What Is Global A Go-Go?


Desert Island Disc (Global A Go-Go Remix) by Bill Lupoletti & Alyssa Salomon, photographed by Alyssa Salomon.  Click to enlarge.

Global A Go-Go is a weekly two-hour world music radio program that I've been hosting since 2004.  It's usually produced live in the studio and can be heard on both the FM radio band and as a webstream simulcast.  It is rebroadcast on other radio stations, and it's available as a podcast as well.

LIVE RADIO
Global A Go-Go originates in the studios of WRIR Richmond Independent Radio 97.3 FM in Richmond, Virginia, USA, from which it is broadcast live every Sunday from 1 to 3 PM Eastern time USA.  A live broadcast has a certain energy and realness that's hard to duplicate in any other format -- that's what I'm aiming for each week.

WEBSTREAM SIMULCAST
In addition to broadcasting at 97.3 FM in Richmond, WRIR simulcasts its programming on a webstream.  So if you have a broadband connection and a media player, you can listen live to Global A Go-Go from anywhere in the world.

REBROADCASTS
Global A Go-Go is rebroadcast on six radio stations: CKDU 88.1 FM in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada; KRFP Radio Free Moscow 92.5 FM in Moscow, Idaho, USA; WGXC Radio for Open Ears 90.7 FM in Hudson, New York, USA; and the internet radio stations Caribriddims International Radio (caribriddims.com), Chiampa Radio (chiampa.org) and Radio Relaxo (radiorelaxo.radioarcadiagroup.com).  The program is available to be aired by any non-profit radio station free of charge via the A-Infos Radio Project, also known as Radio4all.net.

PODCASTS
There's a comprehensive online archive of Global A Go-Go programs (I'm not kidding about it being comprehensive -- the recordings go all the way back to August 25, 2004) here: radio4all.net/series/Global%20A%20Go-Go

These recordings can be downloaded for your listening pleasure, and you can receive Global A Go-Go every week as a podcast.

In addition, WRIR's website has a listening portal that allows you to stream any program for two weeks after it's been aired.  You can find the listening portal here: wrir.org/listen

Map by Chris (DJ CJ) Dalbom

MUSIC FROM AROUND THE WORLD
IN THE UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE OF GROOVE
I describe Global A Go-Go as "music from around the world in the universal language of groove." In short, you could call it a world music program that emphasizes the danceable over the folkloric.

Global A Go-Go is all about decolonizing your ears.  My goal with this program is to expand your listening horizon: I want more people to listen to more music from outside their own country, language, culture and comfort zone.

You'll hear plenty of newly released music on Global A Go-Go, but I also feature classic and historic recordings on virtually every program.  I play music from all continents (OK, not Antarctica) -- if I tallied everything Africa would certainly come in #1 and South America would probably be #2.  And I do play music from the USA when it fits the context.

GLOBAL IS LOCAL
"World music" is one of those terms that everybody uses but nobody claims to like; I guess I'm that group too. My favorite definition of world music is that it's "local music from somewhere else." That's a pretty good description of my show as well -- most of the artists I play aren't the least bit obscure, they're just popular somewhere other than Richmond, Virginia.

In addition to local music from somewhere else, I play quite a bit of what you might call "culturally hybrid" music -- music that draws on multiple, independent cultural traditions.  Hybridity is a hot topic in academia, but my interest in it is anything but academic.  I'm simply a lifelong fan of music, and to my ears the most interesting, exciting music in the world right now reflects the ever-decreasing distance between cultures in today's world.

I hope you enjoy listening to the program, and I'd certainly be happy to hear from you.  You can leave me a comment on the site, or drop me a line via email at globalagogoradio [at] gmail [dot] com.

Globally yours,
Bill Lupoletti

P.S.  If you'd like me to hear your music for potential airplay (I'll share it with other WRIR DJs as well), you can send recordings to me at this address:

Bill Lupoletti
Assistant Music Director for World Music
WRIR 97.3 FM Richmond Independent Radio
P.O. Box 4787
Richmond, VA  23220
USA