Program July 13, 2016

Steelpan, the national musical instrument of Trinidad & Tobago, is a tuned percussion instrument made from industrial waste: a 55 gallon industrial drum that formerly held oil or chemicals.  And steelpan's use has spread far and wide: on this week's program you'll hear a new record from Bacao Rhythm & Steel Band (pictured above), a funk band from Hamburg, Germany that features four pannists.

Also this week: highlife from Ghana and Nigeria; new Peruvian-style psychedelic cumbia by Money Chicha and Bareto; and Latin soul straight outta the barrio.

Charts July 10, 2016

WRIR's CMJ New World Top Ten
1 SYSTEMA SOLAR | Systema Solar | Nacional
2 GABRIELLA GHERMANDI | Ethiopia: Celebrating Emperor Tewodros II | ARC
3 ADNAN OTHMAN |Bershukor: A Retrospective Of Hits By A Malaysian Pop Yeh Yeh Legend | Sublime Frequencies
4 FANFARE CIOCARLIA | 20 | Asphalt Tango
5 YENI NOSTALJI | 2016 EP demo (final mix) | unreleased
6 QUANTIC PRESENTA FLOWERING INFERNO | 1000 Watts | Tru Thoughts
7 ANTHONY JOSEPH | Caribbean Roots | Strut
8 VARIOUS ARTISTS | Space Echo: The Mystery Behind The Cosmic Sound Of Cabo Verde Finally Revealed | Analog Africa
9 MIRAMAR | Dedication To Sylvia Rexach | Barbes
10 AUGUSTUS PABLO | Original Rockers | Greensleeves

Fanfare Ciocarlia | 20

ARTIST: Fanfare Ciocarlia
TITLE: 20
LABEL: Asphalt Tango
Fanfare Ciocarlia, the Romanian 12-piece brass band who play sirbas, horas and the like with military precision at Ramones-like tempos, celebrates its 20th anniversary this year.

Program July 6, 2016

Romania's Fanfare Ciocarlia (pictured above) has been traveling the world, pumping out the loudest, fastest Balkan brass band music for twenty years now.

Their label and booking agency, Asphalt Tango, is commemorating the occasion with a new double LP simply called 20, a look back at some of the band's greatest performances.  You'll hear a previously unreleased track from Fanfare Ciocarlia: 20 on this week's program.

Also this week: let's do the rocksteady; Ethio jazz from swingin' Addis to Boston; old and new Turkish pop; and once again it's cumbia time.

Yeni Nostalji | 2016 EP demo (final mix)

Photo by Kate Thompson/Momenta Workshops 2016

ARTIST: Yeni Nostalji
TITLE: 2016 EP demo (final mix)
LABEL: unreleased
Yeni Nostalji (“New Nostalgia” in Turkish) is the new project of singer-songwriter Christina Gleixner, formerly of Richmond indie-folk band The Low Branches, and it’s a departure to put it mildly

Charts June 26, 2016

WRIR's CMJ New World Top Ten
1 QUANTIC PRESENTA FLOWERING INFERNO | 1000 Watts | Tru Thoughts
2 FATOU SEIDI GHALI AND ALAMNOU AKROUNI | Les Filles De Illaghadad | Sahelsounds
3 VARIOUS ARTISTS | Rough Guide To Peru Rare Groove | World Music Network
4 ANTHONY JOSEPH | Caribbean Roots | Heavenly Sweetness / Strut
5 VARIOUS ARTISTS | Space Echo: The Mystery Behind The Cosmic Sound Of Cabo Verde Finally Revealed | Analog Africa
6 MIRAMAR | Dedication To Sylvia Rexach | Barbes
7 VARIOUS ARTISTS | Dubble Attack: The Original Pantomine Dee-Jay Collection 1972-74 | Greensleeves
8 VARIOUS ARTISTS | Tanbou Toujou Lou: Meringue, Kompa Kreyol, Vodou Jazz & Electric Folklore From Haiti 1960-1981 | Ostinato
9 ALMA AFROBEAT ENSEMBLE | It's Time | Slow Walk Music
10 DOS SANTOS ANTI-BEAT ORQUESTA | Dos Santos | Alebrije

The Rough Guide To Peru Rare Groove

ARTIST: various artists
TITLE: The Rough Guide To Peru Rare Groove
LABEL: World Music Network
Want a guaranteed good time? Get DJ Bongohead to make you a mixtape.

Program June 22, 2016

Dos Santos Anti-Beat Orquesta (pictured above) is a band from Chicago that plays cumbias and other Latin rhythms with the attack of rock 'n' roll.  They're coming to Richmond to play at Bandito's on Sunday night; you'll hear them this week on Global A Go-Go in a set of classic Peruvian chicha and current bands influenced by that psychedelic cumbia sound.

Also on this week's program: steelpan from Trinidad & Tobago (and Germany?); Haiti meets Cabo Verde again; and Afrobeat remixed.

