Top ten new singles & EPs of 2020

It's week 2 of Global A Go-Go's 3-week review of my favorite recordings of 2020; this week you'll hear my favorite singles and EPs of the year.  Singles are definitely overtaking albums in the playlist/YouTube/Spotify era as the unit of account for recorded music.

 

2020 was the first year in which, wearing my World Music Director hat at WRIR, I recommended more singles and EPs than albums to our DJs (by a 60-40 margin, by the way).  Very simply, if you're not following singles and EPs, you're missing a lot of the most significant music that's coming out today.

So this week on Global A Go-Go (Monday December 21, 3:00-5:00 PM on WRIR, for two weeks afterwards at wrir.org/listen, check your local listings for airing on other radio stations, and any old time at my podcast site) it's my top ten singles and EPs of 2020, plus ten honorable mentions and a few more to round out the two hours.

And here they are in list form:

Charts December 8-14, 2020

WRIR's NACC World Top Ten

1 RHEINGANS SISTERS, THE | Receiver | Bendigedig

2 FAT FREDDY'S DROP | Lock-In | The Drop

3 KELEKETLA | Keleketla! | Ahead Of Our Time

4 ABELARDO CARBOBO Y SU CONJUNTO | Guana Tangula | Vampisoul

5 ALFREDO LINARES | Lo Que Tengo | Vampisoul

6 BUDOS BAND, THE | Long In The Tooth | Daptone

7 CONTENTO | Lo Bueno Esta Aqui | El Palmas

8 NAHAWA DOUMBIA | Kanawa | Awesome Tapes From Africa

9 QWANQWA | Volume 3 | Wuzzawazzee Industries

10 JAAKKO LAITINEN AND VAARA RAHA | Borek | Playground Musicd Finland

Top ten new albums of 2020

It's the most wonderful time of the year, the time to find out who's been naughty and nice.  No, I'm not talking about the holiday season; I'm talking about when everyone's Best Of The Year lists come out.

 

I'll be rolling my own lists out over the next three weeks on Global A Go-Go.  On this week's program (Monday December 14, 3:00-5:00 PM on WRIR, for two weeks afterwards at wrir.org/listen, check your local listings for airing on other radio stations, and any old time at my podcast site) I'll present my top ten new albums of 2020 plus ten honorable mentions.

 

Next week you'll hear my favorite singles and EPs of the year gone by, and in two weeks it will be selections from my favorite compilations, reissues and historic recordings of 2020.  In general, the less said about 2020 the better I guess, but it was a good year for the kind of music I play on this program and you'll hear that for yourself over the rest of December.

 

Without further ado, here are my top new releases of 2020:

Charts December 1-7, 2020

WRIR's NACC World Top Ten

1 FEMI KUTI | "Pà Pá Pà" [Single] | Partisan

2 MADE KUTI | For(e)ward [Advance Tracks] | Partisan

3 JUANA MOLINA | ANRMAL (Live In Mexico) | Crammed

4 CARAVELA | "A Macieira" [Single] | None More

5 WARSAW AFROBEAT ORCHESTRA | Antibody | Peace & Rhythm/Scriptology

6 MODESTE HUGUES AND KILEMA | Ala Maintso - Green World | ARC

7 TOM ZE | Raridades | Warner Brazil

8 PAPA ROSKO | Papa Rosko | Voodoo Possum

9 ZEDASHE | Silver Sanctuary | Electric Cowbell

10 LEYLA MCCALLA | Vari-Colored Songs: A Tribute To Langston Hughes | Smithsonian Folkways

Diaper story

Most of the artists who led Brazil's late 1960s Tropicalia movement went on to become national icons: Caetano Veloso, Gilberto Gil, Os Mutantes and Gal Costa for example.  And then there's Tom Ze.  As his peers' music won more and more commercial and critical acclaim, Ze's became more and more experimental and forgotten.

 

It took a non-Brazilian to bring Ze the attention he deserves: David Byrne made Ze the first solo artist (after Byrne himself) to be released on his then-new Luaka Bop label in 1990.  A new collection of Tom Ze's singles, special projects and other rarities; you'll hear an unforgettable track from it on this week's edition of Global A Go-Go.

Also this week (Monday December 7, 3:00-5:00 PM on WRIR, for two weeks afterwards at wrir.org/listen, check your local listings for airing on other radio stations, and any old time at my podcast site): reggae goes country & western, left-of-center Colombian big band cumbia, new father-and-son singles by Femi and Made Kuti, a quick trip to Madagascar; and vintage dance music from the French Antilles.

