Charts January 7, 2019

WRIR's NACC World Top Ten
1 BARRO | Somos | self-released
2 MICHI SARMIENTO Y SU COMBO BRAVO | Salsa Con Monte | Vampisoul
3 ANGELIQUE KIDJO | Remain In Light | Kravenworks
4 CAMARAO | The Imaginary Soundtrack To A Brazilian Western Movie, 1964-1974 | Analog Africa
5 SALIF KEITA | Un Autre Blanc | Naive
6 VAUDOU GAME | Otodi | Hot Casa
7 BABA COMMANDANT AND THE MANDINGO BAND | Siri Ba Kele | Sublime Frequencies
8 DUR-DUR OF SOMALIA | Volume 1, Volume 2 & Previously Unreleased Tracks | Analog Africa
9 STEP FORWARD YOUTH |  various artists | Greensleeves
10 DEAD CAN DANCE | Dionysus | PIAS

Program January 2, 2019: The Best Of The Rest, 2018 Edition

It's time for Global A Go-Go's seventh annual Best Of The Rest program.  After spending the last two weeks recapping my favorite new releases and compilations of the year, invariably there are a ton of songs that made a big impact on me but didn't get played on either of those programs.

That's what this show is about -- all the great stuff from 2018 that didn't fit neatly into my year-end charts.  My favorite singles and EPs of the year, tracks from albums that didn't quite make the lists, that one killer song from the otherwise disappointing album -- you'll hear them all this week.

These aren't holiday leftovers -- every year, I get as much of a charge out of this show as I do from the Top Ten programs, and maybe even more.  Tune in and hear for yourself.

Program December 26, 2018: Top Ten Compilations Of 2018

It's time for show #2 in Global A Go-Go's recap of 2018.  This week: my ten favorite compilations, reissues and historic recordings of 2018, plus ten more honorable mentions.

The great wave of international music rediscovery certainly seems to have crested in 2016.  2017 and 2018 were both down years for compilations, reissues and historic recordings, with fewer titles than in previous years.

The good news is that the quality at the top of the heap remains stellar.  This year, Ostinato Records' two ear-opening  releases of Sudanese music lead my list -- if you haven't heard the music of Sudan from the 70s and 80s yet, you're in for a treat.  And Analog Africa Records keeps finding vital, underexposed Afro-funk, this year in Somalia and Benin.

Click "Read more" to see Global A Go-Go's Top Ten compilations, reissues and historic recordings for 2018 (with links to my reviews):

Program December 19, 2018: Top Ten New Releases Of 2018

It's the most wonderful time of the year ....  That's right, it's the time of the year when Global A Go-Go unwraps its favorite albums of the last 12 months.

This week, it's my Top Ten new releases of 2018, plus ten honorable mentions.  Next week, you'll hear my favorite compilations, reissues and historic recordings of the year.  And on January 2, it's the best of the rest: all the great songs that didn't fit onto the previous two programs.

Overkill, you say?  No way.  WRIR received 772 new world music releases in 2018; that's 41 percent more than we got just three years ago.  Who says the music industry is dead?

Then there's all the new stuff that was never sent to the station that I bought or streamed during the year.  In fact, three of my top ten new releases are albums that WRIR didn't get promos of.  Shape up, music industry!

Add them all up, and you'll see that my top-lists are just five or so percent of all the new music I heard in 2018.  That's not overkill -- it's selective company.

Of course, the proof of the pudding is in the eating -- tune in to Global A Go-Go over the next three weeks and hear for yourself just how good a year in world music 2018 was.

Click "Read More" to see my 2018 Top Ten, new releases division (with links to my reviews).

Program December 12, 2018

Wednesday December 12 is Jamhuri ("Republic" in Swahili) Day, one of three days on which the Republic of Kenya celebrates its independence; the others are Madaraka ("Self-Governance") Day on June 1 and Mashujaa ("Heroes") Day on October 20.  Three times the pleasure, three times the fun, I guess.

In honor of Jamhuri Day, Global A Go-Go celebrates with two hours of music from Kenya.  I'm not making any attempt to provide a comprehensive overview of Kenyan sounds -- I'll be playing the Kenyan music I dig the most.

