Program April 15, 2015

Photo by Alyssa C. Salomon

Richmond Independent Radio's Spring 2015 Fund Drive is currently underway; it continues through Tuesday April 21.  We're intending to raise $35,000 in this spring's drive, which will keep WRIR doing all the great things it does 24/7 for the next six months.

We'd really appreciate your support in keeping community radio radio strong in Richmond -- WRIR is celebrating its tenth anniversary this year, and we're building to make the next ten years even better.  You can make a donation in one of three ways:

1. By visiting our secure online donation site at http://bitly.com/Donate2Wrir
2. By calling 804-622-9747
3. Or by visiting us in person at 1621-B W. Broad Street (2nd floor)

As always, I have something special lined up for my listeners during the fund drive.  The Afro-Zen Allstars, one of Richmond's most exciting new bands, will be performing live on Global A Go-Go on Wednesday April 15; the band is scheduled to hit the airwaves at 3:15 PM.

Afro-Zen is an octet led by George Lowe, formerly of Rattlemouth; the band plays George's arrangements of classic African material by Mulatu Astatke, Thomas Mapfumo, Bembeya Jazz and others.  And it's a true all star ensemble, featuring members of some of Richmond's most illustrious groups: Bio Rimo, No BS! Brass, Hotel X and many more.

As a special incentive to get you to donate, I will personally match the first $500 that is donated during my program, starting on Wednesday at 3 PM.  So put my money where my mouth is -- donate during Global A Go-Go and your contribution will be doubled.  And don't forget to tune in, on the airwaves at 97.3 FM or online at http://wrir.org/tunein.

Thank you for your support in the past, and thank you for considering making a donation during WRIR's Spring 2015 Fund Drive!

Follow me below the fold, if you'd like, for a little more inspiration ...

Charts April 13, 2015

WRIR's CMJ New World Top Ten
1 VARIOUS ARTISTS | Next Stop Soweto, Vol. 4: Zulu Rock, Afro-Disco And Mbaqanga 1975-1985 | Strut
2 LE VENT DU NORD | Tetu | Borealis
3 BUENA VISTA SOCIAL CLUB | Lost And Found | World Circuit
4 VERY BEST | Makes A King | Moshi Moshi
5 VARIOUS ARTISTS | Chicas! Vol. 2: Spanish Female Singers 1963-1978 | Vampisoul
6 FATOUMATA DIAWARA AND ROBERTO FONSECA | At Home: Live In Marciac | Jazz Village
7 OS BRAZOES | Os Brazoes | Mr Bongo
8 DENGUE FEVER | The Deepest Lake | Tuk Tuk
9 ABELARDO BARROSO Y LA ORQUESTA SENSACION | Cha Cha Cha | World Circuit
10 BKO QUINTET | Bamako Today | Buda Musique

Program April 8, 2015

electricjive.blogspot.com

We'll dig deep into Zulu music this week on Global A Go-Go, with a set of maskanda (the music of Zulu troubadors) and another of mbaqanga (which is basically what happened when maskanda met American R&B and funk).

You'll hear South African superstars like Mahlathini & The Girls Of Mgqashiyo (pictured above) and Busi Mhlongo plus a host of deep, deep cuts, all very suitable for dancing.

Also this week: Cuban classics, and folk-rock from around the world.

Charts April 6, 2015

WRIR's CMJ New World Top Ten
1 KUF KNOTZ | A Positive Light | Ropeadope
2 BUENA VISTA SOCIAL CLUB | Lost And Found | World Circuit
3 SKINTS | FM | Easy Star
4 VARIOUS ARTISTS | Chicas! Vol. 2: Spanish Female Singers 1963-1978 | Vampisoul
5 BLUEBEATERS | Everybody Knows | Record Kicks
6 DENGUE FEVER | The Deepest Lake | Tuk Tuk
7 VARIOUS ARTISTS | 25 Years Of Mr Bongo: 1989-2014 | Mr Bongo
8 MANUEL DIOGO | Music Of Angola | ARC
9 DOM LA NENA | Soyo | Six Degrees
10 LOVE STAR | Espectro: Capitulo Uno | self-released

Buena Vista Social Club | Lost And Found

ARTIST: Buena Vista Social Club
TITLE: Lost And Found
LABEL: World Circuit
Orquesta Buena Vista Social Club (BVSC) is on a farewell world tour, so World Circuit has gone to its archives to find previously unreleased tracks from the artists who made old-fashioned Cuban music an unexpected worldwide sensation. To no one’s surprise, there’s plenty of good stuff in the vaults.

Le Vent Du Nord | Tetu

ARTIST: Le Vent Du Nord
TITLE: Tetu
LABEL: Borealis
Richmond music fans might be well acquainted with Le Vent Du Nord (The North Wind): the French-Canadian folk quartet has highlighted two editions of the Richmond Folk Festival, most recently last year’s.

The Very Best | Makes A King

ARTIST: The Very Best
TITLE: Makes A King
LABEL: Moshi Moshi
The Very Best is a London-based duo of Malawian singer Esau Mwamwaya and Swedish producer Johan Hugo; they recorded their third album (they also have two full-length mixtapes to their credit) on the shores of Lake Malawi.

