Afropop Worldwide

We get it. We do. Life is busy. Jobs, friends, kids, houseplants. They all demand time. And sometimes that time comes at the expense of your relationship with Afropop Worldwide's radio broadcasts. It's ok- we forgive you. But we also know that if you KNEW when your favorite music was going to get played on the air, you would drop everything, turn off your phone, put your picture of Georges in front of the radio, and sit in rapt attention. Or just make sure to check the podcast that week. Regardless of your preferred manner of audio intake, this calendar is for you. And for the station program directors. But really? For you. (IMPORTANT NOTE- dates below indicate distribution times. You need to check with your local public radio station to find out when the show will air. And if it doesn't air on your local public radio station... well get on the phone and demand some Afropop! What are you waiting for?)    Distributed October 3, 2013 LEBANON 2: DIASPORA As the Ottoman Empire waned in the late 19^th century, there was scarcity, economic stress, and political oppression in Lebanon. The once lucrative silk industry died. Factories closed. Families in search of better lives emigrated, or sent children abroad. Today, diaspora communities of Lebanese and Lebanese descendants far outnumber the 4-million people who actually live in the country. This program surveys the legacy of Lebanese diaspora in two surprising location: Brazil and Ghana. Brazil, home to Lebanon’s largest diaspora population, became an important center for immigrant literature, music and film from the Eastern Mediterranean. And in Ghana, Lebanese descendants played important roles in the development of Afro-rock and highlife in the 1960s and 70s. This Hip Deep edition of our program will tell these stories with a rich array of music, and the insights of three scholars, AJ Racy, Robert Moser, and John Collins. Distributed October 10, 2013 Maestros of Cumbia Cumbia is an exuberant music born on the coast of Colombia, mixing African and indigenous elements. We go the Copacabana, New York's premiere Latin dance club, to hear cumbia maestro and accordion king Lisandro Meza in concert. Other featured cumbia maestros are Andres Landero and Mexico's Celso Pina. Distributed October 17, 2013 African String Magic Presents the wonderful world of plucked, strummed and finger picked string instruments; ngoni  from Mali and its cousin the banjo in the U.S.; oud from the Arabic world to Spanish flamenco guitar to the tres in Cuba;  kraar from Ethiopia to the nyatiti  in East Africa; and more. Plus a visit with Malian kora virtuoso Toumani Diabate and a coverage of his brilliant recording with Ballake Sissoko. Distributed October 24, 2013 Gilberto Gil, Live In New York Gilberto Gil, now Minister of Culture in Brazil, is one of his country's best loved and most prolific artists. In this intimate solo concert in New York City, Gil plays guitar and sings classics from his repertoire and from his favorite composers. Gil also narrates his performance beautifully, telling stories along the way. Distributed October 31, 2013 South Africa Special Culturally complex and multi-racial, with a highly charged history stretching back centuries, South Africa is home to one of the continent’s largest- and most productive- music industries. On this episode, Afropop will take you back to some of SA’s greatest musicians, with live cuts from the likes of Hugh Masakela, and recently unearthed recordings from Capetown’s 60’s jazz scene. You will also get the chance to hear some of the nation’s newest pop sounds, as we dig into what the future may hold for Africa’s southernmost country. Distributed November 7, 2013 Lebanon 3: Beirut Today   Afropop concludes its Hip Deep series on Lebanon with a musical survey of contemporary Beirut. It’s a complex, balkanized world where adventurous art musicians extend the hybrid forms of Lebanon’s golden era, alternative rock bands engage a globalized youth audience, and regional rappers go political while connecting rap with ancient Arabic poetic traditions. We’ll meet rappers and rock bands (from The Kordz, to Soapkills, to Mashrou Leila), sample innovative art musicians like Rima Khcheich and Mike Massy, and get the insights of Arab hip hop author Jackson Allers, and ethnomusicologist Thomas Burkhalter, author of a major study of Beirut musicians who grew up during the Lebanese civil war (1975-1990). Distributed November 14, 2013 Africa In America 2013  It’s been more than two years since Afropop last surveyed the African sounds making waves in America. This program plays catch-up by putting the spotlight on a few of the standouts. From electronic dance and pop to old-school roots grooves and Afropop revival bands, spiced with remixes, collaborations, and off-the-wall connections–music drawn from across the African continent is thriving in US towns and cities. Including afrobeat from the Souljazz Orchestra, Cheick Hamala