Slavic Soul Party | Five Albums

ARTIST: Slavic Soul Party
TITLE: Five Albums
LABEL: self-released
Slavic Soul Party is without a doubt the most accomplished Balkan brass band in the USA. They’ve been at it for 12 years now, and they’ve played every Tuesday night at Barbes in Park Slope, Brooklyn for almost all of that time – that’s how you develop the chops for the demanding and highly technical, yet festive and exuberant Balkan brass repertoire.

Program September 12, 2014

Global A Go-Go's on a Balkan high right now: Slavic Soul Party (pictured above) rocked the Modlin Center's season-opening party, Black Masala returns to Balliceaux on Saturday night, and the Boban & Marko Markovic Orkestar (the world's baddest brass band) will be at the Richmond Folk Festival in October.

You'll hear all three of those bands, including a track from Slavic Soul Party's new 5-album reissue, plus more Balkan brass madness on this week's program.  Also this week: Ethio-pop, Latin American big bands, and Australia's Shaolin Afronauts go Guineenne.

Charts September 7, 2014

WRIR's CMJ New World Top Ten
1 CECILIA NOEL | Havana Rocks | Compass
2 LES AMBASSADEURS | Les Ambassadeurs Du Motel De Bamako | Sterns
3 ZONGO JUNCTION | No Discount | Electric Cowbell
4 ANTERO | Victims Of Profit | self-released
5 JUNGLE FIRE | Tropicoso | Nacional
6 SHAOLIN AFRONAUTS | Follow The Path | Freestyle
7 MESTRE CUPIJO E SEU RITMO | Siria | Analog Africa
8 VARIOUS ARTISTS | The Sound Of Siam Volume 2: Molam & Luk Thung From North-East Thailand 1970-1982 | Soundway
9 SIA TOLNO | African Woman | Lusafrica
10 SON PALENQUE | Afrocolombian Sound Modernizers | Vampisoul

Jungle Fire | Tropicoso

ARTIST: Jungle Fire
TITLE: Tropicoso
LABEL: Nacional
Here’s the debut album from Jungle Fire, a full-sized (8 to 12 players) Afro-Latin funk band from Los Angeles. They introduced themselves to the world with a smoking 2012 single (tracks 2 and 3 on the album); now it’s time for a full-length.

Program September 5, 2014

Les Ambassadeurs (pictured above in front of their headquarters, Le Motel De Bamako), one of West Africa's greatest bands, reunited this summer for a series of ten concerts, none unfortunately in the USA.

Sterns Records has just released the essential compilation of the best of Les Ambassadeurs; most of the tracks haven't been available since the original vinyl went out of print, so this is a major occasion for African music fans.  You'll hear a track from that compilation on this week's edition of Global A Go-Go.

Also this week: two of the bands featured in Sunday's Modlin Center opening-day event; new Afrobeat by Sia Tolno and Zongo Junction; and an unlikely Cuban tribute to Buddy Holly, who would have been 78 years old this Sunday.

September 2014 Concert Calendar

September's Global A Go-Go picks:

1. The University of Richmond's Modlin Center for the Arts kicks off its 2014-15 performance season with an outdoor brass band festival on Sunday September 7 featuring Rebirth Brass Band, Red Baraat, Slavic Soul Party and No BS! Brass
2. Vieux Farka Toure, who blew away listeners at the Richmond Folk Festival a few years ago, visits Artisphere in Arlington on Friday September 12
3. DC-based Balkan brass blasters Black Masala return to Balliceaux on Saturday September 13
4. Two of African music's legends are appearing this month at George Washington University's Lisner Auditorium: Youssou N'Dour on Sunday September 14 and Salif Keita (pictured above) on Sunday September 21

Have an event you'd like me to include, or a suggestion for the concert calendar?  Just drop me a line at globalagogoradio [at] gmail [dot] com, or leave me a message right here.

Click "Read more" to see the entire September calendar.

Charts August 31, 2014

WRIR's CMJ New World Top Ten
1 CECILIA NOEL | Havana Rocks | Compass
2 LES AMBASSADEURS | Les Ambassadeurs Du Motel De Bamako | Sterns
3 EDIP AKBAYRAM | Edip Akbayram | Pharaway Sounds
4 MESTRE CUPIJO E SEU RITMO | Siria | Analog Africa
5 RICARDO LEMVO AND MAKINA LOCA | La Rumba SoYo | Cumbancha
6 BIO RITMO | Puerta Del Sur | Vampisoul
7 NOURA MINT SEYMALI | Tzenni | Glitterbeat
8 HASSAN HAKMOUN | Unity | Healing
9 VARIOUS ARTISTS | Ola Cabo Verde | Lusafrica
10 SIMO LAGNAWI | The Gnawa Berber | Riverboat

Les Ambassadeurs | Les Ambassadeurs Du Motel De Bamako

ARTIST: Les Ambassadeurs
TITLE: Les Ambassadeurs Du Motel De Bamako
LABEL: Sterns
Mali’s Les Ambassadeurs recently reunited for a brief European tour; that makes this 2-disc compilation of their original 1975-77 recordings timely.

