Program May 3, 2013

This week I'm pleased to debut (certainly on WRIR and perhaps in the USA, who knows?) a new compilation of 60s-70s vintage Roma pop 45s from the former Yugoslavia, dug and released (licensed as well, of course) by two enterprising young British vinyl collectors.  You can read about their adventures in Skopje and Belgrade here:

http://www.icrates.org/rare-roma-gypsy-vinyl-vlax-stand-up

I'll play a track by Muharem Serbezovski (pictured above), one of the most popular singers Macedonia has produced (despite appearances, he's not the token Macedonian on the Starship Enterprise), along with some groovy related Greek and Turkish music.

Charts April 28, 2013

WRIR's CMJ New World Top Ten
1 ORCHESTRA SUPER MAZEMBE | Mazembe @ 45 Rpm Vol.1 | Sterns
2 BOMBINO | Nomad | Nonesuch
3 KOBO TOWN | Jumbie In The Jukebox | Cumbancha
4 CRIOLO | No Na Orelha | Sterns
5 CHICHA LIBRE | Cuatro Tigres | Barbes
6 SORIE KONDI | Thogolobea | Dutty Artz
7 BOMBA ESTEREO | Elegancia Tropical | Soundway
8 VARIOUS ARTISTS | Pop Yeh Yeh: Psychedelic Rock From Singapore And Malaysia - 1964-1970 | Sublime Frequencies
9 VARIOUS ARTISTS | The Rough Guide To The Music Of Senegal | World Music Network
10 PALENKE SOULTRIBE | Mar | Soultribe

Orchestra Super Mazembe | Mazembe @ 45 RPM Vol. 1

ARTIST: Orchestra Super Mazembe
TITLE: Mazembe @ 45 RPM Vol. 1
LABEL: Sterns
Super Mazembe was a popular Congolese export band: they left the Republic in 1970 in search of greener fields, spending time in Zambia and Tanzania before achieving major success in Kenya starting in 1977.  This fine new album, compiled by Doug Paterson for Sterns, assembles nine of Super Mazembe’s best singles from the Kenyan years 1977 to 1979.

Program April 26, 2013

On last week's show, you heard some of the newest in Afro-tronica; this week, it's the latest and greatest cumbia-tronica: nueva cumbia from Palenke Soultribe, Raul Y Meixa, Systema Solar (pictured above) and more.

Charts April 21, 2013

WRIR's CMJ New World Top Ten
1 DIEUF-DIEUL DE THIES | Aw Sa Yone Vol. 1 | Teranga Beat
2 BASSEKOU KOUYATE & NGONI BA | Jama Ko | Out|Here
3 ORQUESTA EL MACABEO | Salsa Bestial | Vampisoul
4 BARRINGTON LEVY | Sweet Reggae Music 1979-84 | VP
5 BOMBINO | Nomad | Nonesuch
6 OLIVER MTUKUDZI & THE BLACK SPIRITS | Sarawoga | Tuku Music
7 ORCHESTRA SUPER MAZEMBE | Mazembe @ 45 Rpm Vol.1 | Sterns
8 CARBON LEAF | Ghost Dragon Attacks Castle | Constant Ivy
9 CHICHA LIBRE | Cuatro Tigres | Barbes
10 SORIE KONDI | Thogolobea | Dutty Artz

Program April 19, 2013

This week on Global A Go-Go, you'll hear a band whose debut album is merely 31 years late.  The 1982 recording session of Senegal's Dieuf-Dieul De Thies (pictured above) never did get released back then; you can buy it for the first time on Record Store Day 2013.

Dieuf-Dieul De Thies | Aw Sa Yone Vol. 1

ARTIST: Dieuf-Dieul De Thies
TITLE: Aw Sa Yone Vol. 1
LABEL: Teranga Beat
The late 70s and early 80s was a time of great musical fertility in Senegal and Gambia, with bands like Etoile De Dakar, Orchestra Baobab and Guelewar all releasing seminal recordings. Apparently it was such a competitive environment that some outstanding combos never managed to release a single cassette.

