Program November 16, 2016

Alkibar Jr. (pictured above) is bringing Ali Farka Toure's Songhai blues sound into the present tense.  Their debut album will be released in December and it's a gem -- you'll hear a track from it on this week's program.

Also this week: Bosnian sevdah, Balkan brass, lovers rock, roots reggae, and Afrofunk classics from the 70s and from this year.

Alkibar Jr. | Jamal

ARTIST: Alkibar Jr.
TITLE: Jamal
LABEL: Studio Mali
Before Tinariwen and the rise of la guitare des ishumar, Ali Farka Toure was the first international superstar of desert blues.

Charts November 13, 2016

WRIR's CMJ New World Top Ten
1 DAWDA JOBARTEH | Transitional Times | Sterns Africa
2 ALSARAH AND THE NUBATONES | Manara | Wonderwheel
3 NOURA MINT SEYMALI | Arbina | Glitterbeat
4 ABOU DIARRA | Koya | Mix Et Metisses
5 TIKEN JAH FAKOLY | Racines | Wrasse
6 VAUDOU GAME | Kidayu | Hot Casa
7 KUTIMANGOES | Made In Africa | Tramp
8 ORKESTA MENDOZA | Vamos A Guarachar! | Glitterbeat
9 KOTTARASHKY AND THE RAIN DOGS | Cats, Dogs And Ghosts | Asphalt Tango
10 MARIZA | Mundo | Nonesuch

Program November 9, 2016

The KutiMangoes (in the small images above), an Afro-jazz band from Copenhagen, went to Ouagadougou in the West African nation of Burkina Faso to record their new album Made In Africa.  You'll hear the results on this week's edition of Global A Go-Go.

Also this week: the bluesy stylings of Mali's Boubacar Traore; Dawda Jobarteh, a Gambian in Denmark, brings Nordic jazz to the kora; a set of Afropop; Brazilian psychedelia circa 1968 and 2016; and a visit to the Latin lounge.

Charts November 6, 2016

WRIR's CMJ New World Top Ten
1 FRIGHTNRS | Nothing More To Say | Daptone
2 TIKEN JAH FAKOLY | Racines | Wrasse
3 ALSARAH AND THE NUBATONES | Manara | Wonderwheel
4 NOURA MINT SEYMALI | Arbina | Glitterbeat
5 VARIOUS ARTISTS | The Ultimate Guide To English Folk | ARC
6 VAUDOU GAME | Kidayu | Hot Casa
7 SEUN KUTI AND EGYPT 80 | Struggle Sounds | Sony Masterworks
8 MOUSSU T E LEI JOVENTS | Navega! | Manivette
9 ANTHONY JOSEPH | Caribbean Roots | Strut
10 BONGA | Recados De Fora | Lusafrica

Tiken Jah Fakoly | Racines

ARTIST: Tiken Jah Fakoly
TITLE: Racines
LABEL: Wrasse
My favorite reggae album of 2015 is now getting a proper USA release. Tiken Jah Fakoly of Cote D’Ivoire is one of Africa’s leading reggae artists; his roots sound and conscious lyrics (usually in French) are a throwback to mid-to-late 70s Jamaica, his creamy harmonies and punchy attack are pure African reggae.

Program November 2, 2016

First of all, I want to thank the over 500 listeners who donated $43,000 during WRIR's Fall 2016 Fund Drive.  This was WRIR's most successful fund drive in several years, and we owe it all to you!  You can still get in on the action: just visit wrir.org, click one of the Donate buttons, and get yourself the great Fall '16 premiums.

Extra thanks to the 52 donors who named Global A Go-Go as one of your favorite WRIR programs; I think this week's program will live up to your accolades.  You'll get some killer Afrobeat and Afro-funk, including a track from the new album by Vaudou Game (pictured above) which is one of my favorites of the year.

Also this week: folk and roots from the UK and France, reggae in Africa and America, and North African hard rock.

Charts October 30, 2016

WRIR's CMJ New World Top Ten
1 VAUDOU GAME | Kidayu | Hot Casa
2 SEUN KUTI AND EGYPT 80 | Struggle Sounds | Sony Masterworks
3 YENI NOSTALJI | 2016 EP demo (final mix) | unreleased
4 VARIOUS ARTISTS | Bobo Yeye: Belle Epoque In Upper Volta | Numero Group
5 KUTIMANGOES | Made In Africa | Tramp
6 ORKESTA MENDOZA | Vamos A Guarachar! | Glitterbeat
7 ALSARAH AND THE NUBATONES | Manara | Wonderwheel
8 MIRAMAR | Dedication To Sylvia Rexach | Barbes
9 ROBERTO FONSECA | ABUC | Impulse!
10 VARIOUS ARTISTS | Palenque Records Afrocolombia Mix | Galletas Calientes

Program October 26, 2016

First of all, thank you to everyone who has donated in WRIR's Fall 2016 Fund Drive, our most successful drive in a couple of years.  If you slept through it or otherwise missed the drive, it's not too late to contribute and have the personal satisfaction of supporting this awesome community radio project: just click one of the "Donate" buttons at wrir.org.