Cecilia Noel | Havana Rocks

ARTIST: Cecilia Noel
TITLE: Havana Rocks
LABEL: Compass
Lima-born, LA-based singer Cecilia Noel has been working on her personal mix of Latin, jazz and pop for more than 20 years now. For her latest album, she journeyed to Havana and enlisted an A-team of Cuban players and singers, led by Carlos Alfonso of the groundbreaking rock band Sintesis.

Program August 29, 2014

With Ukraine (in dark blue above, graphic courtesy of the Canadian Joint Delegation to NATO, @CanadaNATO) in the news every day, I thought this would be a good time to feature that country's music on the radio.

I have some assistance in this effort: my frequent guest Vlad Cuiujuclu, the only person I know who has four U's in his surname, has selected most of the music for this week's program.  Vlad, a native of Moldova, is well-versed in all forms of Eastern European music -- we'll spin everything from folk to punk and electronica on this mind-broadening, newsworthy edition of Global A Go-Go.

Charts August 24, 2014

WRIR's CMJ New World Top Ten
1 VARIOUS ARTISTS | Brazil! The Birth Of Bossa Nova | Le Chant Du Monde
2 CUMBIA ALL STARS | Tigres En Fuga | Harmonia Mundi
3 VARIOUS ARTISTS | Salsa De Hoy: An Independent Salsa Caliente Compilation | Discos De Hoy
4 QUANTIC | Magnetica | Tru Thoughts
5 BOBBY VALENTIN | El Mensajero | Andale
6 BIO RITMO | Puerta Del Sur | Vampisoul
7 TOUMANI DIABATE AND SIDIKI DIABATE | Toumani And Sidiki | World Circuit
8 NOURA MINT SEYMALI | Tzenni | Glitterbeat
9 SONIDO GALLO NEGRO | Sendero Mistico | Glitterbeat
10 DOCTOR KRAPULA AND COLECTIVO JAGUAR | Ama-Zonas | self-released

Finding Fela: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

ARTIST: various artists
TITLE: Finding Fela: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
LABEL: Knitting Factory
This two-disc soundtrack to the new Fela Kuti biopic (in theaters right now) is a worthwhile document in its own right.

Zongo Junction | No Discount

ARTIST: Zongo Junction
TITLE: No Discount
LABEL: Electric Cowbell
The second album from this Brooklyn-based ensemble, which ranges from 8 to 11 players, is a superb example of progressive Afrobeat.

Program August 22, 2014

My colleague David Noyes of The Motherland Influence (Sundays at 5 PM on WRIR) has been raving all year about the compilation of music from Burkina Faso that's pictured above.  I finally bought a copy, and guess what -- he's right to rave, it's fabulous, one of the best things I've heard all year.  I'll play you a track this week (first of many to come, I'm sure) so you can hear for yourself.

Also on this week's program: brand new music by Malouma (not only one of Mauritania's most famous singers, also the first woman ever elected to that country's legislature); Manu Chao collaborating with Colombia's Doctor Krapula; and some killer salsa dura.

Charts August 17, 2014

WRIR's CMJ New World Top Ten
1 MESTRE CUPIJO E SEU RITMO | Siria | Analog Africa
2 SHAOLIN AFRONAUTS | Follow The Path | Freestyle
3 EDIP AKBAYRAM | Edip Akbayram | Pharaway Sounds
4 VARIOUS ARTISTS | Finding Fela: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack | Knitting Factory
5 ZONGO JUNCTION | No Discount | Electric Cowbell
6 JUNGLE FIRE | Tropicoso | Nacional
7 VARIOUS ARTISTS | Salsa De Hoy: An Independent Salsa Caliente Compilation | Discos De Hoy
8 BOBBY VALENTIN | El Mensajero | Andale
9 BIO RITMO | Puerta Del Sur | Vampisoul
10 SON PALENQUE | Afrocolombian Sound Modernizers | Vampisoul