Charts June 19, 2016

WRIR's CMJ New World Top Ten
1 MIRAMAR | Dedication To Sylvia Rexach | Barbes
2 ANTHONY JOSEPH | Caribbean Roots | Heavenly Sweetness / Strut
3 LICKSHOTS | The Lickshots | Rockers International
4 JACOB MILLER | Who Say Jah No Dread: The Classic Augustus Pablo Sessions | Greensleeves
5 QUANTIC PRESENTA FLOWERING INFERNO | 1000 Watts | Tru Thoughts
6 VARIOUS ARTISTS | Space Echo: The Mystery Behind The Cosmic Sound Of Cabo Verde Finally Revealed | Analog Africa
7 AUGUSTUS PABLO | Original Rockers | Greensleeves
8 VARIOUS ARTISTS | Dubble Attack: The Original Pantomine Dee-Jay Collection 1972-74 | Greensleeves
9 DEBO BAND | Ere Gobez | FPE
10 ALMA AFROBEAT ENSEMBLE | It's Time | Slow Walk Music

Quantic Presenta Flowering Inferno | 1000 Watts

ARTIST: Quantic Presenta Flowering Inferno
TITLE: 1000 Watts
LABEL: Tru Thoughts
Here’s the third album from Flowering Inferno, the tropical band project of industrious producer-musician Will (Quantic) Holland.

Program June 15, 2016

It's been the spring of reggae music here at WRIR -- we've received so many good reggae releases that I've barely had enough time to listen to all of them, never mind play them on the radio.  So I'm going to dedicate a full hour to them on this week's show.

You'll hear a whole set of 1970's vintage reissues from the labels owned by VP Records (that's their headquarters and flagship store pictured above; look closely and you'll see that they're on Jamaica Avenue in Jamaica, Queens, seriously).  Plus I'll spin brand-new discs by Quantic's Flowering Inferno, Soothsayers, The Lickshots and more.

Also this week: Rei and Marlysse's Turkish sound, and Balkan metal: brass and guitars.

Charts June 12, 2016

WRIR's CMJ New World Top Ten
1 ANTHONY JOSEPH | Caribbean Roots | Heavenly Sweetness / Strut
2 BOMBINO | Azel | Partisan
3 VARIOUS ARTISTS | Space Echo: The Mystery Behind The Cosmic Sound Of Cabo Verde Finally Revealed | Analog Africa
4 MIRAMAR | Dedication To Sylvia Rexach | Barbes
5 IMARHAN | Imarhan | City Slang
6 KONONO NO. 1 | Konono No. 1 Meets Batida | Crammed
7 VARIOUS ARTISTS | Tanbou Toujou Lou: Meringue, Kompa Kreyol, Vodou Jazz & Electric Folklore From Haiti 1960-1981 | Ostinato
8 GABRIELLA GHERMANDI | Ethiopia: Celebrating Emperor Tewodros II | ARC
9 DEBO BAND | Ere Gobez | FPE
10 BAMBA WASSOULOU GROOVE | Farima | Label Bleu

Anthony Joseph | Caribbean Roots

ARTIST: Anthony Joseph
TITLE: Caribbean Roots
LABEL: Heavenly Sweetness / Strut
Anthony Joseph is a Trinidad-born, London-based writer with four books of poetry and one novel to his credit; he cites as influences surrealism, calypso, jazz, the Baptist church he grew up in, and the rhythms of Caribbean speech.

Program June 8, 2016

Anthony Joseph is a Trinidad-born, London-based poet and novelist whose work draws on calypso, surrealism (his novel is entitled The African Origins Of UFOs) and jazz.  And maybe Gil Scott-Heron as well, judging by the photo above.

He's a compelling recording artist as well -- his sixth album Caribbean Roots will be released on June 24 and you'll hear a track from it, a tribute to the great calypsonian Mighty Sparrow, on this week's program.  Surrounding Joseph's music will be a few other spoken word artists working with Afro-Caribbean music.

Also this week: a set of Lusophone music, great African guitars, and the new generation of Saharan desert blues.

Charts June 5, 2016

WRIR's CMJ New World Top Ten
1 IDRIS ACKAMOOR AND THE PYRAMIDS | We Be All Africans | Strut
2 LICKSHOTS | The Lickshots | Rockers International
3 VARIOUS ARTISTS | Dubble Attack: The Original Pantomine Dee-Jay Collection 1972-74 | Greensleeves
4 KONONO NO. 1 | Konono No. 1 Meets Batida | Crammed
5 GABRIELLA GHERMANDI | Ethiopia: Celebrating Emperor Tewodros II | ARC
6 KARIKATURA | Speak Now | Ropeadope
7 SYSTEMA SOLAR | Systema Solar | Nacional
8 FANFARE CIOCARLIA | Onwards To Mars! | Asphalt Tango
9 QUANTIC PRESENTA FLOWERING INFERNO | 1000 Watts | Tru Thoughts
10 SOOTHSAYERS | "Nothing Can Stop Us" / "Take Me High" | Red Earth