Charts September 9, 2018

WRIR's NACC World Top Ten
1 AFRO-CUBAN ALL STARS | A Toda Cuba Le Gusta | World Circuit
2 DOCTOR NATIVO | Guatemaya | Stonetree
3 JUPITER AND OKWESS | Kin Sonic | Everloving
4 GRUPO CONTROLE DIGITAL | A Festa É Nossa | Soundway / Phoenix Spink
5 ALBA GRIOT ENSEMBLE | The Darkness Between The Leaves | Riverboat
6 BLACK MASALA | Trains And Moonlight Destinies | self-released
7 TWO NILES TO SING A MELODY: THE VIOLINS AND SYNTHS OF SUDAN | various artists | Ostinato
8 LEMON BUCKET ORKESTRA | If I Had The Strength | Six Degrees
9 ORLANDO 'CACHAITO' LOPEZ | Cachaito | World Circuit
10 ORQUESTA AKOKAN | Orquesta Akokan | Daptone

Afro-Cuban All Stars | A Toda Cuba Le Gusta

ARTIST: Afro-Cuban All Stars
TITLE: A Toda Cuba Le Gusta
LABEL: World Circuit
World Circuit continues its reissues of the famous 1996 Buena Vista Social Club (BVSC) sessions with this title.

Black Masala | Trains And Moonlight Destinies

ARTIST: Black Masala
TITLE: Trains And Moonlight Destinies
LABEL: self-released
Here’s the third studio album from Washington DC’s Black Masala, hands down one of the most exciting live bands anywhere.

Program September 5, 2018

Ellie Mannette (pictured above), the father of the modern steel drum, died last week at age 90.  More than anyone else in the world, Mannette made the steel pan, the national instrument of his native Trinidad & Tobago, into a serious musical instrument.

He was the first to fabricate a drum out of Trinidad's ubiquitous 55-gallon oil barrels, he was the first to make the drum surface concave, and he built the first pan with all the notes in the chromatic scale so it could play any melody in any key.

Mannette spent most of his career in the USA: he helped develop the US Navy Steel Band in the 1960s, he began teaching steel pan tuning at West Virginia University in 1991, and his foundry in Morgantown produces most of America's steel drums.  

In honor of Ellie Mannette, this week on Global A Go-Go you'll hear a few of my steel pan favorite, and some calypsonians singing in praise of the pan.  Also this week: Turkish pop, folk and rock; Cuba from tumbao to timba; and some Balkan beats to get you moving.

Charts September 2, 2018

WRIR's NACC World Top Ten
1 JOHNNY CLARKE | Creation Rebel | VP
2 ALBA GRIOT ENSEMBLE | The Darkness Between The Leaves | Riverboat
3 DOCTOR NATIVO | Guatemaya | Stonetree
4 TWO NILES TO SING A MELODY: THE VIOLINS AND SYNTHS OF SUDAN | various artists | Ostinato
5 ALPHEUS | Light Of Day | Liquidator
6 ANGELIQUE KIDJO | Remain In Light | Kravenworks
7 ORQUESTA AKOKAN | Orquesta Akokan | Daptone
8 DACTAH CHANDO | "Africa Is My Roots" [Single] | Boomrush Productions
9 MALOU BEAUVOIR | "Rasenbleman" [Single] | self-released
10 JAH9 | "Field Trip" [Single] | VP

Program August 29, 2018

Have you (like me) been waiting eleven years for a new studio album from Manu Chao?  I've got just the thing to tide you over: the superb debut recording by Guatemala's Doctor Nativo (pictured above).  And I'll play some other musica mestiza stalwarts, including Chao his own self.

Also this week: when British folk meets West Africa, more of the mindboggling music of Sudan's golden age, and a set of roots reggae featuring two tracks from 17 North Parade's excellent new Johnny Clarke compilation.

Alba Griot Ensemble | The Darkness Between The Leaves

ARTIST: Alba Griot Ensemble
TITLE: The Darkness Between The Leaves
LABEL: Riverboat
Mark Mulholland is a Scottish singer-songwriter-guitarist who keeps his passport handy: he’s lived and worked in most of Western Europe, Haiti and now Bamako, Mali, where he connected with ngoni player Yacouba Sissoko of the Afrocubism project.

Johnny Clarke | Creation Rebel

ARTIST: Johnny Clarke
TITLE: Creation Rebel
LABEL: 17 North Parade
VP Records, the group of labels started by Vincent “Randy” Chin, owns the deepest catalog in Jamaican music. From this wellspring comes a selection of 30 collaborations between singer Johnny Clarke and producer Bunny “Striker” Lee.

Doctor Nativo | Guatemaya

ARTIST: Doctor Nativo
TITLE: Guatemaya
LABEL: Stonetree
Ivan Duran of Stonetree Records is the producer who put the Garifuna sound of Andy Palacio, Aurelio Martinez, the Garifuna Collective and Umalali on the world music map.

Two Niles To Sing A Melody: The Guitars And Synths Of Sudan

ARTIST: various artists
TITLE: Two Niles To Sing A Melody: The Violins And Synths Of Sudan
LABEL: Ostinato
Once upon a time, there was a golden age of pop music in Sudan. It was the years between 1969, when Gafaar Nimeiry came to power, and 1983, when Nimeiry’s government swung from socialism to Islamism and imposed Sharia law, which essentially made music illegal.

Charts August 26, 2018

WRIR's NACC World Top Ten
1 ALPHEUS | Light Of Day | Liquidator
2 CLAU ANIZ | Filha de mil Mulheres | Minty Fresh
3 BLACK ROOTS | "Take It" [Single] | Nubian / Khanti
4 JOHNNY CLARKE | Creation Rebel | VP
5 LEMON BUCKET ORKESTRA | If I Had The Strength | Six Degrees
6 RED BARAAT | Sound The People | Rhyme & Reason
7 MYSTIC BOWIE | Mystic Bowie's Talking Dreads | MTMB Entertainment
8 YENI NOSTALJI | Yeni Nostalji | Ropeadope
9 EL ECO FEAT GUILLERMO NOJECHOWICZ | Two Worlds | El Eco Music
10 BELO | "Bousol" [Single] | Belo / Handzup / Baoli

Charts August 12, 2018

WRIR's NACC World Top Ten
1 RED BARAAT | Sound The People | Rhyme & Reason
2 LEMON BUCKET ORKESTRA | If I Had The Strength | Six Degrees
3 ALPHEUS | Light Of Day | Liquidator
4 JUPITER AND OKWESS | Kin Sonic | Everloving
5 MYSTIC BOWIE | Mystic Bowie's Talking Dreads | MTMB Entertainment
6 AFRICAN SCREAM CONTEST 2 | various artists | Analog Africa
7 TWO NILES TO SING A MELODY: THE VIOLINS AND SYNTHS OF SUDAN | various artists | Ostinato
8 PAD ANTHONY AND CHESHIRE CAT | "Lead The Way / Heart And Soul" [Single] | Ram Goat
9 DE'ANZA | Cosmic Dream | Fusion Beats
10 CHANCHA VIA CIRCUITO | Bienaventuranza | Wonderwheel

Lemon Bucket Orkestra | If I Had The Strength

ARTIST: Lemon Bucket Orkestra
TITLE: If I Had The Strength
LABEL: Six Degrees
Toronto’s Lemon Bucket Orkestra (LBO) is an 11-piece ensemble that describes itself as “guerrilla-folk party-punks imprisoned and liberated by Eastern European folklore.”

Program August 8, 2018

Red Baraat (pictured above) is a living embodiment of Duke Ellington's notion that the best music is "beyond category."  They're inspired by Indian bhangra and brass bands; their music also incorporates funk, go-go, rock and jazz.

They're one of the most exciting live acts anywhere, which you'll be able to see for yourself when  Red Baraat plays the Richmond Jazz Festival on Sunday evening and a Plan 9 Records in-store that afternoon.  Their latest album, Sound The People, was released in June, and you'll hear a track from it this week on Global A Go-Go.

Also this week: one from Ladysmith Black Mambazo, who will also be at the Richmond Jazz Fest; a reggae set including my all-time favorite song about road kill; two cuts from Ostinato Records' current Sudanese projects; and Balkan brass that matches Red Baraat's white-hot energy.

Charts August 5, 2018

WRIR's NACC World Top Ten
1 ANGELIQUE KIDJO | Remain In Light | Kravenworks
2 AFRICAN SCREAM CONTEST 2 | various artists | Analog Africa
3 ORQUESTA AKOKAN | Orquesta Akokan | Daptone
4 RAM | 7: August 1791 | Willibelle Publishing & Sales
5 DISQUES DEBS INTERNATIONAL, VOL. 1 | various artists | Strut
6 EDDIE PALMIERI | Full Circle | Ropeadope
7 ORLANDO 'CACHAITO' LOPEZ | Cachaito | World Circuit
8 MYSTIC BOWIE | Mystic Bowie's Talking Dreads | MTMB Entertainment
9 EL DUSTY | Cumbia City | Aftercluv
10 LISTEN ALL AROUND: THE GOLDEN AGE OF CENTRAL AND EAST AFRICAN MUSIC | various artists | Dust-to-Digital