Koo Nimo | Highlife Roots Revival

ARTIST:  Koo Nimo

TITLE:  Highlife Roots Revival

LABEL:  Riverboat 

Palm-wine is a coastal West African musical style with a relaxed, acoustic sound centered on guitar and voice that gained mass popularity in the 1950s.  Its easygoing tempos and mellifluous melodies link it to a variety of tropical genres from the other side of the Atlantic: Trinidadian calypso, Jamaican mento, Dominican bachata, Cuban son and the Garifuna music of Central America all sound like they could be palm-wine’s cousins.

Charts June 10, 2012

WRIR's CMJ New World Top Ten
1 VARIOUS ARTISTS | Sensacional Soul, Vol. 3 | Vampisoul
2 KOTTARASHKY AND THE RAIN DOGS | Demoni | Asphalt Tango
3 BOBAN I MARKO MARKOVIC ORKESTAR | Golden Horns | Piranha
4 HOLLIE COOK | Prince Fatty Presents Hollie Cook In Dub | Mr Bongo
5 LACK OF AFRO | One Way: Remixes And Rarities | Freestyle
6 SOOTHSAYERS | We're Not Leaving | Red Earth
7 HAPPY LUCKY COMBO | Lucky Buddha | self-released
8 EBO TAYLOR | Appia Kwa Bridge | Strut
9 CHICHA LIBRE | Canibalismo | Barbes
10 MOUSSU T E LEI JOVENTS | Empeche-Nous | Le Chant Du Monde

Program June 8, 2012

Some of the best reggae music in the world these days is made in London, where there's a developing sound that connects directly to the classic roots era, that uses dub as an element of performance, and that's ambitiously open to the wide range of influences that are almost inevitable in one of the world's most cosmopolitan cities.

This week on Global A Go-Go, I'll feature an hour of music from a few of my favorite London reggae artists, mostly recent material (including the latest from Little Axe, pictured above) with a little bit of older stuff in the mix -- certainly not a comprehensive look at the London reggae scene, more of a personal perspective on a place where good things are happening.

Kottarashky & The Rain Dogs | Demoni

ARTIST:  Kottarashky & The Rain Dogs

TITLE:  Demoni

LABEL:  Asphalt Tango 

Kottarashky (“Tomcat”) is a Bulgarian electronic musician whose specialty is integrating Balkan and Roma music samples (everything from contemporary tracks to his own field recordings) into the 21st century laptop-music palate.

Boban i Marko Markovic Orkestar | Golden Horns

ARTIST:  Boban i Marko Markovic Orkestar 

TITLE:  Golden Horns 

LABEL:  Piranha

Contemporary Balkan brass band music is the product of a confluence of influences, most directly Roma (gypsy) musical traditions and the Ottoman Empire’s military bands.  The best Balkan brass players are world-class virtuosos (after hearing a few, Miles Davis famously said “I didn’t know you could play the trumpet that way”) and musical omnivores.

Charts June 3, 2012

WRIR's CMJ New World Top Ten
1 THE BOMBAY ROYALE | You Me Bullets Love | Hope Street
2 VARIOUS ARTISTS | Sensacional Soul, Vol. 3 | Vampisoul
3 HAPPY LUCKY COMBO | Lucky Buddha | self-released
4 DAVY GRAHAM | Anthology: 1961-2007 Lost Tapes | Les Cousins
5 EBO TAYLOR | Appia Kwa Bridge | Strut
6 VARIOUS ARTISTS | For Whom The Cowbell Tolls | Electric Cowbell
7 BLACK BAZAR | Black Bazar | Lusafrica
8 DERDIYOKLAR IKILISI | Disco Folk | Guerssen
9 LE SUPER BORGOU DE PARAKOU | The Bariba Sound | Analog Africa
10 THE FUNKEES | Dancing Time: The Best Of Eastern Nigeria's Afro Rock Exponents 1973-77 | Soundway

Program June 1, 2012

What's new in the world of world music this week is -- old.  I'll feature a bunch of reissues from all over the globe, with music influenced by American youth culture of the 60s and 70s, especially soul and psychedelic rock.

Leading off will be Turkey's underrated (so says Istanbulmusic.blogspot.com) Derdiyoklar Ikilisi (unfortunately they're just a duo -- the beardless young man is a rapturous fan).  I don't know much about the guy on the left (Ismail YK), but you won't be hearing him this week, or probably anytime soon, on Global A Go-Go.

