The fundamental nature of being

The Shaolin Afronauts are an 11-piece ensemble from Adelaide, Australia who describe their sound as "interstellar futurist afro-soul" influenced equally by Fela Kuti and Sun Ra.  After three excellent albums of progressive Afrobeat in the early 2010s, they went silent from recording for eight years.

 

Now they're back with their most audacious project yet: a five-album box set of all original material called The Fundamental Nature Of Being that expands the band's sonic vision to incorporate experimental and new age electronica, Ethio-jazz, South African marabi, West Africa's post-colonial big band sounds, psychedelic rock and more alongside with their origins in Afrobeat and spiritual jazz.  It's a sprawling set, unwieldy at times, brilliant at others, and so much more ambitious than anything I've heard all year.

This week on Global A Go-Go (Sunday October 30, 1:00-3:00 PM on WRIR, for two weeks afterwards on the wrir.org archive player, check your local listings for airing on other radio stations, and any old time at my podcast site) I've selected three tracks from The Fundamental Nature Of Being to give you an idea of what's inside the tin.  You'll also hear a whole lot of new African music: highlife-jazz from Ghana, Afropop out of Guineé-Bissau and Togo, young Nigerians playing Afrobeat, Wassoulou rock from Burkina Faso, and a smoking new reissue of Orchestre Poly-Rythmo De Cotonou Benin.

Charts October 10-16, 2022

WRIR World's NACC Top Ten

1 LA FEMME | Teatro Lucido | Disque Pointu/IDOL

2 DUNGEN | En År För Mycket Och Tusen Aldrig Nog | Mexican Summer

3 DERYA YILDIRIM AND GRUP SIMSEK | Dost 2 | Bongo Joe/Catapulte

4 STAR FEMININE BAND | Star Feminine Band In Paris | Born Bad

5 LATIN BROTHERS, THE | El Picotero | Vampisoul

6 EL COMBO BATANGA | "El Que La Rompe La Paga" [Single] | Lovemonk

7 HAMSI BOUBEKER | Le Chant Des Profondeurs | Frederiksberg

8 RAY PEREZ Y EL GRUPO CASABE | Ray Perez Y El Grupo Casabe | El Palmas

9 LOS DEMENTES | Manicomio A Locha | Vampisoul

10 AFROSOUND OF COLOMBIA VOL. 3, THE | various artists | Vampisoul

30 years of more sabor

When you think of Richmond's most famous musical exports, what comes to mind?  Maybe Jimmy Dean the sausage king?  Or possibly jazz legends like Lonnie Liston Smith and James "Plunky" Branch?  Probably Richmond's punk and metal scene: Lamb of God, Avail, Municipal Waste, Strike Anywhere and of course Gwar.

 

Well, if you're in Colombia, the correct answer by a mile is Bio Ritmo, Richmond's salsa machine and one of the top salsa bands anywhere in the world.  Gwar may have opened their own bar in Richmond, but Bio Ritmo actually has a bar named for them in Cali, Colombia!

 

Bio Ritmo is celebrating 30 years of "more sabor" with a special event next Sunday afternoon, October 23, at Hardywood's Richmond taproom, with emeritus members Jorge Negrón, Gabo Tomasini and Jim Thomson jetting in from Puerto Rico, New York and DC, respectively, to sit in.  Global A Go-Go will get you warmed up for the event with a set of Bio Ritmo music on this week's program.

Also this week (Sunday October 16, 1:00-3:00 PM on WRIR, for two weeks afterwards on the wrir.org archive player, check your local listings for airing on other radio stations, and any old time at my podcast site): new music from Benin's all female (ages 12-18 to boot) Star Feminine Band, Derya Yıldırım's Anatolian rock, Kabyle folk by Hamsi Boubeker, French rockers La Femme go Brazilian, and even more sabor from Spain's El Combo Batanga.

