Program November 29, 2017

Classically-trained Western musicians like the Kronos Quartet (pictured above) are schooled in centuries-old tradition. Mande musicians like Trio Da Kali (also pictured above) are heirs to a practice that dates back to Europe’s medieval period.

This week on Global A Go-Go, you'll hear another track from the new collaboration by those two bands, an album that will be on many critics' best-of-2017 lists.  You'll also hear three other examples of Kronos playing African music, in collaboration with Malian Rokia Traore, Kevin Volans of South Africa and Zimbabwe's Dumisane Maraire.

Also this week: Asian sounds from Indonesia, Mongolia and Tuva; a cumbia-salsa mashup; and the propulsive sounds of Colombian champeta.

Charts November 26, 2017

WRIR's NACC World Top Ten
1 HAMAD KALKABA AND THE GOLDEN SOUNDS | 1974-1975 | Analog Africa
2 STRICTLY THE BEST, VOL. 56 | various artists | VP
3 GILI YALO | Gili Yalo | Dead Sea
4 LES FILLES DE ILLIGHADAD | Eghass Malan | Sahel Sounds
5 BOUBACAR TRAORE | Dounia Tabolo | Lusafrica
6 EXPANDERS, THE | Old Time Something Come Back Again, Vol. 2 | Easy Star
7 LA MISA NEGRA | La Misa Negra | NAM Entertainment
8 BANDA MAGDA | Tigre | GroundUP / Verve
9 RUMPUT | Rumput | self-released
10 LEILA GOBI | 2017 | Clermont

Les Filles De Illighadad | Eghass Malan

ARTIST: Les Filles De Illighadad
TITLE: Eghass Malan
LABEL: Sahel Sounds
The music we refer to as desert blues and Touregs call la guitare or assouf is a modern construct – it was invented by exiles in Algeria and Libya in the 1970s.

Hamad Kalkaba & The Golden Sounds | 1974-1975

ARTIST: Hamad Kalkaba & The Golden Sounds
TITLE: 1974-1975
LABEL: Analog Africa
This album contains the complete recorded output of Hamad Kalkaba Malboum, who led Cameroon’s Republican Guard Orchestra as a young man and left music to focus on his military career and on athletics.

Program November 15, 2017

Desert blues from the Sahara is music that has been played almost exclusively by men -- until now.  Les Filles De Illighadad (pictured above) are an all-female band playing in the style Tuaregs call assouf or la guitare.  You'll hear a track from their new album this week on Global A Go-Go.

Also this week: Hamad Kalkaba, a new addition to the West African authenticite pantheon; the sound of Colombia's Pacific coast; and remixers take on Latin dance classics.

Charts November 12, 2017

WRIR's NACC World Top Ten
1 various artists | SWEET AS BROKEN DATES: LOST SOMALI TAPES FROM THE HORN OF AFRICA | Ostinato
2 BOUBACAR TRAORE | Dounia Tabolo | Lusafrica
3 DA CRUZ | Eco Do Futuro | Boom Jah/Broken Silence
4 LOS CAMAROES | Resurrection Los | Analog Africa
5 EXPANDERS, THE | Old Time Something Come Back Again, Vol. 2 | Easy Star
6 CHOPTEETH AFROFUNK BIG BAND | Bone Reader | self-released
7 PROFESSOR WOUASSA | Grow Yes Yes | Matasuma
8 LES FILLES DE ILLIGHADAD | Eghass Malan | Sahel Sounds
9 MISTA SAVONA | Presents Havana Meets Kingston | 17 North Parade
10 M.D. AND THE HEALERS | Welcome To Babylon [EP] | Rebel Sound

Program November 8, 2017

Bouger bouger!  I'm getting warmed up for the Afropop Dance Thang, where WRIR's DJ Graybeard and I will be throwing down this Saturday at Studio Two Three.  To inspire you to come out for the event, I'll play a set of Afropop dancefloor fillers on this week's show.

Also this week: reggae from the former Soviet Union via Brooklyn, Afrobeat that's not from Nigeria, new music by the man who was the soundtrack of Malian independence in 1960, and the rediscovered sounds of Somalia.

Boubacar Traore | Dounia Tabolo

ARTIST: Boubacar Traore
TITLE: Dounia Tabolo
LABEL: Lusafrica
75 year old Boubacar Traore has been playing his blues-inflected music since Mali gained its independent in 1960.

WRIR's Afropop Dance Thang, Saturday November 11

Hey, if you're in Richmond this weekend here's an event you might want to check out: a rare public sighting of the Global A Go-Go Sound System.

