The band that speaks all African langauges

They called Benin's Gnonnas Pedro Et Ses Dadjes "the band of Africa" and "the band that speaks all African languages" because of their ability to sing in dozens of tongues and perform styles of music from all over the continent, not to mention Europe and the Americas.

 

Analog Africa Records' long-planned Gnonnas Pedro compilation, Roi De L'Agbadja Moderne 1974-1983 has finally been released, and it's the retrospective this unique artist has long deserved.  You'll hear three tracks from it this week on Global A Go-Go, all sung in different languages of course.

 

Also this week (Sunday February 23, 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): Music by Senegal's Cheikh Ibra Fam and Diali Cissokho & Kaira Ba, who will performing together at Révéler Experiences on March 29, new cumbia from El León Pardo and Pambelé, Alsarah & The Nubatones play the deep sounds of Sudan, lovely new lusophone songs by Mandinga Beat and Lucibela, and the scorching desert blues of Mali's DJAM!

Charts Feb 10-16, 2025

WRIR World's NACC Top Ten

1 SANTROFI |  Making Moves | Outhere

2 ANTHONY JOSEPH | Rowing Up River To Get Our Names Back | Heavenly Sweetness

3 ROBERTA CAMPOS | Coisas De Viver | self-released

4 LA BOA AND TONY ALLEN | La BOA Meets Tony Allen | Comet

5 BEST OF CONGO | various artists | World Congolese

6 KANKOU KOUYATE | N'Darila | One World

7 DENNIS MPALE FEAT. KIPPIE MOKETSI | Our Boys Are Doing It | We Are Busy Bodies

8 LADIES W.C. | Ladies W.C. | Munster

9 JORDAN WAX | Taytsh (The Heart Deciphers) | Borscht Beat

10 TRIO DA KALI | Bagola | One World

A conjure man with seven hands swirling

Tony Allen was "perhaps the greatest drummer who ever lived" (Brian Eno), and "without Tony Allen, there would be no Afrobeat" (Fela Kuti).  Allen, who passed away five years ago this April, is the subject of two recorded tributes this month, one a posthumous collaboration with La BOA, the Bogotá Afrobeat Orchestra, and the other a poem by Anthony Joseph set to the music of Dave Okumu.  You'll hear both of them this week on Global A Go-Go.

 

Also this week (Sunday February 16, 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 Brazilian sounds from Roberta Campos and Rogê, Jordan Wax's New Mexico indie-klezmer in Yiddish, two new albums from Mali's Kouyaté family tree, Santrofi celebrates their roots and leaps into the future of Ghanaian highlife, and a stellar jazz-meets-bump-jive reissue from South Africa's Dennis Mpale.

Charts Feb 3-9, 2025

WRIR World's NACC Top Ten

1 ALSARAH AND THE NUBATONES | Mawasim Altariq : Seasons Of The Road | self-released

2 MERIDIAN BROTHERS | Mi Latinoamerica Sufre | Ansonia/Bongo Joe

3 GNONNAS PEDRO AND HIS DADJES BAND | Roi De L'Agbadja Moderne 1974-1983 | Analog Africa

4 ORIGINAL SOUND OF MALI 2, THE | various artists | Mr Bongo

5 FEMI KUTI | "After 24 Years" [Single] | Partisan

6 KANKOU KOUYATE | N'Darila | One World

7 ESTRELLAS DE BUENA VISTA | Live In Havana | One World

8 GERSON KING COMBO | Gerson King Combo | Vampisoul

9 DUBMARTA | "Watch Me Grow" [Single] | Conscious Sounds

10 KIN'GONGOLO KINIATA | "Kingongolo" [Single] | Helico

Plus de café

It's a fully caffeinated, new music focused edition of Global A Go-Go this time, headlined by funk from around the world including new tracks from Vaudou Game and Cheo, and a new reissue of Brazil's Gerson King Combo.

 

Also this week (Sunday February 9, 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): Estrellas De Buena Vista bring back that old Cuban son; The Bongo Hop and Rancho Aparte represent Colombia's Pacific coast; rock from three continents by Tek Roc, Kin'Gongolo Kiniata and Leenalchi; new roots reggae by Italian-English singer DubMarta; and the East African sounds of Dexter Story and Alsarah & The Nubatones.

