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Charts Dec 12, 2022 - Jan 8, 2023
WRIR World's NACC Top Ten1 LOS BITCHOS | Los Chrismos [EP] | City Slang2 STAR FEMININE BAND | Star Feminine Band In Paris | Born Bad3 VIEUX FARKA TOURE AND KHRUANGBIN | Ali | Dead Oceans/Secretly...
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Global A Go-Go Classico: All about Moldova with Vlad Cuiujuclu
I'm on vacation today (Sunday January 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...
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Charts January 9-22, 2023
WRIR World's NACC Top Ten1 LIRAZ | Roya | Glitterbeat2 PERU SELVATICO: SONIC EXPEDITION INTO THE PERUVIAN AMAZON, 1972-1986 | various artists | Analog Africa3 JUANITA EUKA | Mabanzo | Strut4 BASSIDI...
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Abuelita!
I've been listening to a lot of cumbia sonidera in the early days of 2023. It's a style of music from Mexico, where the listeners and dancers want their cumbia played hard and slow: 80 to 90 beats per...
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Charts January 23-29, 2023
WRIR World's NACC Top Ten1 GOOD SAMARITANS, THE | No Food Without Taste If By Hunger | Analog Africa2 GRUPO KUAL | Konexiones | Discos Rolas3 BILL CLINTON KALONJI | No Stress | self-released4 LOS...
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Too much posing, not enough yoga
Global A Go-Go digs into some new Brazilian music this week, including a current song from Lucas Santtana whose title is an expression I'll be using in a lot of situations: "Muita Pose, Pouca Yoga"...
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Charts Jan 30 - Feb 12, 2023
WRIR World's NACC Top Ten1 KIMI DJABATE | Dindin | Cumbancha2 BIO RITMO | Salsa System [EP] | Electric Cowbell3 BOZI BOZIANA | Desir Feminin | Naelis4 MERAL POLAT TRIO | Ez Kî Me | self-released5 M.A....
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A Haitian version of Bitches Brew
"Dark, mystical, lyrical and abstract, with its otherworldly shifting rhythms, Dilijans came off like a Haitian version of Bitches Brew." That's how journalist Uchenna Ikonne describes the one and...
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Charts February 13-19, 2023
WRIR World's NACC Top Ten1 WHO WANTS SOME? | various artists | Gorgon2 SOLOMANE DOUMBIA | Segou To Lagos | Mieruba3 DUR-DUR BAND INT | The Berlin Session | Out Here4 AYIZAN | Dilijans | Comet5 JEMBAA...
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The Platonic ideal of a West African garage band
Here's a news flash: one of Africa's best (IMHO) bands is coming to Richmond this spring, and they'll be playing in a small club, probably their ideal venue. The band is Baba Commandant & The...
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Charts February 20-26, 2023
WRIR World's NACC Top Ten1 KALA JULA AND GANGBE BRASS BAND | Asro | Buda2 SOLOMANE DOUMBIA | Segou To Lagos | Mieruba3 FENDIKA AND K-SANCHIS | Gojo | 1212344 PALENQUE RECORDS BEST OF PART 2: DESDE...
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Cumbia is the new punk
I've seen Son Rompe Pera perform four times in the last year, and I'm here to tell you they're one of the most compelling live acts right now in any genre. If you saw them at the Richmond Folk...
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Charts Feb 27 - Mar 5, 2023
WRIR World's NACC Top Ten1 SON ROMPE PERA | Chimborazo | AYA2 OGASSA | Ogassa Original (Vol. 1) | Acid Jazz3 HELEN NKUME | And Her Young Timers Band | Dig This Way4 EMMANUEL JAL | Shangah | Gatwitch5...
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Buster goes west
"World music" is a silly name for a genre. To paraphrase Louis Armstrong, all music is world music -- I ain't never heard a Martian sing a song. Anyway, it's not a genre at all, more like a point of...
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Charts March 6-12, 2023
WRIR World's NACC Top Ten1 OF TROPIQUE | Buster Goes West | Electric Cowbell2 SUSANA BACA | Confidencias | Pregon Producciones3 MAALEM MAHMOUD GANIA | Colours Of The Night | Hive Mind4 MONSTRUOS DEL...
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Les jaloux saboteurs
It's highlife time once again on Global A Go-Go with a new album from Okwy Osadebe, son of one of the biggest stars of 1960s and 70s Nigerian Igbo highlife, plus a track from a new compilation of...
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Charts March 13-19, 2023
WRIR World's NACC Top Ten1 OKWY OSADEBE AND HIGHLIFE SOUNDMAKERS INTERNATIONAL | Igbo Amaka | Odogwu Entertainment / Palenque2 LES ABRANIS | Amazigh Freedom Rock 1973-1983 | Bongo Joe3 BORGA...
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Big Ears, Simon Emmerson
I'm making my first trip ever to the Big Ears Festival next weekend (Albert Green will sit in for me then) -- now I'm just trying to figure out how much left-of-center music I can cram into a four day...
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Charts March 20-26, 2023
WRIR World's NACC Top Ten1 SOLOMANE DOUMBIA | Segou To Lagos | Mieruba2 SONA JOBARTEH | Badinyaa Kumoo | Africa Guild3 MERIDIAN BROTHERS AND EL GRUPO RENACIMIENTO | Meridian Brothers And El Grupo...
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Calling England home
I don't follow poetry nearly as closely as I follow music, but I know enough to realize the T.S. Eliot Prize is a big deal. It's given annually to the author of the best new poetry collection...
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