Charts March 13, 2016

WRIR's CMJ New World Top Ten
1 SIDESTEPPER | Supernatural Love | Real World
2 VARIOUS ARTISTS | The Rough Guide To South African Jazz (Second Edition) | World Music Network
3 VARIOUS ARTISTS | The Rough Guide To A World Of Psychedelia | World Music Network
4 AZIZA BRAHIM | Abbar El Hamada | Glitterbeat
5 CORTIJO | The Ansonia Years: 1969-1971 | Vampisoul
6 AYMEE NUVIOLA | El Regreso A La Habana | Valorty
7 ADOMAA | Afraba | Vision Inspired Music
8 BANDA DE LOS MUERTOS | Banda De Los Muertos | Barbes
9 ROKIA TRAORE | Ne So | Nonesuch
10 VARIOUS ARTISTS | Czech Up! Vol. 1: Chain Of Fools | Vampisoul

Banda De Los Muertos | Banda De Los Muertos

ARTIST: Banda De Los Muertos
TITLE: Banda De Los Muertos
LABEL: Barbes
Banda is a musical style that, like Norteno, reflects the influence of German immigrants on Mexican culture. Where Norteno uses accordion and bajo sexto, banda has a marching band’s instrumentation: drums, brass and woodwinds.

The Rough Guide To South African Jazz (Second Edition)

ARTIST: various artists
TITLE: The Rough Guide To South African Jazz (Second Edition)
LABEL: World Music Network
Putting together a compilation of South African jazz is like shooting fish in a barrel – there’s so much strong stuff out there, you’re virtually guaranteed to get good results.

Program March 2, 2016

Wherever in the world you go, you'll probably find a brass band tradition there.  This week on Global A Go-Go, we'll hear from a few of those traditions: Mexican banda (as played by NYC's Banda De Los Muertos, pictured above), Balkan brass, West Africa's "sound of metal" and much more.

Also this week: South African marabi jive and jazz, the wonderful new album from Colombia's Sidestepper, and Afrobeat with a psychedelic twist.

Charts February 28, 2016

WRIR's CMJ New World Top Ten
1 ROKIA TRAORE | Ne So | Nonesuch
2 LAKOU MIZIK | Wa Di Yo | Cumbancha Discovery
3 CLIFTONES | Enemies Scatter | Rebel Sound
4 LUKA PRODUCTIONS | Mali Kady | Sahelsounds
5 BAABA MAAL | The Traveller | Palm / Marathon Artists
6 RAM | 6: Manman M Se Ginen | self-released
7 ADAMA YALOMBA | Waati Sera | Studio Mali
8 PROTOJE | Ancient Future | Mr Bongo
9 SOLAS | All These Years | self-released
10 MARTA REN AND THE GROOVELVETS | Stop Look Listen | Record Kicks

Sidestepper | Supernatural Love

ARTIST: Sidestepper
TITLE: Supernatural Love
LABEL: Real World
Richard Blair is an English producer and engineer who decamped to Colombia in 1993 in search of new rhythms to pair with his electronic beat-making.

Rokia Traore | Ne So

ARTIST: Rokia Traore
TITLE: Ne So
LABEL: Nonesuch
Rokia Traore, one of the world’s most original musical artists, is back with the sixth album in her 18-year recording career.

Program February 24, 2016

I've been getting deep into Haitian music of late, and there's a new band from Haiti that I'm excited about.  They're called Lakou Mizik (pictured above); they're a nine-piece, multi-generational, multi-genre ensemble.  Lakou's debut album comes out in April; this week you'll hear their take on mizik rasin ("roots music" in Haitian creole) alongside three older Hatian combos.

Also this week: new Malian music from Rokia Traore and Adama Yalomba, current Afro-tronica by Baaba Maal and Luka Productions (as promised last week but pre-empted by my interview with Olivier Conan), and some reggae to get us started.

