Charts May 29 - Jun 4, 2023

WRIR World's NACC Top Ten

1 WITCH | Zango | Desert Daze/Partisan

2 ALOGTE OHO AND HIS SOUNDS OF JOY | O Yinne! | Philophon

3 BELA FLECK, EDGAR MEYER, ZAKIR HUSSAIN | As We Speak (feat. Rakesh Chaurasia) | Bela Fleck/Thirty Tigers

4 ROGE | Curyman | Diamond West

5 TRU TONES | Power Struggle | Cultures Of Soul

6 MOKOOMBA | "Nzara Hapana" b/w "Makisi" [Single] | Out Here

7 TINARIWEN | Amatssou | Wedge

8 LARRY AND JOE | Nuevo South Train | SideHustle

9 EASY STAR ALL-STARS | Ziggy Stardub | Easy Star

10 PLENA LIBRE | Cuatro Esquinas | GN Musica

Wasted days and wasted nights

Baldemar Huerta decolonized music fans' ears for six decades.  As El Bebop Kid he was one of the first Latino rock stars in the 1950s, as Freddy Fender he was the first person to top the American pop and country charts bilingually, and as a member of the Texas Tornados and Los Super Seven he was one of the chefs of a stew of rock, folk, country and Mexican rancheras and boleros that could only be summarized as "American music."

 

He's the quintessential American success story: The son of migrant farm workers, kicked out of the Marines, jailed in Angola State Prison for three years for possession of two marijuana joints, yet somehow he ended up with his name and likeness on his home town's water tower.  This week Global A Go-Go celebrates what would have been Freddy Fender's 86th birthday with music from the full breadth of his career.

Also this week (Sunday June 4, 1:00-3:00 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): New sounds from southern Africa, Alogte Oho and Max Weissenfeldt's Frafra gospel, feminist Afrobeat, what's new in reggae, and north African rock 'n' roll.

Charts May 22-28, 2023

WRIR World's NACC Top Ten

1 SON ROMPE PERA | Chimborazo | AYA

2 SHONO | Kolkhozoy Traktor | CPL

3 JACOBO VELEZ Y LA MAMBANEGRA | Radio Mambo Internacionale AM [EP] | Tambora

4 ENTOTO BAND | Entoto Band | Guitar Globetrotter

5 BOKANTE | "Adjoni" [Single] | Real World

6 PAHUA | "Pa'lante" (feat Acid Coco) [Single] | Nacional

7 REMI KABAKA | Son Of Africa | BBE

8 SIA TOLNO | Baya [EP] | Kingsland/Slow Walk

9 LARRY AND JOE | Nuevo South Train | SideHustle

10 MAHLATHINI AND THE MAHOTELLA QUEENS | Music Inferno: The Indestructible Beat Tour 1988-89 | Umsakazo

Future of a 1000 years

I have to admit, I thought the great crate-digging wave had already unearthed all of the notable Afro-funk records that had ever been pressed.  But it missed Son Of Africa by Remi Kabaka.  Now, there's a good reason for this: Son Of Africa wasn't made in Africa at all.  It was recorded in England and released in 1976 by Island Records, who were doubling down on Black international artists following the success of Bob Marley.

 

But the album sank like a stone and has been mostly forgotten until now, when it has been reissued by BBE Records.  This week on Global A Go-Go you'll hear a track from Son Of Africa, which as it turns out is one of the very best Afro-funk albums of the 1970s, plus like-minded African peers Gerardo Pino and Rob, who, oddly, I and other African music enthusiasts know more about than we do of Remi Kabaka, who actually played with the Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney & Wings, Steve Winwood and many others.  The world works in mysterious ways.

Also this week (Sunday May 28, 1:00-3:00 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): new Ethio-jazz from the Netherlands by Entoto Band, guembri three ways, new cumbia from Pahua and Son Rompe Pera, the speedy salsa of Cali Colombia, and throat singers do rock 'n' roll.