Charts Jan 27 - Feb 2, 2025

WRIR World's NACC Top Ten

1 SONGHOY BLUES | Héritage | Studio Mali/Transgressive

2 SAHRA HALGAN | Hiddo Dhawr | Danaya

3 KANKOU KOUYATE | N'Darila | One World

4 ESTRELLAS DE BUENA VISTA | Live In Havana | One World

5 BROOKLYN SOUNDS | Libre-Free | Vampisoul

6 SAMBA TOURE | Baarakelaw | Glitterbeat

7 TRIO DA KALI | Bagola | One World

8 BONGO HOP, THE | La Pata Coja | Underdog

9 KIT SEBASTIAN | New Internationale | Brainfeeder

10 OLAMINA AND AWARENESS | Chant Down Babylon | Love City

Certeza y incertidumbre

"Incertidumbre" (uncertainty or doubt) is the first track on the exquisite new album by Miramar, Entre Tus Flores.  There are a few certezas (certainties) that come along with the album:

• You haven't heard anything quite like it before
• Fans of bolero, Latin America's long-lived, popular style of romantic song, will be thrilled
  
• It's going to give this Richmond band a new level of prominence here at home, across the USA, and in Europe and Latin America

Another certainty: Miramar will be joining me and live sound engineer Richard Schellenberg in WRIR's Studio C for a live performance and an interview this week on Global A Go-Go (Sunday February 2, 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).

 

It's only been eleven years since their last appearance on Global A Go-Go!  So you're overdue for an update on their story and sound, and what better time to get one than a couple of weeks before their hometown record release gig on Valentine's Day at Révéler Experiences.

What's uncertain is what I'll be playing on the program.  I'm going to start with some fabulous new music from Mali by Samba Touré, Trio Da Kali and Songhoy Blues.  I'll give Miramar as much time as they want in Studio C, and everything after that is a big TBD.  Tune in for this celebration of some of the best Richmond has to offer to the world.

Charts January 20-26, 2025

WRIR World's NACC Top Ten

1 MIRAMAR | Entre Tus Flores | Ansonia

2 SAMBA TOURE | Baarakelaw | Glitterbeat

3 NOVALIMA | La Danza (Deluxe Version) | Six Degrees

4 SONGHOY BLUES | Héritage | Studio Mali/Transgressive

5 SANTROFI | Making Moves | Outhere

6 VAUDOU GAME | Fintou | Hot Casa

7 SATELLITES | "Tisladi Mehmet Emmi" [Single] | Batov

8 JUPITER AND OKWESS, FLAVIA COELHO | "Les Bons Comptes" [Single] | Airfono

9 NAHAWA DOUMBIA | Vol. 2 | Awesome Tapes From Africa

10 AL-QASAR | Uncovered | Wewantsounds

Look to the sea

Richmond's own Miramar are building a worldwide audience for their highly personal, very groovy approach to bolero, the quintessential Latin American romantic song of the 20th century.

 

They've played at Lincoln Center Out of Doors, globalFEST and the Secret Planet Showcase, they've collaborated with the Richmond Symphony, and their brand new album Entre Tus Flores on the taste-making Los Angeles label Ansonia is going to introduce them to listeners in the USA, Europe and Latin America.  I'll start the show this week with two tracks from Entre Tus Flores.

Also this week (Sunday January 26, 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): Long tracks I didn't have time for on my best-reissues-of-2024 show by South Africa's Tete Mbambisa and Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan of Pakistan; new global rock from Orchestre Tout Puissant Marcel Duchamp, Al-Qasar, Şatellites and Jupiter & Okwess; Santrofi leaps into the future of highlife; and some Nigerian Afro-disco.