April 2015 Concert Calendar

https://luminatofestival.com/festival/2013/dakhabrakha

April's Global A Go-Go picks:

1. Ukrainian "ethno-chaos" combo DakhaBrakha (pictured above), who wowed a Richmond audience in November, return to the region on Thursday April 2 with a performance at DC's Sixth & I Historic Synagogue
2. Amazing Chilean rapper Ana Tijoux makes a rare appearance in the USA on Wednesday April 15 at the Black Cat in DC
3. Powerhouse dance band Tal National from Niger will have the crowd moving at Tropicalia in DC on Friday April 17
4. The Ukelele Orchestra of Great Britain, who must be heard to be believed, visit Strathmore in Bethesda on Sunday April 26
   

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.

Program April 1, 2015

Dateline: Richmond, Virginia
April 1, 2015
For Immediate Release

WRIR has been a pace-setter among low-power FM radio stations since it was founded in 2005: it had the largest service area of any LPFM, it was the first LPFM to carry National Public Radio programs, and it was the first to serve as its home city's official emergency broadcaster.

Now WRIR sets the pace once again by announcing that it is selling out to iHeartMedia (formerly Clear Channel Communications), America's largest owner of radio stations, with the sale closing on April 1, 2015.  Terms are undisclosed.

Charts March 30, 2015

WRIR's CMJ New World Top Ten
1 FATOUMATA DIAWARA AND ROBERTO FONSECA | At Home: Live In Marciac | Jazz Village
2 BLUEBEATERS | Everybody Knows | Record Kicks
3 VARIOUS ARTISTS | Next Stop Soweto, Vol. 4: Zulu Rock, Afro-Disco And Mbaqanga 1975-1985 | Strut
4 E.T. MENSAH AND THE TEMPOS | King Of Highlife Anthology | RetroAfric
5 KUF KNOTZ | A Positive Light | Ropeadope
6 GINGER JOHNSON & HIS AFRICAN MESSENGERS | "I Jool Omo" / "Talking Drum" [Single] | Freestyle
7 VARIOUS ARTISTS | Chicas! Vol. 2: Spanish Female Singers 1963-1978 | Vampisoul
8 SKINTS | FM | Easy Star
9 DENGUE FEVER | The Deepest Lake | Tuk Tuk
10 BABA COMMANDANT AND THE MANDINGO BAND | Juguya | Sublime Frequencies

Program March 25, 2015

I thought it was pretty cool when I had a Brazilian musician on my show a few weeks ago (see http://www.globalagogo.com/2015/02/program-february-20-2015.html for details).  This week, I have a whole Brazilian band playing live in the studio.

All the way from Porto Alegre (nearly as far south as you can go in Brazil) come Marcelo Fruet & Os Cozinheiros.  They're working their way across the USA, including a stop at SXSW in Austin last week, and they're in Richmond now.  And you'll hear them play live on Global A Go-Go starting at about 4:00 on Wednesday.

Also this week: what would Yma Sumac fronting The Mamas & The Papas sound like?, and the Senegambian sound.  Plus I'll be giving away a pair of tickets to see tUnE-yArDs at the National on March 30 with Son Lux and Richmond SXSW heroes Avers.

Charts March 23, 2015

WRIR's CMJ New World Top Ten
1 BABA COMMANDANT AND THE MANDINGO BAND | Juguya | Sublime Frequencies
2 E.T. MENSAH AND THE TEMPOS | King Of Highlife Anthology | RetroAfric
3 BKO QUINTET | Bamako Today | Buda Musique
4 OS BRAZOES | Os Brazoes | Mr Bongo
5 KASSE MADY DIABATE | Kirike | Six Degrees
6 BOUBACAR TRAORE | Mbalimaou | Lusafrica
7 SAMBA TOURE | Gandadiko | Glitterbeat
8 VERCKY'S ET L'ORCHESTRE VEVE | Congolese Funk, Afrobeat And Psychedelic Rumba 1969-1978 | Analog Africa
9 VARIOUS ARTISTS | The Afrosound Of Colombia, Vol. 2 | Vampisoul
10 TOM ZE | Tom Ze | Mr Bongo

The Bluebeaters | Everybody Knows

ARTIST: The Bluebeaters
TITLE: Everybody Knows
LABEL: Record Kicks
Versions (we call them covers) have long been a staple of Jamaican popular music. The Bluebeaters are an Italian band that specializes in ska and rocksteady versions of, shall we say, unlikely material.

Chicas! Vol.2: Spanish Female Singers 1963-1978

ARTIST: various artists
TITLE: Chicas! Vol. 2: Spanish Female Singers 1963-1978
LABEL: Vampisoul
Here’s volume 2 of Vampisoul’s look at Spanish female singers of the ye-ye period. On one level, this stuff is disposable pop music that was discarded decades ago (hence its current obscurity); on another, it’s a fascinating document of an era when Spain was striving to join first-world Europe and women were achieving some grudging liberation.

Fatoumata Diawara & Roberto Fonseca | At Home: Live In Marciac

ARTIST: Fatoumata Diawara & Roberto Fonseca
TITLE: At Home: Live In Marciac
LABEL: Jazz Village
This is one of those pairings that seems arbitrary but turns out to be so, so right. Roberto Fonseca is a stunningly virtuosic Cuban pianist; he came to fame as Ruben Gonzalez’s replacement in the Buena Vista Social Club, and he’s carving out a career at the edges of jazz, Afro-Cuban music and funk. Fatoumata Diawara is a Malian singer-songwriter-guitarist who started as an actor and whose debut solo album earned her rave reviews.