Charts May 15-21, 2023

WRIR World's NACC Top Ten

1 BOMBINO | "Tazidert" [Single] | Partisan

2 TINARIWEN | Amatssou | Wedge

3 ALI FARKA TOURE | Voyageur | World Circuit

4 ENTOTO BAND | Entoto Band | Guitar Globetrotter

5 DELE SOSIMI | You No Fit Touch Am (Deluxe Edition) | Wah Wah 45s

6 KILTRO | "All The Time In The World" | ONErpm

7 CECILIA NOEL | "El Nino En La Frontera" [Single] | Wild Clam

8 LARRY AND JOE | Nuevo South Train | SideHustle

9 CUMBIAS EN MOOG | "Cumbia De Sal" b/w "Cumbia Sobre El Mar" [Single] | Vampisoul

10 MARIAA SIGA | "Ni Mama" [Single] | Made In Africa

They left me naught to dig his grave

Sunday is the 82nd birthday of Martin Carthy, the English singer and guitarist who has done as much as anyone alive today to perpetuate and advance the folk and traditional music of Great Britain.  And he's still going strong, with a gig coming up in Birmingham (England, not Alabama) this week and a tour planned for the fall and winter.  This week on Global A Go-Go we celebrate Martin Carthy by playing two of my favorite songs of his.  Yeah, they're long songs.

 

Also this week (Sunday May 21, 1:00-3:00 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): The unlikely duo of Venezuelan Larry Bellorín on llanera harp and American Joe Troop on banjo, another new single from Denver Latin-folk-psych combo Kiltro, a set of Afro-reggae and ska, the latest Sahara desert blues from Tinariwen and Bombino, and one more song by Baba Commandant & The Mandingo Band who will be at the Get Tight Lounge on Wednesday May 24.

Charts May 8-14, 2023

WRIR World's NACC Top Ten

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

2 REMI KABAKA | Son Of Africa | BBE

3 SIA TOLNO | Baya [EP] | Kingsland/Slow Walk

4 PAHUA | "Espantapajaros" [Single] | Nacional

5 CHEO | "Macumba" [Single] | Nacional

6 CUMBIAS EN MOOG | "Cumbia De Sal" b/w "Cumbia Sobre El Mar" [Single] | Vampisoul

7 ALTIN GUN | Ask | ATO

8 WITCH | "Avalanche Of Love" feat. Sampa The Great [Single] | Desert Daze/Partisan

9 LOS BITCHOS | Pah! [EP] | City Slang

10 FRUKO Y SUS TESOS | Fruko Power Vol. 1: Rarities & Deep Album Cuts 1970-1974 | Vampisoul

The opposite of auto-tune

It's not often that Richmonders get a chance to see one of the most original, electric, mind-blowing bands in all of Africa, playing in a venue that resembles the tight, steamy open-air nightclubs of their home town, Ouagadougou in the small West African nation of Burkina Faso.

 

That opportunity comes your way on Wednesday May 24 when Baba Commandant & The Mandingo Band play at the Get Tight Lounge.  If you're considering taking the plunge, tune in to Global A Go-Go this week (Sunday May 14, 1:00-3:00 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) and hear my choice of three Baba Commandant songs, plus an explanation of why they're my favorite African band right now.

 

Also this week: We celebrate David Byrne's 71st birthday with a set of his most outernational music plus selections from his globalist Luaka Bop record label, new music from sometimes David Byrne associate and former labelmate Cheo, new Afro-funk coming out of Barcelona by Sia Tolno, and a set of electro-cumbia.

Charts May 1-7, 2023

WRIR World's NACC Top Ten

1 EASY STAR ALL-STARS | Ziggy Stardub | Easy Star

2 NUSANTARA BEAT | "Djanger" b/w "Borondong Garing" [Single] | Bongo Joe/Lamunai

3 EBO TAYLOR | Ebo Taylor & The Pelikans | Comet

4 EAST AFRICAN HIGHWAY: MORE GEMS FROM THE GOLDEN AGE OF BENGA AND RUMBA | various artists | No Wahala Sounds

5 CHEO | "Macumba" [Single] | Nacional

6 MAHLATHINI AND THE MAHOTELLA QUEENS | Music Inferno: The Indestructible Beat Tour 1988-89 | Umsakazo

7 NAMIAN SIDIBE | Namian Sidibe | Sahel Sounds

8 INNA BABA COULIBALY | Djilly Kawral | Remote

9 LAMINE SONKO | "Taamo" [Single] | Hopestreet

10 PLENA LIBRE | Cuatro Esquinas | GN Musica

Nusantara beat

Here's something you probably haven't heard yet: A Dutch band, all members first, second or third generation Indonesians, playing trippy rock 'n' roll that's based on Indonesian traditional and popular music.  The band in question is Nusantara Beat, their debut single will be released on May 19, and you'll hear both the A and B sides on this week's edition of Global A Go-Go.