Charts February 21, 2016

WRIR's CMJ New World Top Ten
1 AZIZA BRAHIM | Abbar El Hamada | Glitterbeat
2 VARIOUS ARTISTS | The Rough Guide To A World Of Psychedelia | World Music Network
3 VARIOUS ARTISTS | Senegal 70: Sonic Gems And Previously Unreleased Recordings From The 70's | Analog Africa
4 VARIOUS ARTISTS | Czech Up! Vol. 1: Chain Of Fools | Vampisoul
5 DOS SANTOS ANTI-BEAT ORQUESTA | Dos Santos | Alebrije
6 AMANAR | Tumastin | Sahelsounds
7 RAZTERIA | Aventurera | Asteria
8 ADNAN OTHMAN | Bershukor: A Retrospective Of Hits By A Malaysian Pop Yeh Yeh Legend | Sublime Frequencies
9 LAKOU MIZIK | Wa Di Yo | Cumbancha Discovery
10 GEPE | Estilo Libre | Quemasucabeza

Lakou Mizik | Wa Di Yo

ARTIST: Lakou Mizik
TITLE: Wa Di Yo
LABEL: Cumbancha Discovery
Here’s the first album from Lakou Mizik, a new nine-piece multi-generational, multi-idiom band from Haiti.

The Rough Guide To A World Of Psychedelia

ARTIST: various artists
TITLE: The Rough Guide To A World Of Psychedelia
LABEL: World Music Network
Here’s a pro tip: the fastest, cheapest way to build a useful music collection is to make liberal use of compilation albums, where top-notch compilers have thematically selected deep, outstanding tracks from a wide variety of artists.

Program February 17, 2016

Last week, I played music from 26 different countries in two hours on Global A Go-Go -- I wasn't trying to make a point, it's just how things worked out.  Perhaps more surprising is this factoid: none of those countries was in Africa (well, there was Mauritius but it's off Africa in the Indian Ocean, not on it).

This week I'm intentionally making amends by playing mostly music from Africa.  And there'll be plenty of variety: 70s and 80s classics including Tanzania's Mlimani Park Orchestra (pictured above), desert blueswomen Aziza Brahim and Setona, current Afro-tronica by Baaba Maal and Luka Productions, and a track from my favorite reggae album of 2015, by Tiken Jah Fakoly of Cote D'Ivoire.

And this as well: Olivier Conan of Barbes (bar, record label and booking agency) and the late, lamented Chicha Libre will stop by sometime during the program for an interview.  [Added later: Olivier and I had such a good time that we let the interview run for a second half-hour.  Some of the music I planned for this week will be on next week's show instead.]

Charts February 14, 2016

WRIR's CMJ New World Top Ten
1 VARIOUS ARTISTS | Czech Up! Vol. 1: Chain Of Fools | Vampisoul
2 LA MAMBANEGRA | La Galeria | self-released
3 RAM | 6: Manman M Se Ginen | self-released
4 VARIOUS ARTISTS | Soul Sok Sega: Sega Sounds From Mauritius 1973-1979 | Strut
5 CLIFTONES | Enemies Scatter | Rebel Sound
6 DOS SANTOS ANTI-BEAT ORQUESTA | Dos Santos | Alebrije
7 LUKA PRODUCTIONS | Mali Kady | Sahelsounds
8 DUBIOZA KOLEKTIV | Happy Machine | Koolarrow
9 TISDASS | Yamedan | Sahelsounds
10 FAT FREDDY'S DROP | Bays | The Drop

Aziza Brahim | Abbar El Hamada

ARTIST: Aziza Brahim
TITLE: Abbar El Hamada
LABEL: Glitterbeat
With the passing of Mariem Hassan in 2015, Aziza Brahim has inherited the mantle of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic’s most important musician.

Czech Up! Vol. 1: Chain Of Fools

ARTIST: various artists
TITLE: Czech Up! Vol. 1: Chain Of Fools
LABEL: Vampisoul
Supraphon and Panton were two of the three state-owned record companies in Czechoslovakia after the second world war. They’re best known for classical music, but their popular music catalogs are extensive and Munster/Vampisoul has been mining them in recent years.