Charts January 6-19, 2025

WRIR World's NACC Top Ten

1 SUPER DISCO PIRATA: DE TEPITO PARA EL MUNDO 1965-1980 | various artists | Analog Africa

2 VAUDOU GAME | Fintou | Hot Casa

3 JUANA MOLINA | Exhalo [EP] | Little Butterfly

4 CHEO | Refresco Vol. 2: Cheo Goes Funk [EP] | Nacional

5 MIRAMAR | Entre Tus Flores | Ansonia

6 SONGHOY BLUES | Héritage | Studio Mali/Transgressive

7 DOWDELIN | Tchenbe! | Underdog

8 CULTURE | Humble African (25th Anniversary Expanded Edition) | VP

9 ZANZIBARA 11: CONGO IN DAR | various artists | Buda

10 U-BROWN, QUEEN OMEGA, CHEZIDEK | "Three The Hard Way" [Single] | Irie Ites

Charts Dec 9 2024 - Jan 5 2025

WRIR World's NACC Top Ten

1 JUNIORE | Trois, Deux, Un | Le Phonographe

2 ANGELICA GARCIA | Gemelo | Partisan

3 BONGO HOP, THE | La Pata Coja | Underdog

4 DOGO DU TOGO AND THE ALAGAA BEAT BAND | Avoude | We Are Busy Bodies

5 KARANTAMBA | Galgi | Teranga Beat

6 NFALY DIAKITE | Hunter Folk Vol. 1: Tribute To Toumani Kone | Mieruba

7 MDOU MOCTAR | Funeral For Justice | Matador

8 CONGO FUNK! SOUND MADNESS FROM THE SHORES OF THE MIGHTY CONGO RIVER | various artists | Analog Africa

9 ABOUBAKAR TRAORE AND BALIMA | Sababu | Zephyrus

10 ZANZIBARA 11: CONGO IN DAR | various artists | Buda

El heredero de la cumbia

Yeison Landero, from San Jacinto in Colombia’s Montes de María province near Cartagena, is called el heredero de la cumbia – the heir to cumbia, the inheritor of cumbia.  He’s from the birthplace of that style of music, a style that’s now enormously popular all across Latin America and increasingly in the USA as well.

 

Yeison, the grandson of Andrés Landero, el rey de la cumbia (the king of cumbia), brings his band to Richmond for the first time ever on Friday January 17 at Révéler Experiences for two shows, at 7:30 and 9:30 PM presented by Secret Planet Richmond.  Yeison and his band will also be playing live at WRIR on Head Empty Radio, on the afternoon of January 17 between 1 and 3 PM.  This week on Global A Go-Go, I'll introduce you to the festive and deeply culturally significant music of Yeison Landero.

 

Also this week (Sunday January 5, 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): A set of reggae for the upcoming Marijuana Justice Lobby Day at the General Assembly; new music from Brazil via Los Angeles by Rogê; new Afropop from Bakk Lamp Fall, Vaudou Game and Fely Tchaco; four very different takes on the cumbia tradition; and the sound of West Africa's ancient culture of hunters and spiritual guardians played on the donso ngoni.

Top 10 compilations, reissues & historic recordings of 2024

This week on Global A Go-Go (Sunday December 29, 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), I'm wrapping up a 3-week-long look at the top releases of 2024 by playing tracks from my favorite compilations, reissues and historic recordings of the year.

 

I admit to spending a lot of time keeping up with what's new in the world of world music.  At the same time, there's so much older music that I'm still unaware of and that I'd like to know more about.  How to work on both simultaneously?  That's precisely where compilations, reissues and historic recordings come in.  I make sure to pay special attention to this category every year -- it's one of the primary ways I backfill my own musical knowledge.

 

Without further ado, here are my favorite compilations, reissues and historic recordings of 2024:

Top 10 new singles & EPs of 2024

I've been recapping my favorite singles and EPs of the year for each of the last six years.  In the current era of home studios, direct-to-consumer distribution, mobile listening and streaming, the music industry has become more singles-focused than it's been since before 1967.  Singles aren't just for Top 40 any more -- whatever styles of music you like, if you're ignoring singles you're missing some of the best music being released today.

 

This year's edition (Sunday December 22, 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) once again has killer material, every bit as good as what you heard on my best albums of 2024 episode last week.

 

Without further ado, here are my favorite singles and EPs of 2024:

Top 10 new albums of 2024

It's the most wonderful time of the year, the time to find out who's been naughty and who's been 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 out my own lists over the next three Sundays on Global A Go-Go.  On this week's program (Sunday December 15, 1:00-3:00 PM on WRIR, for two weeks afterwards at wrir.org/listen and any old time at my podcast site) I'll present my top ten new albums of 2024 plus ten honorable mentions.

 

Next week on December 22 I'll play my favorite singles and EPs of the departing year.  And in two weeks' time on December 29 you'll hear selections from my favorite compilations, reissues and historic recordings of 2024.

 

Without further ado, here are my favorite new albums of 2024: