Charts October 7-13, 2024

WRIR World's NACC Top Ten

1 CELIA CRUZ AND JOHNNY PACHECO | Celia & Johnny | Fania

2 PRABIR TRIO | Long After The Empire | self-released

3 MIRAMAR | "Un Astro" [Single] | Ansonia

4 MARTIN LOPEZ Y SUS ESTRELLAS | Cocinando | Vampisoul

5 NUSRAT FATEH ALI KHAN | Chain Of Light | Real World

6 NYBOMA | Double Double | No Wahala Sounds

7 BONGO HOP, THE | "Dekonekte" [Single] | Underdog

8 ELISEO GOMES AND JOAQUIM VALERA | Chuma Lopes | Arabusta

9 ORQUESTA AKOKAN | Caracoles | Daptone

10 ROLANDO BRUNO Y EL GRUPO AREVALO | Cosas Raras | Peace & Rhythm/Electric Cowbell/DJ Cajon

Who is Loboko?

New York City-based Congolese band Loboko are coming to Richmond's Révéler Experiences on Saturday October 26.  You'll hear Loboko's music this week on Global A Go-Go, alongside other bands playing the awesome contemporary Congolese guitar-driven dance music called sebene.

 

(Just as a heads up, Loboko will also be my in-studio guest on WRIR's Cause & Effect program on the afternoon of October 26, during WRIR's Fall 2024 Fund Drive.  I'll be interviewing the band members at that time, and they'll also take over the show, spinning some of their favorite recordings, Congolese and otherwise, and maybe playing their own unreleased recordings too.)

As for the rest of what I'm playing this week (Sunday October 13, 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), you'll hear more great African guitar music including a reissue of classic 1980s Congolese rumba by Nyboma and some smoking funaná from Cabo Verde by Eliseo Gomes & Joaquim Valera, plus a newly discovered qawwali recording by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, the new single by Richmond's own Miramar, and The Bongo Hop's hot new French Caribbean-style track.

Charts Sep 30 - Oct 6, 2024

WRIR World's NACC Top Ten

1 MANU CHAO | Viva Tu | Because

2 AMADOU AND MARIAM | La Vie Est Belle | Because

3 MULATU ASTATKE AND HOODNA ORCHESTRA | "Tension" [Single] | Batov

4 CIMAFUNK | Pa' Tu Cuerpa | Terapia

5 SEUN KUTI AND EGYPT 80 | Heavier Yet (Lays The Crownless Head) | Record Kicks

6 KIT SEBASTIAN | New Internationale | Brainfeeder

7 VOILAAA | C'est Tout | Favorite

8 LOS DUTIS | Surreal [EP] | Matachin

9 MIGHTY DIAMONDS AND TETRACK | Trouble Backstage | Reggae Library

10 TAJ WEEKES AND ZION ALBERT | "Cornerstone" [Single] | Jatta/Skank

Beaux dimanches

It's always a beautiful Sunday here on the radio at WRIR, what with programs like The Motherland Influence, Ambiance Congo, The Other Black Music, If Music Could Talk, Bebop & Beyond with Mr. Jazz, Club Unity and more, along with Global A Go-Go of course.

 

And none more beautiful than this Sunday (October 6, 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) as we're featuring the new albums from both Manu Chao and Amadou & Mariam.

 

We're highlighting lots of new fall releases this week, including new Brazilian sounds from Saulo Duarte and MOMO.; new reggae by Taj Weekes & Zion Albert, Vincent Price & The Young Spirits (Halloween alert!), Pasnbesa and Big Boss Sound; the Turkish stylings of Aylin's Soulgarden and Altın Gün; and the Ethio-jazz of Mulatu Astatke & Hoodna Orchestra.

 

Plus I'll be giving away a pair of tickets for the October 12 Broadberry show of Cimafunk, Cuba's answer to Prince or George Clinton, so tune in to win, and to enjoy another beautiful Sunday on WRIR!

Charts September 23-29, 2024

WRIR World's NACC Top Ten

1 PENI CANDRA RINI | Wulansih | New Amsterdam

2 SERGE BULAT | Omorphita Cornershop | self-released

3 PENI CANDRA RINI | Wani | New Amsterdam

4 AMADOU AND MARIAM | La Vie Est Belle | Because

5 MOLCHAT DOMA | Belaya Polosa | Sacred Bones

6 NICOLE MITCHELL AND BALLAKE SISSOKO | Bamako Chicago Sound System | FPE

7 DJ VADIM | Soundcatcher 2.0 | King Dada Sounds

8 ACCRA QUARTET | Gbɛfalɔi (Travelers) | FPE

9 TAMADA | 9 Deadly Sins For Tamada | Alt Orient

10 HOWIE LEE | At The Drolma Wesel-Ling Monastery | Mais Um

Serge Bulat's Cornershop mixes

I recently met a musician from the Moldovan-Ukrainian border named Serge Bulat.  I'd classify his music as electronica; Aphex Twin and Bonobo are two artists you might know who Serge has cited as influences.  He’s also a field recordist and he integrates those sounds into his music.