I'm joined once again this week in the studio by DJ Beet Farmer.  Her world music program on WRIR, Kisses With Foreign Fishes, will premiere soon on alternate Sunday nights, 1-3 AM.

In the mean time, she's sitting in on Global A Go-Go this week, spinning a set of parents and their children and second one she describes as "super f-ing girly."  And I'll celebrate the end of the fund drive with all dance music: boogaloo plus some tracks inspired by Afrisa International's appearance at the Richmond Folk Festival.

Seun Kuti & Egypt 80 | Struggle Sounds

ARTIST: Seun Kuti & Egypt 80
TITLE: Struggle Sounds
LABEL: Sony Masterworks
Seun Kuti has been fronting his dad’s old band since Fela’s death in 1997; the band’s personnel stayed remarkably constant through the transition.

The KutiMangoes | Made In Africa

ARTIST: The KutiMangoes
TITLE: Made In Africa
LABEL: Tramp
Here’s an unexpected pleasure: the second album by a Copenhagen-based band influenced by Afrobeat, electric jazz, soul and blues.

Vaudou Game | Kidayu

ARTIST: Vaudou Game
TITLE: Kidayu
LABEL: Hot Casa
The second album by Lyon, France-based sextet Vaudou Game nails the 70s Afro-funk sound better than any other current band.

Program October 19, 2016

Richmond Independent Radio's Fall 2016 Fund Drive is currently underway; it continues through Tuesday October 25.  We're aiming to raise $40,000 in this fall's drive, which will keep WRIR bringing to your community its programs of underrepresented music, news and views, most of them produced in our very own studios by our 150 volunteers, for the next six months.

We need the support of about 500 folks just like you in order to keep community radio strong in Richmond.  We have three easy ways for you to donate:

1. By visiting our secure online sites at https://wrir.wufoo.com/forms/zt8de5l0zy2s68 (for a one-time contribution) or https://wrir.wufoo.com/forms/rv9ju9k11dt0c0 (for a monthly recurring donation)
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 Global A Go-Go listeners during the fund drive: the outstanding new band Zgomot will be playing live in the studio during my show Wednesday October 19 between 3 and 5 PM.  Zgomot features two legendary Richmond musicians: drummer Pippin Barnett (known for his work with the Ululating Mummies, the Orthotonics and Happy Lucky Combo) and bassist Tim Harding (founder of the bands Hotel X, Always August and New Loft).   The quartet is completed by guitarists Gary Kalar and Vlad Cuiujuclu, who also play together in Yeni Nostalji; Vlad does the band's singing in English, Romanian and Russian.

There will also be a special matching donation during the show.  Tune in Wednesday at 3 PM at 97.3 FM or http://wrir.org/listen to find out how to double your contribution to WRIR.  If you can't listen at that time, there's no need to wait -- you can make your contribution right now, or any time until October 25!

Thank you for your support in the past, and thank you for considering making a donation during WRIR's Fall 2016 Fund Drive!

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

Charts October 16, 2016

WRIR's CMJ New World Top Ten
1 BACAO RHYTHM AND STEEL BAND | 55 | Big Crown
2 ATERCIOPELADOS | Reluciente, Rechinante Y Aterciopelado | Sony Colombia
3 FRIGHTNRS | Nothing More To Say | Daptone
4 JOE BATAAN | Call My Name | Vampisoul
5 PIERS FACCINI | I Dreamed An Island | Six Degrees
6 VAUDOU GAME | Kidayu | Hot Casa
7 SEUN KUTI AND EGYPT 80 | Struggle Sounds | Sony Masterworks
8 DAWDA JOBARTEH | Transitional Times | Sterns Africa
9 ORKESTA MENDOZA | Vamos A Guarachar! | Glitterbeat
10 KOTTARASHKY AND THE RAIN DOGS | Cats, Dogs And Ghosts | Asphalt Tango

Dawda Jobarteh | Transitional Times

ARTIST: Dawda Jobarteh
TITLE: Transitional Times
LABEL: Sterns Africa
West African Mande music, certainly the centuries-old classics and also some of the modern stuff, can sound stately, formal, even cool to the listener.