Charts May 27, 2012

WRIR's CMJ New World Top Ten
1 VARIOUS ARTISTS | Sensacional Soul, Vol. 3 | Vampisoul
2 HOLLIE COOK | Prince Fatty Presents Hollie Cook In Dub | Mr Bongo
3 SOOTHSAYERS | We're Not Leaving | Red Earth
4 EBO TAYLOR | Appia Kwa Bridge | Strut
5 VARIOUS ARTISTS | For Whom The Cowbell Tolls | Electric Cowbell
6 MOUSSU T E LEI JOVENTS | Empeche-Nous | Le Chant Du Monde
7 LE SUPER BORGOU DE PARAKOU | The Bariba Sound | Analog Africa
8 BOLA | Volume 7 | Awesome Tapes From Africa
9 QUANTIC AND ALICE RUSSELL WITH THE COMBO BARBARO | Look Around The Corner | Tru Thoughts
10 FUNKEES | Dancing Time: The Best Of Eastern Nigeria's Afro Rock Exponents 1973-77 | Soundway

Program May 25, 2012

I've really been enjoying the new album Prince Fatty Presents Hollie Cook In Dub (that's the Prince and Hollie pictured above) this week -- you'll hear a track on today's show, along with a couple of other dubwise recent releases.

Hollie Cook | Prince Fatty Presents Hollie Cook In Dub

ARTIST:  Hollie Cook

TITLE:  Prince Fatty Presents Hollie Cook In Dub

LABEL:  Mr Bongo 

Hollie Cook’s self-titled debut, produced by Mike Pelanconi (aka Prince Fatty), was one of 2011’s feel-good pleasures.  They’re back together on an album of dub remixes, with most of the source tracks coming from that debut.

Charts May 20, 2012

WRIR's CMJ New World Top Ten
1 HAPPY LUCKY COMBO | Lucky Buddha | self-released
2 LE SUPER BORGOU DE PARAKOU | The Bariba Sound | Analog Africa
3 FUNK ARK | High Noon | ESL Music
4 GALACTIC | Carnivale Electricos | Anti-
5 HOLLIE COOK | Prince Fatty Presents Hollie Cook In Dub | Mr Bongo
6 LACK OF AFRO | One Way: Remixes And Rarities | Freestyle
7 VARIOUS ARTISTS | Sensacional Soul, Vol. 3 | Vampisoul
8 EBO TAYLOR | Appia Kwa Bridge | Strut
9 DERDIYOKLAR IKILISI | Disco Folk | Guerssen
10 JOAN SORIANO | La Familia Soriano | iASO

Program May 18, 2012

Galactic (pictured above), New Orleans' house band and one of the finest global funk combos anywhere, visits Richmond this week on their never-ending tour -- they're playing at the Dominion Riverrock Festival on Saturday night.

Lack Of Afro | One Way

ARTIST:  Lack Of Afro

TITLE:  One Way: Remixes & Rarities

LABEL:  Freestyle 

Exeter, UK-based producer and multi-instrumentalist Adam Gibbons goes by the alias “Lack Of Afro.

Sensacional Soul, Vol. 3

ARTIST:  various artists

TITLE:  Sensacional Soul, Vol. 3: 28 Spanish Soul Stompers 1966/1976

LABEL:  Vampisoul 

Here’s another Vampisoul series that, like Gozalo! Bugalu Tropical, just keeps on rolling into a third volume of very worthwhile material.

Charts May 13, 2012

WRIR's CMJ New World Top Ten
1 SOOTHSAYERS | We're Not Leaving | Red Earth
2 GALACTIC | Carnivale Electricos | Anti-
3 EBO TAYLOR | Appia Kwa Bridge | Strut
4 VARIOUS ARTISTS | For Whom The Cowbell Tolls | Electric Cowbell
5 MOUSSU T E LEI JOVENTS | Empeche-Nous | Le Chant Du Monde
6 LE SUPER BORGOU DE PARAKOU | The Bariba Sound | Analog Africa
7 QUANTIC AND ALICE RUSSELL WITH THE COMBO BARBARO | Look Around The Corner | Tru Thoughts
8 MARIEM HASSAN | El Aaiun Egdat (El Aaiun On Fire) | Nubenegra
9 FUNK ARK | High Noon | ESL Music
10 BALOJI | Kinshasa Succursale | Crammed