GLOBAL A GO-GO

January 16, 2011

Charts January 16, 2011

January 13, 2011

Program January 14, 2011

I generally like my reggae music conscious-style, with deep rhythms and heavy lyrics. But there are plenty of great reggae novelty songs as well, and I'll play you a new one (pictured above; it's really dancehall if you want to be precise) that has had me chuckling all week. And I'll surround it with some of those more serious tracks that I usually play ...

Also this week: some rock en espanol from all over the Spanish-speaking world; the Garifuna-Senegal connection; and smoking-hot African dance music that draws its inspiration from Congolese soukous.

Click "Read More" for today's tracklist; click here for a podcast of today's program:

http://www.radio4all.net/index.php/program/48616

The complete catalog of Global A Go-Go podcasts is here:

http://www.radio4all.net/index.php/series/Global+A+Go-Go

ARTIST: various artists

TITLE: Free Africa

LABEL: Le Son Du Maquis

REVIEW: 2010 marked the 50th year of independence for 17 African countries, and prompted some superb reissues focusing on the music of the post-colonial period. Sterns’ 18-CD set Africa - 50 Years Of Music deserves all the praise (and little of the nitpicking) that it’s received. At less than a quarter of the price, this French-released 4-disc package is a worthy budget-conscious alternative. It doesn’t have the deluxe booklet, insightful notes, archival photos or crystal-clear audio of its pricier competitor (most of the tracks sound quite good, but a few have clearly been mastered from less-than-mint vinyl copies). But what it does have is 50 historically significant tracks from all across Africa, recordings made from the mid-60’s (Miriam Makeba’s signature “Pata Pata”) to today (a selection from Bassekou Kouyate & Ngoni Ba’s breakthrough 2010 album I Speak Fula). Many of Africa’s most famous and important artists are represented – Le Grand Kalle, Mulatu Astatqe, Tabu Ley Rochereau, the Rail Band, Manu Dibango, Etoile De Dakar, Bembeya Jazz, Orchestra Baobab, Alpha Blondy, Salif Keita, Baba Maal, Angelique Kidjo and Amadou & Mariam are all here. But for me the highlight of this set is the selection of tracks from great artists who are less-known to unknown in the USA and Europe:

- The stately Mande music of Orchestre National Du Mali (disc 1-track 7)
- Togolese singer Bella Bellow, whose selection here is reminiscent of French ye-ye rock (1-11)

- Ethiopian singer Muluquen Mellesse, less known but no less compelling than his peers Mahmoud Ahmed and Tlahoun Gessesse (2-2)

- Senegal’s Super Diamono, one of the pioneers of mbalax (2-8)

- Zao, the brilliant satirical singer from Congo-Brazzaville (3-2)

- The visionary psychedelic rock of Gambia’s Ifang Bondi (3-10)

- Reggae singer Tiken Jah Fakoly of Cote D’Ivoire, probably the most important politically-oriented musical artist in all of Africa today (4-6)

- Cameroon’s Franck Biyong, whose “Afrolectric” sound is taking Afrobeat in a new direction (4-11)

This set is very highly recommended, both as an excellent introduction to African popular music and as the kind of well-curated set that will inspire folks who are already fans to seek out additional sounds. Nicely done.

REVIEWER: Bill Lupoletti

RECOMMENDED TRACKS:

Disc 1: 7 11 Disc 2: 2 8

Disc 3: 2 10 Disc 4: 6 11

January 9, 2011

Charts January 9, 2011

January 8, 2011

Aurelio | Laru Beya

ARTIST: Aurelio

TITLE: Laru Beya

LABEL: Sub Pop / Next Ambiance

REVIEW: The Garifuna (Black Carib) people of Central America are the descendants of West Africans who survived both the 1675 wreck of a slave ship and their expulsion from the Caribbean to the Central American mainland. Against all odds, Garifuna culture has survived and is now flourishing. The best-known Garifuna singer, Andy Palacio of Belize, was on the verge of international stardom when he died in 2008. With this, his second album, Aurelio Martinez of Honduras now establishes himself as the new standard-bearer for Garifuna musical culture. Garifuna traditional rhythms such as punta (track 5) and the reggae-like paranda (track 11) provide the underpinnings for Aurelio’s beautiful voice and guitar playing. He’s spent a lot of time in Senegal over the last two years, and this album superbly integrates Senegalese and Garifuna styles on several tracks (4 and 7 for example). Ivan Duran’s thoughtful production gives just enough (and not too much) of a world music sheen to make the music accessible to first-world listeners. This album will deservedly make Aurelio a major artist – check him out now.

REVIEWER: Bill Lupoletti

RECOMMENDED TRACKS: 4 5 7 8 11

January 6, 2011

Program January 7, 2011

It's always an auspicious sign when the first new release of the year is a great one. The first new thing I heard in 2008 was Venus On Earth by Dengue Fever, and it ended up as my album of the year that year. 2011 got started with Laru Beya by Honduran Garifuna singer Aurelio Martinez -- it's going to be a strong contender for the year's best as well. You'll hear two tracks from this one on today's program, inside a half-hour set of Garifuna music from across Central America.