DJ Graybeard of WRIR's The Other Black Music and The Motherland Influence and I will be spinning an evening's worth of our favorite African dance music. We're calling the event the Afropop Dance Thang -- it's happening Saturday November 11 at Studio Two Three, 3300 W. Clay Street in Scott's Addition. Here's our Facebook Event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/178133479408937

Charts November 5, 2017

WRIR's NACC World Top Ten
1 DA CRUZ | Eco Do Futuro | Boom Jah/Broken Silence
2 LA MISA NEGRA | La Misa Negra | NAM Entertainment
3 RUMPUT | Rumput | self-released
4 CANZONIERE GRECANICO SALENTINO | Canzoniere | Ponderosa
5 KRIES | Selo Na Okuke/Village Tracks | Riverboat
6 TRIO DA KALI AND KRONOS QUARTET | Ladilikan | World Circuit
7 BANDA MAGDA | Tigre | GroundUP / Verve
8 LEILA GOBI | 2017 | Clermont
9 OFFA REX | The Queen Of Hearts | Nonesuch
10 BOMBAY ROYALE, THE | Run Kitty Run | HopeStreet

Canzoniere Grecanico Salentino | Canzoniere

ARTIST: Canzoniere Grecanico Salentino
TITLE: Canzoniere
LABEL: Ponderosa
Canzoniere Grecanico Salentino (CGS), from Lecce in the Salentine Peninsula, is Italy’s leading traditional music ensemble.

Da Cruz | Eco Do Futuro

ARTIST: Da Cruz
TITLE: Eco Do Futuro
LABEL: Boom Jah / Broken Silence
Brazilian Mariana Da Cruz was singing bossa nova in Lisbon when she met musician-producer Ane Hebeisen of the Swiss industrial band Swamp Terrorists.

Program November 1, 2017

First of all, I want to thank the over 500 listeners who donated more than $46,000 during WRIR's Fall 2017 Fund Drive, our most successful fund drive of all time.  You made it happen and in record time too: the drive was two days shorter than it's been in recent years!

You can still get in on the action: just visit wrir.org, fill out the online form, and get a boss Fall '17 T-shirt and hoodie.  If you donated and haven't picked up your swag yet, please email fundraising@wrir.org -- we'll set up a time for you to come by and get your premiums.

With things getting back to normal after two fund drive editions of Global A Go-Go, I have a bunch of new music for you to hear, starting with a fabulous album by the band that was for me the revelation of 2016's Richmond Folk Festival, Canzoniere Grecanico Salentino (pictured above).

Other recent releases you'll hear on this week's program include Brit-folk-rockers Offa Rex, Richmond's own Rumput, Kries from Croatia, the rockin' cumbia of La Misa Negra, Afro-sounds from Trio Da Kali & Kronos Quartet and Leila Gobi, Banda Magda's world chanson, and Australia's The Bombay Royale.

Charts October 29, 2017

WRIR's NACC World Top Ten
1 CANZONIERE GRECANICO SALENTINO | Canzoniere | Ponderosa
2 DA CRUZ | Eco Do Futuro | Boom Jah/Broken Silence
3 RUMPUT | Rumput | self-released
4 MEKLIT | When the People Move, The Music Moves Too | Six Degrees
5 ELIDA ALMEIDA | Kebrada | Lusafrica
6 JESSE ROYAL | Lily Of Da Valley | Easy Star
7 ANTIBALAS | Where the Gods Are in Peace | Daptone
8 RAYCE | African Juice | Shanachie
9 ESSO! AFROJAM FUNKBEAT | Juntos | Sonic Octopus
10 LADAMA | Ladama | Six Degrees

Program October 25, 2017

WRIR's Fall 2017 Fund Drive wraps up on Wednesday October 25 at 11 PM.  If you've been waiting until the end of the drive to contribute --- well, now is that time.

We're within shouting distance of our $40,000 goal, so your help right now can push us across the finish line and ensure that WRIR's next six months are filled with great locally produced and nationally sourced music and news programming that provides a true radio alternative, demonstrating that making the public airwaves available to the public results in the highest level of community service.

I'll be doing a special fund drive program this week, answering one of the questions I'm most often asked: "How do you find out about the music you play on Global A Go-Go?"

And I'll be back on the air Wednesday between 7 and 11 PM, encouraging listeners to contribute during the drive's last four hours.  I'd love to be able to announce your name on the air (with your permission, of course), thank you for your support, and say that it's folks like you who make community radio in Richmond an ongoing reality.

We have three easy ways for you to donate:

• Online at http://wrir.org/station/donate
• By calling 804-622-9747
• Or by visiting us in person at 1621-B W. Broad Street (2nd floor)

Thank you for considering it, and extra thanks if you've already contributed this fall.  Love live Richmond Independent Radio!