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