Also this week: a little bit of exotica, including a new remake of the extraordinary, inexplicable music of Esquivel; a set of Asian music, from throat singing to psych-rock; and some desert blues-rock, with the emphasis on the rock.

Click "Read More" for today's tracklist; click here for a podcast of today's program:

http://www.radio4all.net/index.php/program/48455

The complete catalog of Global A Go-Go podcasts is here:

http://www.radio4all.net/index.php/series/Global+A+Go-Go

Program December 31, 2010

It's New Year's Eve, and it's time to party with the dude in the leather jacket, aviator shades, brush mustache and dishdasha. That would be Omar Souleyman (pictured above), Syria's king of electronic dabke music. You'll hear that and all flavors of party music tonight on Global A Go-Go, along with shout-outs to some of the cities who'll be ringing in the New Year while my program is in progress.

Thanks to all of you for listening to and supporting Global A Go-Go and WRIR in 2010, and here's to a happy and healthy 2011 for you and your loved ones. And if you're out and about tonight, please don't do anything really stupid -- slightly stupid is OK, but really stupid is dangerous.

Thanks also to Anna G and Fred for filling in for me on Christmas Eve -- I really enjoyed hearing the holiday material they found!

Click "Read More" for today's tracklist; click here for a podcast of today's program:

http://www.radio4all.net/index.php/program/48330

The complete catalog of Global A Go-Go podcasts is here:

http://www.radio4all.net/index.php/series/Global+A+Go-Go

Program December 17, 2010

As promised, today's show covers my favorite reissues and historical compilations of 2010. While it was a good year for new releases, it was a brilliant one for reissues -- fans of African music in particular were treated to an amazing assortment of riches. And with the crate-digging mania strengthening in Latin American and Asia, with any luck we have many more years of the current reissue wave to look forward to.

Anna G from the Tuesday Breakfast Blend will be filling in for me next week on Christmas Eve, bringing you a very Global A Go-Go Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwaanza/your-holiday's-name-here program; I'll be back in the following week, celebrating New Year's Eve in Europe and Africa (places that are five to seven hours ahead of me on the clock) with a killer Global A Go-Go dance party. Peace on earth, good will to all.

Click "Read More" for today's tracklist; click here for a podcast of today's program:

http://www.radio4all.net/index.php/program/48035

The complete catalog of Global A Go-Go podcasts is here:

http://www.radio4all.net/index.php/series/Global+A+Go-Go

Best Of 2010: Reissues

It was truly a great year for reissues and historical compilations -- when I first sat down to compile my favorite releases of 2010, I actually had more reissues on the list than I had new releases, and that's never happened to me before.

What I've dubbed "the race to find every record ever pressed in Africa" continues apace, and some of the folks working in Africa are starting to branch out -- Soundway did their first Asian set this year, both Analog Africa and Soundway went to Colombia. No doubt Antarctica will soon be overrun with crate-diggers ...

Without any further ado, here's my ten favorite reissues and historical compilations of 2010, plus ten runners-up. I've embedded links to my reviews of the recordings on the list. I didn't start posting reviews until May, which is why not all the selections have links.

1. Etoile De Dakar | Once Upon A Time In Senegal: The Birth Of Mbalax 1979-1981 | Sterns
2. Palenque Palenque: Champeta Criolla & Afro Roots In Colombia 1975-91 | Soundway
3. Tabu Ley Rochereau | The Voice Of Lightness, Volume 2: Congo Classics 1977-1993 | Sterns
4. Angola Soundtrack: The Unique Sound Of Luanda 1968-1976 | Analog Africa
5. Afro Rock Volume 1 | Strut
6. The Afrosound Of Colombia, Volume 1 | Vampisoul
7. Next Stop ... Soweto, Volume 1: Township Sounds From The Golden Age Of Mbaqanga | Strut
8. African Pearls: Cote D'Ivoire, West African Crossroads | Syllart
9. Nigeria Afrobeat Special: The New Explosive Sound In 1970's Nigeria | Soundway
10. Salsa Explosion! The New York Salsa Revolution 1968-1985 | Fania/Strut

Honorable mentions:
Afro-Beat Airways: West African Shock Waves, Ghana & Togo 1972-1978 | Analog Africa
African Pearls: Senegal, Echo Musical | Syllart
Antibalas | Who Is This America? | Ropeadope
Egypt Noir: Nubian Soul Treasures | Piranha
Issa Juma & Super Wanyika Stars | World Defeats The Grandfathers: Swinging Swahili Rumba 1982-1986 | Sterns
Koes Bersaudara | To The So-Called "The Guilties" | Sublime Frequencies
Next Stop ... Soweto, Volume 2: Soultown, R&B, Funk & Psych Sounds From The Townships 1969-1976 | Strut
Nigeria Special Volume 2: Modern Highlife, Afro Sounds & Nigerian Blues 1970-6 | Soundway
The Roots Of Chicha 2: Psychedelic Cumbias From Peru | Barbes
The Sound Of Siam: Leftfield Luk Thung, Jazz & Malam In Thailand 1964-1975 | Soundway