Charts November 24-30, 2020

WRIR's NACC World Top Ten

1 RICARDO LEMVO AND MAKINA LOCA | N'Dona Ponte | Mopiato

2 DANDANA | Free The System | Rebel Up

3 LOS SAICOS 69 | "El Mercenario/Un Poquito De Pena" [Single] | Munster

4 SONGHOY BLUES | Optimisme | Fat Possum

5 ANCIENT ASTRONAUTS | Kampala Fire [EP] | Switchstance

6 GINA CHAVEZ | La Que Manda [EP] | self-released

7 PROTOJE | In Search Of Lost Time | In.Digg.Nation Collective/Six Course/RCA

8 SETENTA | Materia Negra | Latin Big Note

9 MARCOS VALLE, ADRIAN YOUNGE AND ALI SHAHEED MUHAMMAD | Marcos Valle JID 003 | Jazz Is Dead

10 LADAMA | Oye Mujer | Six Degrees

Un poquito de pena

It's time for another installment in Global A Go-Go's "Get in the Garage" series focusing on garage-rock from around the world.  This time the focus is on Peru, which had a massive rock 'n' roll scene kick-started by a band that anticipated punk-rock a decade ahead of the name, Los Saicos (pictured above) and pushed into overdrive by a military junta that declared war on rock music in 1968.  Sometimes you gotta have something to rebel against ....

Also this week (Monday November 30, 3:00-5:00 PM on WRIR, for two weeks afterwards at wrir.org/listen, check your local listings for airing on other radio stations, and any old time at my podcast site): a classic long jam from Senegal's Orchestra Baobab, the psychedelic sounds of West Africa, Fat Freddy's Drop meets Tony Allen, another installment in "Salsa African Style" and scorching desert blues from the Sahel.

Charts November 17-23, 2020

WRIR's NACC World Top Ten

1 MAWULI DECKER | "Lololi-Lomko" [Single] | Matasuna

2 KOKOROKO | "Baba Ayoola" [Single] | Brownswood

3 BOUNALY | Music From Saharan WhatsApp 10 [EP] | Sahel Sound

4 ABELARDO CARBOBO Y SU CONJUNTO | Guana Tangula | Vampisoul

5 BOSQ | Y Su Descarga Internacional | Bacalao

6 MODOU TOURE | Touki | ARC

7 MONKEY MARC | Vital Sound | Digikillaz/DubShot

8 LEYLA MCCALLA | Vari-Colored Songs: A Tribute To Langston Hughes | Smithsonian Folkways

9 JUANA MOLINA | ANRMAL (Live In Mexico) | Crammed

10 SONGHOY BLUES | Optimisme | Fat Possum

Celestial blues

Kokoroko is a young octet from London fronted by three female horn players; their music bridges Afrobeat, highlife and modern jazz.  They've released an EP and a couple of singles so far, and I expect more good things from them in the future.

Kokoroko's brand new single "Baba Ayoola" is a tribute to saxophonist Cassie Kinoshi's grandfather.  It's an ideal introduction to their sound and you'll be hearing it on this week's episode of Global A Go-Go.

Also this week (Monday November 23, 3:00-5:00 PM on WRIR, for two weeks afterwards at wrir.org/listen, check your local listings for airing on other radio stations, and any old time at my podcast site): acoustic music of the Sahel, old-fashioned Afropop is sounding good to me right now, three 5-star albums of South African jazz, modern highlife from Ghana and the roots of Colombian champeta, where cumbia meets Afrobeat.

Charts November 10-16, 2020

WRIR's NACC World Top Ten

1 BROOKLYN RAGA MASSIVE | In D | self-released

2 GYPTIAN | "Warm & Easy" [Single] | VP

3 ALFREDO LINARES | Lo Que Tengo | Vampisoul

4 BOSQ | Y Su Descarga Internacional | Bacalao

5 VUSI MAHLASELA | Shebeen Queen | ATO

6 LOS MOCOSOS | All Grown Up | Hip Spanic

7 MISTA SAVONA PRESENTS HAVANA MEETS KINGSTON | "Beat Con Flow (feat Cimafunk)" [Single] | Cumbancha-Baco

8 SONGHOY BLUES | Optimisme | Fat Possum

9 JUANA MOLINA | ANRMAL (Live In Mexico) | Crammed

10 LUCAS NWANANGA AND HIS BAND | Back To Soweto | Umsakazo

Back to Soweto

Lucas Nwananga can't go back to Soweto -- he's from Yorkshire.  He grew up collecting rare recordings of South African township jive and mbaqanga, then he taught himself to play all the instruments on those records by ear.  "His Band" is just Lucas playing guitars, bass, brushed snare drum and melodica, recreating the sonics of 1960s South Africa in his home during the lockdown.