 

Also this week (Sunday May 7, 1:00-3:00 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 covers of an artist you've definitely already heard, new traditional sounds from Mali and Senegal, and an hour of African dusties: Ghanaian and Nigerian highlife, mbaqanga from South Africa, and east African Swahili rumba and benga.

Charts April 17-30, 2023

WRIR World's NACC Top Ten

1 ALTIN GUN | Ask | ATO

2 PLENA LIBRE | Cuatro Esquinas | GN Musica

3 WITCH | "Avalanche Of Love" feat. Sampa The Great [Single] | Desert Daze/Partisan

4 FRUKO Y SUS TESOS | Fruko Power Vol. 1: Rarities & Deep Album Cuts 1970-1974 | Vampisoul

5 SAMMY MASSAMBA | Propriete Privee | Secousse

6 CHEZIDEK | Never Stop | Irie Ites

7 BARIS MANCO | Dunden Bugune | Turkofon

8 DELE SOSIMI AND THE ESTUARY 21 | The Confluence | Wah Wah 45s

9 MAHLATHINI AND THE MAHOTELLA QUEENS | Music Inferno: The Indestructible Beat Tour 1988-89 | Umsakazo

10 DAWIT YIFRU | Dawit Yifru | Muzikawi

Doktor civanım

It's a mostly rock 'n' roll edition of Global A Go-Go this week (Sunday April 30, 1:00-3:00 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), with the first hour and then some focusing on rock from all over the planet.

 

The Turkish-Dutch psych-funk band Altın Gün (pictured above) are featured with two songs from their wonderful new album Aşk.  You'll also hear Afro-rock from Ghana, Zambia and Kenya, new progressive Latin sounds by Kiltro and Monstruos del Mañana, and some Latin rock from the 70s including a request from faithful Global A Go-Go listener Dee.

Away from the rock 'n' roll tip, I have some Ethio-jazz cued up for you, including a new album by Fendika & K-Sanchis and a new reissue of Dawit Yifru, and we'll wrap things up with plena and bomba including the latest from Puerto Rico's Plena Libre.

Sun Ra and me

From L to R: Sun Ra, Walt Dickerson & yours truly

Nobody has ever asked me to write liner notes for an album, until now.  The album in question is Haverford College, Jan. 25, 1980 by Sun Ra.  It was released in physical form last weekend for Record Store Day 2023 (discogs.com/release/26666099-Sun-Ra-Haverford-College-1980-Solo-Piano) and previously as Bandcamp download in 2019 (sunramusic.bandcamp.com/album/haverford-college-1980-solo-piano).

So why am I writing liner notes for a Sun Ra album?  Well, it's because I was one of the promoters of the concert on the recording.  The album and the concert make a pretty good story, and you can read about it in the liner notes below.  My notes follow those of Irwin Chusid, the administrator of Sun Ra's estate and the person who asked to publish my reminiscences.  Thank you, Irwin!

 

For a 3-minute summary, here's an interview about the album that I did as a Record Store Day promotion with my long-time friend Jim Bland, owner of Plan 9 Music in Richmond: facebook.com/watch/?v=932921114422140.

Free speech isn't free

WRIR's Spring 2023 Fund Drive is currently underway -- we're working to raise $42,000 by Saturday April 29 to power "the tower of low power" in Richmond for another six months. Thank you for your previous donations to Richmond Independent Radio; I'm writing to encourage you to make a contribution once again this spring, if you can. You can make that donation in two minutes by clicking this link: wrir.org/donating.

Charts April 10-16, 2023

WRIR World's NACC Top Ten

1 ALEX FIGUEIRA | Mentallogenic | Music With Soul

2 FRUKO Y SUS TESOS | Fruko Power Vol. 1: Rarities & Deep Album Cuts 1970-1974 | Vampisoul

3 IMMY OWUSU | "Flashback" [Single] | Hopestreet

4 ANTIDOPING | "No Te Desamines" [Single] | FaroLatino

5 LOS BITCHOS | Pah! [EP] | City Slang

6 DJ BLACK LOW | Impumelelo | Awesome Tapes From Africa

7 DIANA BURCO | "Mal Amores" [Single] | Codiscos

8 LES ABRANIS | Amazigh Freedom Rock 1973-1983 | Bongo Joe

9 BORGA REVOLUTION, VOLUME 2: GHANAIAN DANCE MUSIC IN THE DIGITAL AGE, 1983-1996 | various artists | Kalita

10 MOUSSA TCHINGOU | Tamiditime [EP] | Sahel Sounds