The Sound Of Siam

ARTIST: various artists

TITLE: The Sound Of Siam: Leftfield Luk Thung, Jazz & Molam In Thailand 1964-1975

LABEL: Soundway

REVIEW: Soundway, one of the top indie reissue labels in world music, branches out from Africa and Latin America into Asia with this release. As usual with this label, the research and documentation is top-notch. And their angle on Thai music is a bit different from what we usually see – the cheesiness factor is very low, no Western covers and really only one novelty item (it’s a good one, though). Instead, this is a thoughtful exploration of music from Thailand’s northeast, made in Bangkok by rural people who have moved to the big city as Thailand rapidly modernized in the 60’s and 70’s. Western influences of rock, funk and jazz are here, but they’re strictly secondary to a uniquely Asian style of music. A very nicely conceived project that will bring yet another unheralded sound to the attention of adventurous European and American listeners.

REVIEWER: Bill Lupoletti

RECOMMENDED TRACKS:
2 (female vocal) 7 (funky) 9 (novelty) 17 (jazzy) 18 (crime jazz)

December 12, 2010

Charts December 12, 2010

Mr. Ho's Orchestrotica | The Unforgettable Sounds Of Esquivel

ARTIST: Mr. Ho’s Orchestrotica

TITLE: The Unforgettable Sounds Of Esquivel

LABEL: self-released

REVIEW: Mexican composer-bandleader Juan Garcia Esquivel is one of the pioneers of the musical style we now call “exotica” or “space age pop.” The dozen LPs he released in the 50’s and 60’s added extreme stereo effects, bizarrely complex arrangements and esoteric instruments to the middle-of-the-road big-band pop that was in currency – the result sounded something like Mantovani on acid. Esquivel’s musical manuscripts have all been lost, so Brian “Mr. Ho” O’Neill has painstakingly transcribed them for a 23-piece orchestra featuring some of Boston’s best jazz and classical musicians. They need all of their chops because this stuff is wickedly complicated, but they roar through the arrangements and make Esquivel’s decidedly peculiar ideas come alive once again. This record is a pleasure from start to finish; it will delight lounge-music fans, hopefully convert a few new ones as well, and leave you grinning from ear to ear.

REVIEWER: Bill Lupoletti

RECOMMENDED TRACKS: 2 4 8

Angola Soundtrack

ARTIST: various artists
TITLE: Angola Soundtrack: The Unique Sound Of Luanda 1968-1976
LABEL: Analog Africa
REVIEW: Release #9 from Samy Ben Redjeb’s Analog Africa is one of his best ones yet. Angolan music is often overlooked even by most hardcore African music fans, so it’s a real treat to hear these 18 tracks from the early years. Guitar is the key instrument here as it is in the Congo – many of the songs are instrumentals and the lead guitar lines are just lovely, stating and elaborating on the melody in an economical manner that is very similar to rumba Congolaise. Other major musical influences here are Cuban son, Dominican merengue, and on some of the later recordings (like tracks 15, 16 and 17) American rock and funk. Throughout, you also hear a characteristic sourness or bluesiness that’s characteristic of Portuguese fado and is probably one of the musical influences that Angola’s colonial masters brought with them. It all adds up to a unique sound that deserves much wider attention, and hopefully this beautifully-produced collection will bring that attention to Angola’s musical riches. Great music, great project.
REVIEWER: Bill Lupoletti
RECOMMENDED TRACKS: 8 10 15 16 17 18

December 9, 2010

Program December 10, 2010

It's time to recap the year in music, Global A Go-Go stylee. On this week's program, I'll feature my favorite new releases of 2010; on next week's show, it'll be my favorite reissues of the year.

I thought it was a hell of a good year for music, at least for the kind of music I'm interested in. Although the mainstream record industry is collapsing in on itself, there are all kinds of interesting things going on at the margins, where I prefer to hang out.

Of special note are the plethora of superb reissues of historic music from around the world, mostly coming from small independent labels who do great research, license all their tracks, produce beautiful and informative packaging and seem to be selling more than enough units to keep themselves in business. There's a lesson in that somewhere ...

Click "Read More" for today's tracklist; click here for a podcast of today's program:

http://www.radio4all.net/index.php/program/47829

The complete catalog of Global A Go-Go podcasts is here:

http://www.radio4all.net/index.php/series/Global+A+Go-Go

GLOBAL A GO-GO

January 16, 2011

Charts January 16, 2011

January 13, 2011

Program January 14, 2011

Free Africa

January 9, 2011

Charts January 9, 2011

January 8, 2011

Aurelio | Laru Beya

January 6, 2011

Program January 7, 2011

December 30, 2010

Program December 31, 2010

December 16, 2010

Program December 17, 2010

December 14, 2010

Best Of 2010: Reissues

The Sound Of Siam

December 12, 2010

Charts December 12, 2010

Mr. Ho's Orchestrotica | The Unforgettable Sounds Of Esquivel

Angola Soundtrack

December 9, 2010

Program December 10, 2010

Best Of 2010: New Releases

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