 

Back To Soweto is one of the most joyful albums I've heard in 2020.  Tune in to Global A Go-Go this week and hear a selection from it for yourself, alongside some of the vintage jive that inspired it.

 

Also this week (Monday November 16, 3:00-5:00 PM on WRIR, for two weeks afterwards at wrir.org/listen, check your local listings for airing on other radio stations, and any old time at my podcast site): Brooklyn Raga Massive's Terry Riley-inspired In D, North African rock 'n' roll, lovers rock - the romantic side of reggae, some tuneful Latin soul and salsa dura para los bailadores y los oyentes.

Charts November 3-9, 2020

WRIR's NACC World Top Ten

1 BOSQ | Y Su Descarga Internacional | Bacalao

2 JUANA MOLINA | ANRMAL (Live In Mexico) | Crammed

3 KELEKETLA | Keleketla! | Ahead Of Our Time

4 ZEDASHE | Silver Sanctuary | Electric Cowbell

5 RICARDO LEMVO AND MAKINA LOCA | N'Dona Ponte | Mopiato

6 COLOR DE TROPICO | various artists | El Palmas

7 NAHAWA DOUMBIA | Kanawa | Awesome Tapes From Africa

8 QWANQWA | Volume 3 | Wuzzawazzee Industries

9 MINYO CRUSADERS AND FRENTE CUMBIERO | From Tokyo To Bogota [EP] | Mais Um

10 ACID COCO | Mucho Gusto | El Palmas

Rebellion manifesto

Gaye Su Akyol is a rock star in Turkey -- and the rest of the world is starting to pay attention as well.  She's an outspoken advocate for the rights of women and queer people, but her lyrics are just ambiguous enough to keep her safe from Ergodan's censors and enforcers.  At least so far.

Musically, she and a whole generation of young artists are reviving Anatolian rock, Turkey's home-grown psychedelic sound of the 1970s.  Akyol has a new single and it's her most forthright statement to date, both musically and politically.  Tune in this week and hear "Isyan Manifestosu" (Rebellion Manifesto) on Global A Go-Go.

Also this week (Monday November 9, 3:00-5:00 PM on WRIR, for two weeks afterwards at wrir.org/listen, check your local listings for airing on other radio stations, and any old time at my podcast site): wild singing from three sides of the Black Sea, Ethiopian sounds, Latin remixes made for the dance floor, new music from Mali's Nahawa Doumbia and a question: how fast can you dance?

Charts Oct 27 - Nov 2, 2020

WRIR's NACC World Top Ten

1 LA LOCURA DE MACHUCA 1975-1980 | various artists | Analog Africa

2 KELEKETLA | Keleketla! | Ahead Of Our Time

3 MADE KUTI | "Free Your Mind" [Single] | Partisan

4 WARSAW AFROBEAT ORCHETRA | Antibody | Peace & Rhythm

5 BUDOS BAND, THE | Long In The Tooth | Daptone

6 MODESTE HUGUES AND KILEMA | Ala Maintso - Green World | ARC

7 RICARDO LEMVO AND MAKINA LOCA | N'Dona Ponte | Mopiato

8 MUKAMBO PRESENTS GLOBAL AFROBEAT MOVEMENT | various artists | NYP

9 NATION BEAT | The Royal Chase | self-released

10 GARMARNA | Forbundet | Season Of Mist

Budos rising

The Budos Band has been a Global A Go-Go staple from the beginning -- their first album came out in 2005, the same year WRIR went on the air.  Their new album, Long In The Tooth, is a return to their original sound, their best in 10 years.  Hear for yourself as I play a track from the new album along with ones from their first four releases.

 

Also this week (Monday November 2, 3:00-5:00 PM on WRIR, for two weeks afterwards at wrir.org/listen, check your local listings for airing on other radio stations, and any old time at my podcast site): European folk-rock appropriate for the spoopy season, four from Madagascar, Colombia's crazy pre-champeta sounds, Afrobeat from behind the former Iron Curtain, and Made Kuti's debut plus what his father and grandfather sounded like at the same age.