Diabate’s experimental traditionalism, Alec Lomami’s Congolese-American Dancepop, and with a special focus  on Bombino’s collaboration with Black Keys guitarist Dan Auerbach on his ‘Nomad’ album. Distributed November 21, 2013 !BAILAMOS! One of the beautiful things about musical life in Latin America is that the classic dance music sounds never die. Even as youth-oriented genres like reggaeton and tribal get into the mix, people of all generations continue to get down to salsa, merengue and cumbia. All over Latin America, new bands are constantly popping up, innovating with those classic sounds and pushing them in fresh directions. Today, we hear the best new dance tracks Latin America has to offer in 2013, including local radio hits, new roots releases and sounds from the progressive indie-tropical scenes flourishing in the region today. As we trace our way from New York through the Caribbean and down the Andes, we listen to everything from the latest Cuban timba and Dominican típico hits to Colombian salsa choke, a new salsa/hip-hop hybrid coming out of the country’s Pacific region. And, some great conversations: a chat with Will Holland (aka Quantic) and Mario Galeano of Ondatrópica, a fascinating new collective putting together the old and new-guards of Afro-Colombian music. Plus, a visit from New York City global bass DJ Uproot Andy, who schools us in the latest electronic dance music coming out of Latin America. Distributed November 28, 2013 Afro-Tech Technology is one of the great drivers of musical change- inventions from the sampler to the distortion pedal (not to mention the vinyl records that created music as we know it) have all indelibly shaped our audible landscape. But how does a new musical technology spread? And how is it integrated into often ancient traditions? Today we will consider at a few ubiquitous (and often debated) pieces of musical technology, and investigate how they were first used, and how that use spread. Enabled by groundbreaking reissues of synth pioneers like William Onyeabor (Nigeria), Hailu Mergia (Ethiopia), Mamane Sani (Niger), and Francis Bebey (Cameroon), we will take you back to the 70’s 80’s, to listen to the birth of a distinctly African electronic sound. Distributed December 5, 2013 The Latin Alternative Music Conference in 2013 In New York Did you miss this summer's Latin Alternative Music Conference in New York? Not to worry. You'll get the highlights here including new pop from artists from Chile and Venezuela like Alex Anwandter, Ulises Hadjis, Viniloversus, the acclaimed Astro and others! Also newsworthy this year were the ladies who rocked on and off stage. Get ready to meet Irene Diaz! Produced by Nadia Reiman. Distributed December 12, 2013 Afropop Live: 2013 Live Highlights  Over the course of 2013, Afropop’s producers have recorded more great live music than we’ve managed to place in shows….until now. This edition features ear candy from Ghana—Gyedu Blay Ambolley live in Accra, and palm wine guitar innovator Kyekyeku—live tracks from the 27th Nuits D’Afrique, including an ecstatic summer night with The Skatalites, and highlights from Afropop’s 25th anniversary gala with Samba Mapangala, Bassekou Kouyate and others. Less talk, more music, as we sample some of the most spellbinding performances of the year. Distributed December 19, 2013 Rumba Para Bebo: Celebrating The Life and Music of Bebo Valdes, Live!  The legendary Cuban pianist / bandleader / composer Ramón "Bebo" Valdés used to say, "the day I die, I don't want any weeping!" Bebo passed on March 22, 2013 at the age of 94, and to honor his memory in high spirits, Afropop Worldwide travels to Barcelona, Spain for an exclusive presentation: highlights from the historic Rumba Para Bebo concert, featuring Bebo's son and former pupil, the reigning grandmaster Cuban pianist / bandleader / composer Jesús "Chucho" Valdés. Producer Ned Sublette  talks to Chucho Valdés, to producer Joan Cararach (yo-AN ka-ra-RAHK), and to invited artists Jerry González and Omar Sosa, and we'll hear some of the most! incredible! music! recorded live. Distributed December 26, 2013 Jewish Communities in Africa  Once-substantial Jewish enclaves of Morocco, Algeria and other North Africa states have dwindled steadily since World War II, mostly through migration to Israel. In sub-Saharan Africa, lesser known Jewish communities provide strikingly different narratives. Guided by ethnomusicologist and Rabbi Jeffrey A. Summit of Tufts University, this program focuses on the history and music of a small but robust community of Jewish converts in Uganda, the Abayudaya. Summit’s own recordings include the Abayudaya singing choral music, modified folkloric songs accompanied by local drums and harps, such as the enchanting adungu, and also ventures into pop music bring this remarkable story vividly to life. This program will also introduce history and music from a younger community of practicing Jews in Ghana. Produced by Banning Eyre.