NEW LOVE EXPERIENCE | Carcaru [EP] | Besser-Samstag

5 SIA TOLNO | Manene | Kingsland/Slow Walk

6 BONGO HOP, THE | "La Pata Coja" [Single] | Underdog

7 AWA KHIWE | "Zizobuya" [Single] | Outhere

8 GENTLEMAN AND SHAMS THE PRODUCER | "Watch Ova The City" [Single] | B-Rich

9 WAILERS, THE | The Best Of The Wailers | Jamwax

10 NANCY VIEIRA | Gente | Galileo

We will send them back

They call Awa Khiwe "The Village Girl" because she's from a rural area of Zimbabwe's Bulawayo province.  She raps in Ndebele, her hometown language which is closely related to Zulu, including all the click sounds.  This week on Global A Go-Go you'll hear the first single from her forthcoming debut album, "Zizobuya" (We will send them back), about the southern African custom of lobola or bride-price.

 

Also this week (Sunday August 11, 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): In the first hour, new reggae from Gentleman and H.L.R, a reissue of the first Wailers album from 1971, and current Afro releases by Afla Sackey, The Bongo Hop and Sia Tolno; in the second hour sounds from across southern Africa including Malawi's Madalitso Band, Sebongile Kgaila from Botswana, Brian Chilala of Zambia and South Africa's Penny Penny.

The undisputed master of the kora

Toumani Diabaté, the undisputed master of the kora, the most important classical instrument of West Africa, passed away on July 19 at age 58.  A 72nd generation griot whose ancestors have been poets, musicians and storytellers since the time of the Mande empire, Toumani introduced listeners from all parts of the globe to the ancient harmonies of the 21-stringed harp.

 

He brought his instrument decisively into the 21st century, recording the first solo kora album ever, working with musicians from across West Africa to build a new Mande musical vocabulary, and creating new traditions by jamming with artists from around the world.  The second hour of today's show is devoted exclusively to the music of Toumani Diabaté: his kora solos and duos, his West African ensembles and his cross-continental collaborations.

In Global A Go-Go's first hour this week (Sunday August 4, 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'm joined in the studio by Brian Jones: drummer, educator and organizer of the Mingus Awareness Project.  We'll talk about the three Mingus concerts happening in Richmond next weekend, listen to music from several of the participating ensembles and hear some related brass band sounds from across the map.

Charts July 22-28, 2024

WRIR World's NACC Top Ten

1 SEUN KUTI AND EGYPT 80 | "T.O.P." [Single] | Record Kicks

2 GEORGE DEKKER | Right To Be Here | Blue Beat

3 MERIDIAN BROTHERS | Mi Latinoamerica Sufre | Ansonia/Bongo Joe

4 AFLA SACKEY AND AFRIK BAWANTU | Destination | Wah Wah 45s

5 ETANA | Nectar Of The Gods | Freemind

6 LAIZ AND THE NEW LOVE EXPERIENCE | Carcaru [EP] | Besser-Samstag

7 HERETIER WATA | Chemin De La Gloire (Edition Deluxe) | Obouo Productions

8 ORQUESTA OLIVIERI | Orquesta Olivieri | Vampisoul

9 ANGELICA GARCIA | Gemelo | Partisan

10 YEISY ROJAS | A Mis Ancestros | self-released

Charts July 15-21, 2024

WRIR World's NACC Top Ten

1 ORQUESTA AKOKAN | Caracoles | Daptone

2 SUPERFONICOS | Renacere | Spaceflight

3 LOS GAITEROS DE SAN JACINTO | Orgullo Colombiano | OM Producciones/Bad Vibes Good Friends

4 MODESTO DURAN | Fabulous Rhythms Of Modesto | Numero Group

5 NGOZI FAMILY | 99% Confusion | Now-Again

6 COMBO DAGUERRE | Fracassines | Barbes

7 MANU CHAO | "São Paulo Motoboy" [Single] | Because

8 ETRAN DE L'AIR | "Ighre Massina" [Single] | Sahel Sounds

9 SATURNO 4000 | "Ma Belle Fille" b/w "Solar Heart" [Single] | Batov

10 ZANJA ALL STARS | Cuban Jam Session, Vol. 1 | Zanja

I will be reborn

A band's second album is supposed to be the hard one -- it's the one you write after you've spent your whole life on the first album's songs.  For Superfónicos though, the first album was the hard one.

 

Maybe it's because of the pandemic.  Maybe it's because they changed producers.  Maybe it's because four children were born to members of the band while the album was gestating.  Whatever it was, it took Superfónicos more than four years to make Renaceré ("I will be reborn").  You'd never guess that the process was so grueling -- this brassy, soulful, life-affirming record is one of the best things I've heard so far in 2024.  Tune in to Global A Go-Go this week to hear the album's title track.

Also this week (Sunday July 21, 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): Manu Chao is sounding like the old Manu Chao, new music from Orquesta Akokán and old music from the Cuban bandas gigantes who preceded them, Tete Mbambisa's updated South African marabi, a new single from desert blues heroes Etran de L’Aïr, and a fabulous anthology of África Negra from São Tomé & Príncipe.

