Comrade Fatso & Chabvondoka | Korokoza

ARTIST:  Comrade Fatso & Chabvondoka feat Outspoken & Lassana Diabate 

TITLE:  Korokoza 

LABEL:  Nomadic Wax 

REVIEW:  Zimbabwean poet-rapper-bandleader Comrade Fatso calls his mash-up of hip hop, spoken word and mbira music “Toyi Toyi Poetry.”  His self-released album House Of Hunger was one of my favorites in 2009; he’s finally back with a new single and video, with the support of the folks at Nomadic Wax.

DJ Rekha & Dave Sharma | Pyar Baile

ARTIST:  DJ Rekha & Dave Sharma
TITLE:  Pyar Baile
LABEL:  Beat Bazaar 
REVIEW:  New York-based DJ Rekha Malhotra’s Basement Bhangra and Bollywood Disco series have made Indian electronic dance music part of the NYC club scene since 1997.  Here’s a song from her decks that adds some Brazilian baile funk flavor to the bhangra, along with a dash of Afrika Bambaataa-era electro.

The Pinker Tones | Special 10th Anniversary Edition

ARTIST:  The Pinker Tones

TITLE:  Special 10th Anniversary Edition

LABEL:  Nacional
REVIEW:  Barcelona’s The Pinker Tones are one of the really great, smart pop bands of the 21st century. They started as essentially a laptop band; their sound palate and influences have expanded through the years, but they’ve never lost the “let’s put on a show” fun that’s at the heart of their appeal.

Program January 6, 2012

Cumbia, the clip-clop rhythm that came out of Colombia in the 19th century, is in the midst of a great evolution.  Musicians around the world are fusing it with their own genres, sampling it, funking it up, rapping over it, remixing their songs to it, and re-imagining it in countless ways.

This week on Global A Go-Go, I'll devote the full two hours to my favorite nueva cumbia recordings of the last decade.  Put on your pointy boots and dance along.

Back in Business

As a lot of folks did, I switched my website's domain name registrar last week because I didn't want to be in business with a company that supported the Stop Online Piracy Act.  Because the switch can take time to become effective, and because I'm none too savvy about these things, my blog was down for a few days.

But now I'm back in business; shortly I'll have a brand-new episode of Global A Go-Go to write about, and I hope to post my first few reviews of the year this week as well.  Bonne annee!

Program December 30, 2011: The Best of the Rest in 2011

This week I'll play 21 songs from this year that, for one reason or another, didn't make it onto my first two "Best of 2011" programs but I think merit another spin.

Program December 23, 2011: Top Ten Reissues of 2011

This week, it's part two of Global A Go-Go's look at the best recordings of 2011.  This time, the focus is on reissues and compilations.  Click "Read More" to see my top ten list, plus an additional ten runners-up.

Program December 16, 2011: Top Ten New Releases of 2011

Dude!  It's time for my favorite program of the year -- the one where I reveal my top ten new releases of 2011, Global A Go-Go stylee, plus ten (or so) runners-up.  Click "Read More" to see the winners.

Charts December 11, 2011

WRIR's CMJ New World Top Ten
1 VARIOUS ARTISTS | The Original Sound Of Cumbia | Soundway
2 THE BACHATA LEGENDS | The Bachata Legends | iASO
3 FRENTE CUMBIERO | Meets Mad Professor | Vampisoul
4 GUELEWAR | Halleli N' Dakarou | Teranga Beat
5 ZDOB SI ZDUB | Basta Mafia! | Asphalt Tango
6 SIBIRI SAMAKE | Dambe Foli | Kanaga System Krush
7 CAMBODIAN SPACE PROJECT | 2011: A Space Odyssey | Metal Postcard
8 LOS DESTELLOS | Constelacion | Secret Stash
9 VARIOUS ARTISTS | El Sonido De Tupac Amaru | Masstropicas
10 VARIOUS ARTISTS | Bachata Roja: Amor Y Amargue | iASO

The Bachata Legends | The Bachata Legends

ARTIST:  The Bachata Legends 

TITLE:  The Bachata Legends 

LABEL:  iASO 

REVIEW:  Bachata is a guitar-based style from the Dominican Republic, related to bolero, merengue and son, that has long been popular at home – it’s the country music of the DR.

The Original Sound Of Cumbia

ARTIST:  various artists 

TITLE:  The Original Sound Of Cumbia: The History Of Colombian Cumbia & Porro As Told By The Phonograph, 1948-1979 

LABEL:  Soundway 

REVIEW:  DJ/musician/producer Will Holland, aka “Quantic,” is a cumbia fanatic.  With cumbia in a worldwide renaissance, he’s not the only one.  But he’s such a fanatic that he moved from to Colombia five years ago to be closer to the motherlode.

Program December 9, 2011

Will Holland (aka Quantic, pictured above) is a British DJ, musician and producer who moved to Colombia five years ago so he could be closer to the source material that was inspiring him -- cumbia.  Will's remarkable compilation The Original History Of Cumbia has just been released, and you'll hear two tracks from it on this week's program.

Charts December 4, 2011

WRIR's CMJ New World Top Ten
1 VIJANA JAZZ BAND | The Koka Koka Sex Battalion | Sterns
2 BLACK TRUTH RHYTHM BAND | Ifetayo | Soundway
3 DAWDA JOBARTEH | Northern Light Gambian Night | Sterns
4 GUELEWAR | Halleli N' Dakarou | Teranga Beat
5 HINDI ZAHRA | Handmade | Naive
6 IDRISSA DIOP & CHEIKH TIDIANE TALL | Diamonoye Tiopite | Teranga Beat
7 SIBIRI SAMAKE | Dambe Foli | Kanaga System Krush
8 JONI HAASTRUP | Wake Up Your Mind | Soundway
9 SEE-I | Remixed | Fort Knox
10 SIA TOLNO | My Life | Lusafrica

Black Truth Rhythm Band | Ifetayo

ARTIST:  Black Truth Rhythm Band

TITLE:  Ifetayo 

LABEL:  Soundway

REVIEW:  The ongoing project to reissue every international funk record ever recorded continues apace.  Soundway, which have been doing a bang-up job in Caribbean crate-digging over the last few years, has unearthed a gem here.

Dawda Jobarteh | Northern Light Gambian Night

ARTIST:  Dawda Jobarteh 

TITLE:  Northern Light Gambian Night 

LABEL:  Sterns 

REVIEW:  Dawda Jobarteh, a native of The Gambia in West Africa, is the scion of a long line of kora players.