 

Serge has a new album called Omorphita Cornershop and it has a song on it that includes Serge’s recording of the Bulgarian kaval player Theodosii Spassov. I’ve played Spassov’s music on Global A Go-Go before, so that caught my attention right away.  The other thing that caught my attention is that Serge says he’s currently based in Virginia. So I reached out to him to get more details.

 

In the course of our correspondence, Serge asked if I’d like to hear some mixes of the eclectic music that he listens to. You’re going to hear those mixes for yourself this week on Global A Go-Go (Sunday September 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 presenting Serge Bulat's Cornershop mixes as Serge created them: two 48-minute sets, one for each of the program's hours, with no breaks or talking in between, just a continuous flow of music that includes sounds from Moldova, Ukraine and the Roma world, but also from Kurdistan, Palestine, Japan, Africa and more.

Charts September 16-22, 2024

WRIR World's NACC Top Ten

1 LA SONORA MAZUREN | Magnetismo Animal | Barbes

2 KIT SEBASTIAN | "Bul Bul Bul" [Single] | Brainfeeder

3 SONGHOY BLUES | "Issa" [Single] | Studio Mali/Transgressive

4 AMADOU AND MARIAM | La Vie Est Belle | Because

5 ACCRA QUARTET | Gbɛfalɔi (Travelers) | FPE

6 AHMED MALIK | Musique Originale De Films (Volume 2) | Habibi Funk

7 ZAWOSE QUEENS, THE | Maisha | Real World

8 BAB L'BLUZ | Swaken | Real World

9 AZIZA BRAHIM | Mawja (Wave) | Glitterbeat

10 SARAMACCAN SOUND | Where The River Ends Is Only The Beginning | Glitterbeat

More polyrhythmic, even more lysergic

The music scene in Bogotá, Colombia is red-hot right now, and one of that city's finest bands will be visiting Richmond this week.  La Sonora Mazurén play at the Get Tight Lounge on Wednesday September 25, and you'll hear their music this week on Global A Go-Go.  I'll put them in context alongside tracks from other current bogotana bands like Meridian Brothers, Frente Cumbiero, La Perla, Romperayo and Conjunto Media Luna (the last three bands all share members with La Sonora Mazurén).

 

Speaking of hot, Richmond's bolero royalty Miramar have a new single coming out imminently on the legendary salsa label Ansonia.  And they will be performing with a slightly larger ensemble, the Richmond Symphony, at the Carpenter Theatre on October 5, so I'll play some Miramar music as well.

 

And trainee Tim joins me in the studio to spin a tasty selection of African and Brazilian vinyl.  So it's a jam-packed show this week (Sunday September 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), don't miss it!

Charts September 9-15, 2024

WRIR World's NACC Top Ten

1 ETRAN DE L'AIR | 100% Sahara Guitar | Sahel Sounds

2 DOGO DU TOGO AND THE ALAGAA BEAT BAND | "Avoude" [Single] | We Are Busy Bodies

3 SEUN KUTI AND EGYPT 80 | "Stand Well Well" [Single] | Record Kicks

4 MANU CHAO | "Tu Te Vas" feat. Laeti [Single] | Because

5 LA SONORA MAZUREN | Magnetismo Animal | Barbes

6 OLAMINA AND AWARENESS | Chant Down Babylon | Love City

7 PENI CANDRA RINI | Wulansih | New Amsterdam

8 LOS FULANOS | "Blue Monday b/w Why Don't We Do Some Boogaloo?" [Single] | Lovemonk

9 ZANJA ALL STARS | Cuban Jam Session, Vol. 1 | Zanja

10 MYRIAM GENDRON | Mayday | Thrill Jockey/Feeding Tube

Thumbs up for Mother Universe

The 20th annual Richmond Folk Festival is coming up Friday through Sunday, September 27th through the 29th.  And this week (Sunday September 15, 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 time for Global A Go-Go's annual preview of the Folk Festival.

 

I'll be focusing on six artists: Javanese singer (and frequent Richmond visitor) Peni Candra Rini from Indonesia; psychedelic 79 year old benju player Ustad Noor Bakhsh from Balochistan; Tuareg Nigerien guitar shredder Bombino; theatrical Pugliese ensemble Canzioniere Grecanico Salentino (CGS for short), the biggest stars of Italian traditional music; chirimía brass band Rancho Aparte from Colombia's Pacific Coast; and self-taught Afro-futurist American musician and visual artist Lonnie Holley (pictured above).

 

Tune in and find out which international artists you don't want to miss at the Folk Festival, even if (or maybe, especially because) you've never heard of them before.