Charts October 3-9, 2022

WRIR World's NACC Top Ten

1 REDDY AMISI | Bailo Canto | Casa Do Canto Entertainment

2 STAR FEMININE BAND | Star Feminine Band In Paris | Born Bad

3 ERNESTO DJEDJE | Roi Du Ziglibithy | Analog Africa

4 JULIVERT | A Tamarit! | Microscopi

5 ALHAJI WAZIRI OSHOMAH | World Spirituality Classics 3: The Muslim Highlife Of Alhaji Waziri Oshomah | Luaka Bop

6 14 MAGNIFICOS BAILABLES | various artists | Vampisoul

7 DUNGEN | En År För Mycket Och Tusen Aldrig Nog | Mexican Summer

8 EL COMBO BATANGA | "El Que La Rompe La Paga" [Single] | Lovemonk

9 KABAKA PYRAMID | The Kalling | Ghetto Youths International / Bebble Rock

10 PAPA SAN | "Love About You" b/w "Lessons" [Single] | Beloved Group

A brother with perfect timing

Abdullah Ibrahim (formerly known as Dollar Brand) is 88 years young on October 9.  This week, Global A Go-Go gives him his roses while he's still among us (and still making fine music: he's doing a solo concert in Riedering, Germany on his birthday) with three selections from his vast catalogue, including the song that's been described as what you would get if you combined "A Love Supreme" with "Say It Loud - I'm Black And I'm Proud."

 

Also this week (Sunday October 9, 1:00-3:00 PM on WRIR, for two weeks afterwards on the wrir.org archive player, check your local listings for airing on other radio stations, and any old time at my podcast site): we recognize another piano playing birthday boy, Chucho Valdés (a mere 81 years old on Sunday); new Catalunyan folk-rock by the band Julivert; an introduction to Zamrock pioneers Witch, who come to Richmond on October 15; and Afropop classics from Cote D'Ivoire and Cameroon.

Charts Sep 26 - Oct 2, 2022

WRIR World's NACC Top Ten

1 ORCHESTRA FUEGO | Candela | self-released

2 REDDY AMISI | Bailo Canto | Casa Do Canto Entertainment

3 RIVERITA Y SU ORQUESTA NOCHE CALIENTE | Mi Linda Musica | Jibaro Productions

4 OLIVER NAYOKA | Oka Mmadu | Odogwu Entertainment / Palenque

5 LOS PAO PAOS | Los Pao Paos | Devil In The Woods

6 AYAHUASCA VOL. 2: CUMBIAS PSICODELICAS PERUANAS | various artists | Repsychled

7 CROSSROADS KENYA - EAST AFRICAN BENGA AND RUMBA, 1980-1985 | various artists | No Wahala Sounds

8 JOAO SELVA | Se Acabou [EP] | Underdog

9 SON ROMPE PERA AND GIL GUTIERREZ | "El Saleroso" b/w "Proteus" [Single] | Barbes

10 SONNY SINGH | Chardi Kala | self-released

The creator has a master plan

Pharoah Sanders, the American saxophonist who passed away on September 24 at age 81, was perhaps the most spiritual, ecstatic musician that jazz has ever produced.  Not surprisingly, musical traditions from around the world were essential elements of his body of work.  On this week's edition of Global A Go-Go, we pay tribute to Pharoah by playing three of his recordings that reflect his interest in global music: Indian, Moroccan and West African.

 

Also this week (Sunday October 2, 1:00-3:00 PM on WRIR, for two weeks afterwards on the wrir.org archive player, check your local listings for airing on other radio stations, and any old time at my podcast site): a tribute to the amazing music of the République de Guinée (aka Guinée Conakry) on the occasion of that nation's 65th Independence Day featuring Bembeya Jazz National, Kaloum Star and more; and a deep dive into the music of two artists who will be performing at this year's Richmond Folk Festival: Mauritania's Noura Mint Seymali and Son Rompe Pera from Mexico.

Charts September 19-25, 2022

WRIR World's NACC Top Ten

1 LEE SCRATCH PERRY | King Scratch: Musical Masterpieces From The Upsetter Ark-ive | Trojan

2 WGANDA KENYA | Africa 5000 | Vampisoul

3 VIEUX FARKA TOURE AND KHRUANGBIN | Ali | Dead Oceans

4 AL-QASAR | Who Are We? | Glitterbeat

5 ROBERTO LOPEZ | Ritual [EP] | Curura

6 WESLI | Tradisyon | Cumbancha

7 ALHAJI WAZIRI OSHOMAH | World Spirituality Classics 3: The Muslim Highlife Of Alhaji Waziri Oshomah | Luaka Bop

8 14 MAGNIFICOS BAILABLES | various artists | Vampisoul

9 GYEDU-BLAY AMBOLLEY | "Yekor Ye A Yeaba" [Single] | Agogo

10 TIMPANA | "Pajaro" [Single] | Sounds & Colours

King Scratch

Jamaican popular music has long been a producer's medium, and no Jamaican producer has ever been more prolific, confounding or just plain unique than Lee "Scratch" Perry.  Perry's oeuvre runs the gamut from unlistenable to transcendent (often from the same session), and his output was so vast that it's hard for the uninitiated to get a handle on it.

 

The folks at Trojan and Sanctuary Records have done all of us the great favor of putting together what is for the moment the definitive Lee "Scratch" Perry beginner's compilation.  Entitled King Scratch (Musical Masterpieces From The Upsetter Ark-ive), its short version includes 40 mostly essential tracks, and its long version expands to a box of 4 LPs, 4 more CDs and a 50 page book.  I'll play you a few tracks from the short version this week, and add a couple more that I assume they just weren't able to license.

Also this week (Sunday September 25, 1:00-3:00 PM on WRIR, for two weeks afterwards on the wrir.org archive player, check your local listings for airing on other radio stations, and any old time at my podcast site): Nigerian highlife's Etsako Super Star, new music from the James Brown of Ghana, Al-Qasar's Arabian fuzz, songs Bio Ritmo has covered and hot new Haitian mizik rasin by Wesli.

Charts September 12-18, 2022

WRIR World's NACC Top Ten

1 BABA COMMANDANT AND THE MANDINGO BAND | Sonbonbela | Sublime Frequencies

2 DOGO DU TOGO | Dogo Du Togo | self-released

3 DEERHOOF | "My Lovely Cat!" [Single] | Joyful Noise

4 BOMBA ESTEREO AND MANU CHAO | "Me Duele" [Single] | Sony Latin

5 LORRAINE KLAASEN AND MONGEZI NTAKA | Ukubonga (Gratitude) | Justin Time

6 SHOTNEZ | "Contagious" [Single] | Batov

7 AYAHUASCA VOL. 2: CUMBIAS PSICODELICAS PERUANAS | various artists | Repsychled

8 MOVERS, THE | The Movers Vol. 1 - 1970-1976 | Analog Africa

9 SUPER DJATA BAND DE BAMAKO | Authentique 80 | Numero Group

10 OMAR PENE AND SUPER DIAMONO | Direct From Dakar | Real World

Afrobeat groove in our Mandingo tongue

There's a lot of competition for this title, but I think Baba Commandant & The Mandingo Band is my favorite African ensemble right now.  They're based in Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso, and as bandleader Mamadou (Baba Commandant) Sanou says, "we have chosen to make Afrobeat groove in our Mandingo tongue."

 

Baba plays donso ngoni, the hunter's harp, an instrument that until recently was only used for ceremonial music.  In combining traditional music and instruments with the modern, they're in alignment with the Authenticité movement of post-colonial Africa.  But they sound like 2022, not 1972: always aggressive, sometimes dissonant, they're like West African post-rock.

This week (Sunday September 18, 1:00-3:00 PM on WRIR, for two weeks afterwards on the wrir.org archive player, check your local listings for airing on other radio stations, and any old time at my podcast site) you'll hear a track from Baba Commandant's brand new album Sonbonbela alongside a new reissue from one of the bands that inspire them, the Super Djata Band.  Also this week: Bomba Estéreo meets Manu Chao, outstanding new Afropop from DC's Dogo Du Togo, a deep dive into South African township music, mbalax thunder and Middle Eastern Afrofunk.

Charts September 5-11, 2022

WRIR World's NACC Top Ten

1 DOGO DU TOGO | Dogo Du Togo | self-released

2 SON PALENQUE (KAINE SOUND BAND) | Es La Idea | Palenque

3 ORCHESTRE SOMO SOMO | "Molengo b/w Menga" [Single] | LAA

4 TIMPANA | "Pajaro" [Single] | Sounds & Colours

5 VIEUX FARKA TOURE AND KHRUANGBIN | "Tonga Barra" [Single] | Dead Oceans / Night Time Stories

6 LEE SCRATCH PERRY | King Scratch: Musical Masterpieces From The Upsetter Ark-ive | Trojan

7 VIEUX FARKA TOURE | Les Racines | World Circuit

8 AFRODELIC | Dusunkun Hakili | self-released

9 DEATH BY DUB | Abundance | Color Red

10 KOKOROKO | Could We Be More | Brownswood

Rally round the red, gold, black & green

Living legends of reggae music Steel Pulse play the National in Richmond on Friday September 16.  Founded in Birmingham, England, they were one of the first British reggae bands to break out in the late 1970s, with a political message that naturally allied them with punk and new wave acts like the Clash, the Police and XTC, among other bands they've shared bills with.

 

Recordings like Handsworth Revolution and True Democracy are in the reggae pantheon, and ongoing touring (which never stopped even when they didn't have a new album) and their first new release in 15 years, 2019's Mass Manipulation, shows they still have it.  You'll hear two Steel Pulse tracks that bookend their career on Global A Go-Go this week, and I'll give away a pair of tickets for the National show as well.

Also this week (Sunday September 11, 1:00-3:00 PM on WRIR, for two weeks afterwards on the wrir.org archive player, check your local listings for airing on other radio stations, and any old time at my podcast site): Noori & His Dorpa Band stretch out, Vieux & Khru channel Ali Farka Toure, two generations of Malian songbirds, Andean-Amazonian futurism from Bolivia by Timpana, and champeta classics from the 70s and 80s.

Charts Aug 29 - Sep 4, 2022

WRIR World's NACC Top Ten

1 AYAHUASCA VOL. 2: CUMBIAS PSICODELICAS PERUANAS | various artists | Repsychled

2 LOS PAO PAOS | Los Pao Paos | Devil In The Woods

3 BALIMAYA PROJECT | "Season Of Baraka" [Single] | Jazz Re:freshed

4 SUPER DJATA BAND DE BAMAKO | Authentique 80 | Numero Group

5 SONIDO GALLO NEGRO | Paganismo | T-Vox

6 JOAO SELVA | Se Acabou [EP] | Underdog

7 PEDRO LIMA | Recordar E Viver: Antogolia Vol. 1 | Bongo Joe

8 BKO | Djine Bora | Bongo Joe

9 SAM REDMORE | Universal Vibrations | Jalapeno

10 SESSA | Estrela Acesa | Mexican Summer

Se acabou

Autumn is election season here in the USA.  And it's really election season right now in Brazil, where Jair (Bozo) Bolsonaro, "the Trump of the tropics," is running in October for a second term as president against Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (known to all simply as Lula), who was jailed after a 2018 show trial that prevented him from running against Bolsonaro.  No doubt about it -- it's a grudge match.

 

Singer João Selva has chosen his side: he released an EP in July called Se Acabou ("It's Over") that's more like a pamphlet aimed at Bozo.  You'll hear the title track this week on Global A Go-Go, which will lead us into a whole set of Brazilian carnival sounds.

Also this week (Sunday September 4, 1:00-3:00 PM on WRIR, for two weeks afterwards on the wrir.org archive player, check your local listings for airing on other radio stations, and any old time at my podcast site): Latin psych and garage, spoken word Afrobeat, stinging Wassoulou rock from Mali, a larger-than-life new single by Balimaya Project, and danceable sounds from Lusophone Africa.