Colombian pride

Bill Lupoletti of Global A Go-Go will be subbing for his WRIR colleague DJ Maiya on the first hour of the program she co-hosts, Head Empty Radio, Friday July 19 at 1 PM.

 

That's the same day that Los Gaiteros de San Jacinto, Colombia's original sound of cumbia, will be playing at Richmond's Get Tight Lounge (more information here: facebook.com/events/831676748322907), so you'll hear some of Los Gaiteros' music plus that of Colombian artists who have been inspired by Los Gaiteros in various ways, and some new sounds from around the world with a cumbia twist to them.

Head Empty Radio's regular co-host DJ Orangina will be at the controls and keeping the party going for hour number two.  Check both of us out this Friday afternoon!

Charts July 8-14, 2024

WRIR World's NACC Top Ten

1 LOS GAITEROS DE SAN JACINTO | Orgullo Colombiano | OM Producciones

2 ORQUESTA AKOKAN | Caracoles | Daptone

3 CHICHA LIBRE | Tequila Y Aguardiente [EP] | Barbes

4 ANGELICA GARCIA | Gemelo | Partisan

5 MIGHTY JOSHUA | Dreaducation | self-released

6 ETANA | Nectar Of The Gods | Freemind

7 UNDERCOVER COCKNEY | "Am I Good Enough (feat. Coco Malone & Horseman)" [Single] | Double Double

8 JOY, THE | The Joy | Transgressive

9 DOBET GNAHORE | Zouzou | Cumbancha

10 CHEO | Refresco Vol. 1: Cheo Goes Latin | Nacional

The original sound of cumbia

Los Gaiteros de San Jacinto are the original sound of cumbia.  Founded in 1940, they're a multigenerational band playing gaita music, which is performed on the reed flute of the same name that was introduced to the Spanish colonials and to the Africans they enslaved by the Kogi natives of Colombia's Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta mountains.

 

It's the collision of these three cultures (Native, African and Spanish) that makes Colombian music what it is; Los Gaiteros are maybe the foremost living embodiment of that collision.  Los Gaiteros will be performing here in Richmond at the Get Tight Lounge on Friday July 19.  This week on Global A Go-Go, you'll hear a sampling of Los Gaiteros' music, including tracks from their brand new album Orgullo Colombiano, the Grammy-winning 2006 album Un Fuego De Sangre Pura and more.

Also this week (Sunday July 14, 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): The South African a cappella singing of The Joy; what's new in reggae featuring Mighty Joshua, Prince Fatty, the Hempolics and more; Qwanqwa is where Ethiopian tradition meets free jazz; and the latest from Cote D'Ivoire's Dobet Gnahoré.

Charts Jun 24 - Jul 7, 2024

WRIR World's NACC Top Ten

1 IBIBIO SOUND MACHINE | Pull The Rope | Merge

2 COMBO DAGUERRE | Fracassines | Barbes

3 PROTOJE | "Mariposa" [Single] | Ineffable

4 KANKOU KOUYATE | N'Darila | One World

5 AFRICA NEGRA | Antologia Vol. 2 | Bongo Joe

6 SEUN KUTI AND EGYPT 80 | "Dey" feat. Damian Marley [Single] | Record Kicks

7 NEGAH SANTOS | Ensaio Do Forro | Percussah Sessions

8 ANGELICA GARCIA | Gemelo | Partisan

9 ESY TADESSE | Ahadu | FPE

10 ROLANDO BRUNO Y EL GRUPO AREVALO | Cosas Raras | Peace & Rhythm/Electric Cowbell/DJ Cajon

Global A Go-Go Classico: Independence Day Special

I'm the grandson of immigrants from one of the sh*thole countries of the early 20th century: Italy.  For my grandparents, the 4th of July was the best holiday of the year.  That was the day they celebrated the nation that took them in, let them make something of themselves, and gave their children and grandchildren the opportunities their homeland couldn't provide.

 

It seems like a lot of Americans have lost touch with their immigrant roots, or maybe they're just in denial.  As a public service to the many Americans who've forgotten that their families too were immigrants, this special 4th of July edition of Global A Go-Go (Sunday July 7, 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) will feature two hours of great American music made by people who chose to come to this country.  These are the people, like my grandparents, who have made America great always.  Today's the right day to celebrate them, and us.

 

This episode of Global A Go-Go was originally broadcast on WRIR on July 4, 2018.

Charts June 17-23, 2024

WRIR World's NACC Top Ten

1 HERMANOS GUTIERREZ | Sonido Cósmico | Easy Eye Sound/Concord

2 AFRICA NEGRA | Antologia Vol. 2 | Bongo Joe

3 JOY, THE | The Joy | Transgressive/PIAS

4 ATSE TEWODROS PROJECT | Maqeda | Galileo

5 NEW REGENCY ORCHESTRA | New Regency Orchestra | Mr Bongo

6 ZAWOSE QUEENS, THE | Maisha | Real World

7 ANGELICA GARCIA | Gemelo | Partisan

8 BEAUTIFUL NUBIA AND THE ROOTS RENAISSANCE BAND | Sonso | EniObanke

9 BONBON VODOU | Afrodiziak [EP] | Heavenly Sweetness

10 FRANCK BIYONG | Radio Masoda | Tangential