Charts September 2-8, 2024

WRIR World's NACC Top Ten

1 NIGERIA 70: THE DEFINITIVE STORY OF 1970'S FUNKY LAGOS | various artists | Strut

2 AFRICA NEGRA | Antologia Vol. 2 | Bongo Joe

3 LOS BITCHOS | Talkie Talkie | City Slang

4 ANNARELLA AND DJANGO | "Dakar Orebro" [Single] | We Are Busy Bodies/Sing A Song Fighter

5 LA SONORA MAZUREN | Magnetismo Animal | Barbes

6 PRISCILLA FRADE | "Baiao De Quatro Toques" [Single] | Mills

7 WE'VE GOT A GROOVY THING GOING: THE LATIN SOUL OF BOBBY MARIN | various artists | Vampisoul

8 TIDIANE THIAM | Africa Yontii | Sahel Sounds

9 MDOU MOCTAR | Funeral For Justice | Matador

10 HERMANOS GUTIERREZ | Sonido Cósmico | Easy Eye Sound/Concord

The compilation that started it all

As part of their 25th anniversary celebration, Strut Records on August 30th reissued Nigeria 70, the 2001 compilation that originally got the great African vinyl gold rush started.

 

Nigeria 70 certainly wasn't the first anthology of African music ever released, but it hit the zeitgeist at just the right time.  Its formula of deeply funky and deeply obscure music, extensive and erudite liner notes, brilliant graphic design, sensitive remastering and ethical licensing are the template for labels like Soundway, Analog Africa, Ostinato, Awesome Tapes From Africa and others (including Strut itself, of course) who are making great African recordings accessible to all listeners.

 

I'll play a couple of my favorite Nigeria 70 tracks on this week's program, and also a couple of selections from the outstanding recent compilation of the São Toméan band África Negra.

 

Also this week (Sunday September 8, 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 acoustic African sounds from Tidiane Thiam and Annarella & Django, Brazilian forró including a new single by Priscilla Frade, the Latin psychedelia of Los Bitchos and La Sonora Mazurén, and some Latin soul to finish up the show.

Charts Aug 25 - Sep 1, 2024

WRIR World's NACC Top Ten

1 LA SONORA MAZUREN | Magnetismo Animal | Barbes

2 SANTROFI | "Amina" [Single] | Outhere

3 KAMPIRE PRESENTS: A DANCEFLOOR IN NDOLA | various artists | Strut

4 CIMAFUNK | Pa' Tu Cuerpa | Terapia

5 K.O.G | "Don't Take My Soul" [Single] | Pura Vida/Heavenly Sweetness

6 SISTER NANCY | "Bam Bam b/w Stalag" [Single] | VP

7 LINVAL THOMPSON, JONQUAN AND TICKLAH | "Bound To Fall" [Single] | Easy Star

8 SOWETO GOSPEL CHOIR X GROOVE TERMINATOR | History Of House | Music Is Fun/House Of Latroit/Gallo

9 OLAMINA AND AWARENESS | Chant Down Babylon | Love City

10 KANKOU KOUYATE | N'Darila | One World

Meet La Sonora Mazurén

Richmond has hosted three Colombian bands in the last six months: La Perla, Meridian Brothers and Los Gaiteros de San Jacinto.  And now add a fourth, the biggest and maybe the most exciting of all of them: La Sonora Mazurén (LSM), who will play the Get Tight Lounge on Wednesday September 25.

 

LSM is a seven-piece rhythm machine from Bogotá with four percussionists (including two of the women from La Perla) and a bass guitar laying down the grooves, plus electric guitar, keyboards, accordion and lots of voices on top.  They're a sort of pan-American psychedelic dance band who take traditional rhythms from all over South and Central America in unexpectedly lysergic directions.

I'll introduce you to LSM this week on Global A Go-Go by playing a couple of tracks from their marvelous forthcoming third album Magnetismo Animal which will be released on October 4 (I think this will be an American radio premiere) and a couple of older ones as well.

Also this week (Sunday September 1, 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): Some dubby reggae to get things started, Central African guitar hits, acoustic Mande music from Mali, West African funk and hip hop, and soulful house music from South Africa.

Charts August 19-25, 2024

WRIR World's NACC Top Ten

1 CHAKRAVYUH | various artists | Qilla

2 CIMAFUNK | Pa' Tu Cuerpa | Terapia Productions

3 K.O.G | "Don't Take My Soul" [Single] | Pura Vida/Heavenly Sweetness

4 SISTER NANCY | "Bam Bam b/w Stalag" [Single] | VP

5 PRISCILLA FRADE | "Baiao De Quatro Toques" [Single] | Mills

6 SOWETO GOSPEL CHOIR X GROOVE TERMINATOR | History Of House | Music Is Fun/House Of Latroit/Gallo

7 LA LOM | The Los Angeles League Of Musicians | Verve

8 THIAGO FRANCA AND A ESPETACULAR CHARANGA DO FRANCA | "Toxic" [Single] | Mais Um

9 PENI CANDRA RINI | Wulansih | New Amsterdam

10 COMBO DAGUERRE | Fracassines | Barbes