And most of that fits into the broad category of what East Africans call musiki wa dansi -- no translation needed, I'm sure.  There are a bunch of different genres: benga, Swahili rumba, kamba.  They're all guitar-driven, closely related to Congolese soukous and, in my opinion, thoroughly addictive.  I'll dip into a few other styles as well: some folky/worldy stuff, soul, funk and even hip hop if time permits.

Charts December 9, 2018

WRIR's NACC World Top Ten
1 BABA COMMANDANT AND THE MANDINGO BAND | Siri Ba Kele | Sublime Frequencies
2 SALIF KEITA | Un Autre Blanc | Naive
3 LUIZ MELODIA | Maravilhas Contemporaneas | Vinilisssimo
4 NOVA MATERIA | It Comes | Crammed
5 MINYESHU | Daa Dee | ARC
6 LOKKHI TERRA MEETS DELE SOSIMI | Cubafrobeat | Funkiwala
7 CLARA LUCIANI | Sainte-Victoire | Universal France
8 TANYA TAGAQ AND DAMIAN ABRAHAM | "Run To The Hills" [Single] | Six Shooter
9 IDRISSA DIOP | L'Aventurier | Prince Arts
10 FLAVIEN BERGER | Contre-Temps | Pan European

Charts December 2, 2018

WRIR's NACC World Top Ten
1 VAUDOU GAME | Otodi | Hot Casa
2 BABA COMMANDANT AND THE MANDINGO BAND | Siri Ba Kele | Sublime Frequencies
3 DUR-DUR OF SOMALIA | Volume 1, Volume 2 & Previously Unreleased Tracks | Analog Africa
4 NEWPOLI | Mediterraneo | Beartones
5 MICHI SARMIENTO Y SU COMBO BRAVO | Salsa Con Monte | Vampisoul
6 PEREGOYO Y SU COMBO VACANA | Mi Buenaventura | Vampisoul
7 DOCTOR NATIVO | Guatemaya | Stonetree
8 ANGELIQUE KIDJO | Remain In Light | Kravenworks
9 BABYLON TRIO | Habibi | Rebel Up
10 JAH9 | "Heaven (Ready Fi Di Feeling)" [Single] | VP

Program November 28, 2018

Mauritania (flag pictured above) celebrates its 58th independence day on Wednesday.  This large (about the same size as Egypt), sparsely populated (4.3 million people, or less than half the count of Cairo), poor (140th in the world in cost-of-living-adjusted GDP per person) country lies 90 percent within the Sahara Desert.

Mauritania's music reflects its status as the crossroads of North and West Africa.  You'll hear a set of that music on this week's program, and you'll be able to clearly distinguish Arab, Berber and West African elements for yourself.  It's a rare opportunity to drill down into the musical culture of an under-recognized, extremely interesting country.

Also this week: the greatest band ever to come out of Mopti, the Venice of Mali; folk-rock from both sides of the Mediterranean; and Latin dance-floor fillers from the 50s, 60s and 70s.

Charts November 25, 2018

WRIR's NACC World Top Ten
1 VAUDOU GAME | Otodi | Hot Casa
2 AFRO-CUBAN ALL STARS | A Toda Cuba Le Gusta | World Circuit
3 JOHNNY CLARKE | Creation Rebel | 17 North Parade
4 STEP FORWARD YOUTH | various artists | Greensleeves
5 BABA COMMANDANT AND THE MANDINGO BAND | Siri Ba Kele | Sublime Frequencies
6 DANIEL KAHN AND THE PAINTED BIRD | The Butcher's Share | Oriente Musik
7 DUR-DUR OF SOMALIA | Volume 1, Volume 2 & Previously Unreleased Tracks | Analog Africa
8 BLACK MASALA | Trains And Moonlight Destinies | self-released
9 LEMON BUCKET ORKESTRA | If I Had The Strength | Six Degrees
10 ANGELIQUE KIDJO | Remain In Light | Kravenworks

Vaudou Game | Otodi

ARTIST: Vaudou Game
TITLE: Otodi
LABEL: Hot Casa
The third album by this Lyon, France-based combo led by Togolese singer-guitarist Peter Solo confirms that this is one of the funkiest bands on the planet right now.

Program November 21, 2018

This week it's Global A Go-Go's annual day before Thanksgiving show, i.e. the Sitting In Traffic edition of the program.  As always, I'll have great music for you while you cool your heels on I-95.

We'll start with some deep roots reggae inspired by a certain Senate candidate who'd like to be in the front row for a public hanging.  If you tune in at Willis Road, that should get you to probably about Maury Street.

Next up is a set of klezmer and Balkan fun featuring recent releases by Daniel Kahn, Black Masala and the Lemon Bucket Orkestra.  Now you're stuck in some rubbernecking ("gapers' block" if you're a Chicagoan) near the Boulevard.

The second hour starts with a visit to Cuba for some son montuno.  You'll wish you were in Cuba -- instead you're in bumper-to-bumper traffic between the Route 1 and Route 301 exits, either of which is a viable alternate route today.

And we'll wrap up this week's show with a set I'm calling "James Brown Ride On To West Africa," including a track from the hot new album by Vaudou Game (pictured above).  If my calculations are correct, that should get you to the fringe of WRIR's listening area at the I-295 exit.  Happy Thanksgiving, and enjoy the drive back on Sunday!

Charts November 18, 2018

WRIR's NACC World Top Ten
1 BARRO | Somos | self-released
2 KALETA AND SUPER YAMBA BAND | "Mr. Diva / Hungry Man, Angry Man" [Single] | Yamba
3 VAUDOU GAME | Otodi | Hot Casa
4 SARAZINO | Mama Funny Day | Cumbancha
5 DUR-DUR OF SOMALIA | Volume 1, Volume 2 & Previously Unreleased Tracks | Analog Africa
6 MICHI SARMIENTO Y SU COMBO BRAVO | Salsa Con Monte | Vampisoul
7 BLACK MASALA | Trains And Moonlight Destinies | self-released
8 TWO NILES TO SING A MELODY: THE VIOLINS AND SYNTHS OF SUDAN | various artists | Ostinato
9 ORLANDO CACHAITO LOPEZ | Cachaito | World Circuit
10 ANGELIQUE KIDJO | Remain In Light | Kravenworks

Barro | Somos

ARTIST: Barro
TITLE: Somos
LABEL: self-released
The city of Recife and Pernambuco state in Brazil’s northeast are home to one of that vast nation’s most unique music scenes.

Program November 14, 2018

Barro (pictured above) is a singer-songwriter from Pernambuco in Brazil's northeast, home to some of that vast country's most interesting pop musicians: Lenine, Nacao Zumbi, Mombojo, Otto and more.  Barro's second album, Somos, was released this fall; I think he's going to be Pernambuco's next great export.

Hear for yourself -- I'll play a track from Somos this week in a set of 21st century Musica Popular Brasileira (what Brazilians simply call MPB).  Also this week: more from Sudan's golden age; from J Dilla goes Cuban to South African house in five easy moves; and Afro-funk from hither and yon.

Charts November 11, 2018

WRIR's NACC World Top Ten
1 BABA COMMANDANT AND THE MANDINGO BAND | Sira Ba Kele | Sublime Frequencies
2 SUPERFONICOS | Suelta [EP] | Discos Fonicos
3 DEAD CAN DANCE | Dionysus | PIAS
4 DUR DUR OF SOMALIA | Volume 1, Volume 2 & Previously Unreleased Tracks | Analog Africa
5 PEREGOYO Y SU COMBO VACANA | Mi Buenaventura | Vampisoul
6 ALBA GRIOT ENSEMBLE | The Darkness Between The Leaves | Riverboat
7 BICICLETAS POR LA PAZ | Surfeando Un Cometa | self-released
8 JR THOMAS AND THE VOLCANOS | Rockstone | Colemine
9 HOLLIE COOK | "Sweet Like Chocolate" [Single] | Merge
10 CAZ GARDINER AND THE BADASONICS | Caz Gardiner & The Badasonics | Badasonic