April 2013 Concert Calendar

 April's Global A Go-Go picks:

1. Colombia's Bomba Estereo (pictured above), one of the world's hottest bands right now, at the historic Howard Theatre in Washington on Tuesday April 9
2. The University of Richmond's annual Global Sounds concert: music from Japan, Indonesia, West Africa, India and Brazil, outdoor in the U of R's Greek Theatre on Saturday April 13
3. Anais Mitchell and Jefferson Hamer performing British ballads collected by F.J. Child (and from their new album) at Jammin' Java in Vienna on Sunday April 21

Have an event you'd like me to include, or a suggestion for the concert calendar?  Just drop me a line at globalagogoradio [at] gmail [dot] com, or leave me a message right here.

Click "Read more" to see the entire April calendar.

Charts April 14, 2013

WRIR's CMJ New World Top Ten
1 BARRINGTON LEVY | Sweet Reggae Music 1979-84 | VP
2 BOMBINO | Nomad | Nonesuch
3 BASSEKOU KOUYATE & NGONI BA | Jama Ko | Out|Here
4 CARBON LEAF | Ghost Dragon Attacks Castle | Constant Ivy
5 CRIOLO | No Na Orelha | Sterns
6 VARIOUS ARTISTS | Rough Guide To Latin Psychedelia | World Music Network
7 OLIVER MTUKUDZI & THE BLACK SPIRITS | Sarawoga | Tuku Music
8 GRAVEOLA | Eu Preciso De Um Liquidificador (I Need A Food Processor) | Mais Um Discos
9 KOBO TOWN | Jumbie In The Jukebox | Cumbancha
10 VARIOUS ARTISTS | Dabke: Sounds Of The Syrian Houran | Sham Palace

Bombino | Nomad

ARTIST: Bombino
TITLE: Nomad
LABEL: Nonesuch
Omara Moctar is a young (hence the Italian nickname) Tuareg guitarist, singer and bandleader who hails from Niger. Sublime Frequencies’ Guitars From Agadez series brought Bombino to the world’s attention, and his Western debut Agadez for Cumbancha and subsequent live appearances put him at the forefront of the desert blues explosion.

Oliver Mtukudzi & The Black Spirits | Sarawoga

ARTIST: Oliver Mtukudzi & The Black Spirits
TITLE: Sarawoga
LABEL: Tuku Music
Oliver Mtukudzi is one of African music’s living legends. Mtukudzi’s recordings, along with those of his friendly rival Thomas Mapfumo, have introduced millions of non-Africans to the glorious popular music of Zimbabwe, largely derived from tunes played on the traditional mbira thumb-piano.

Program April 12, 2013

Spiteri (pictured above) was a band of Venezuelans living in London in the 1970's.  For a brief moment, long enough to record one album but not much longer, they were England's answer to Santana.  You'll hear them and some other guitar heroes on this week's edition of Global A Go-Go.

Charts April 7, 2013

WRIR's CMJ New World Top Ten
1 KOBO TOWN | Jumbie In The Jukebox | Stonetree/Cumbancha
2 BASSEKOU KOUYATE & NGONI BA | Jama Ko | Out|Here
3 GRAVEOLA | Eu Preciso De Um Liquidificador (I Need A Food Processor) | Mais Um Discos
4 CARBON LEAF | Ghost Dragon Attacks Castle | Constant Ivy
5 ORCHESTRA SUPER MAZEMBE | Mazembe @ 45RPM Vol. 1 | Sterns
6 CRIOLO | No Na Orelha | Sterns
7 VARIOUS ARTISTS | Rough Guide To Latin Psychedelia | World Music Network
8 BOMBA ESTEREO | Elegancia Tropical | Soundway
9 BARRINGTON LEVY | Sweet Reggae Music 1979-84 | VP
10 BABA SALAH | Dangay (The North) | Studio Mali

Carbon Leaf | Ghost Dragon Attacks Castle

ARTIST: Carbon Leaf
TITLE: Ghost Dragon Attacks Castle
LABEL: Constant Ivy
OK, so what’s a Richmond mainstream rock band doing in the world music section?

Graveola | Eu Preciso De Um Liquidificador

ARTIST: Graveola
TITLE: Eu Preciso De Um Liquidificador (I Need A Food Processor)
LABEL: Mais Um Discos
Graveola (the band’s full name is Graveola e o Lixo Polifonico, or “Graveola and the Polyphonic Garbage”) is a new, young rock band from Belo Horizonte, Brazil. Borrowing a phrase from the 1960’s tropicalistas, they call their sound “carnival-cannibalism,” and as you might expect Brazil’s indigenous psych-rock movement is a major influence on the band.