Playlist for 04.24.2008—Pamela

= = = Set 1: about 9:08 pm

Title: "Meillures Voeux"
Artist: Les Amazones de Guinée
CD: Wamato
Country: Guinée

"Usizi"
The Soul Brothers
Jump and Jive
South Africa

"M Bonge"
Papa Noel & Papi Oviedo
Bana Congo
D.R. Congo / Cuba

"No Habla Na"
ColombiAfrica
Voodoo Love inna Champeta Land
Colombia/var. Africa

= = = Set 2: about 9:30 pm

"Albo"
Theodros Tadesse
The Ethiopian Millennium Collection—Chic-Chic-Ka
Ethiopia

"Turn Down Date"
Cornel Campbell
Scandal Ska
Jamaica

"Nyo"
Balla et ses Balladins
The Syliphone Years
Guinée

"Ijoya"
Baba Ken & the Afro Groove Connexion
Deep Down Beat
Nigeria

"E'go Lef Pan You"
Abdul Tee-Jay
Rokoto Make Me Dance-Dance
Sierra Leone

= = = Set 3: about 9:55 pm

"Djiguene"
Dobet Gnahoré
Na Afriki
Côte d'Ivoire

= = = 10:01 pm BBC News / Set 4: about 10:07 pm

"Diadondiala"
Amadou Sodia
Ça va savoir
Guinée

"4-4-44"
Youssou N'Dour
Rokku mi Rokka
Sénégal

"Funkiest Man in Africa"
Sila & The Afrofunk Experience
Funkiest Man in Africa
Kenya

"Give it up or Turn it loose"
The Daktaris
Soul Explosion
Nigeria

"Yündüya Weyu"
Umalali
The Garifuna Women's Project
Belize

= = = Set 5: about 10:31 pm

"Ammilana"
Toumast
Ishumar
Tuareg/Niger

"Bola de Meia"
Seu Jorge
Cru
Brasil

"Pangira (unplugged)"
Massukos
Bumping
Moçambique

"Menew"
Aster Aweke
Aster's Ballads
Ethiopia

= = = Set 6: about 10:55 pm

"Voy a Mí"
Manolín—El medico de la salsa
Para mi gente
Cuba

"Chikonzero"
Thomas Mapfumo & The Blacks Unlimited
Chimurenga '98
Zimbabwe

"Lala Salama"
Daniel Owino Misiana & Shirati Luo Voice Jazz
ARC's The Most Beautiful Songs of Africa
Kenya

"Kadhi"
Kanda Bongo Man
Zing-Zong
D. R. Congo

= = = Set 7: about 11:18 pm

"Palancu"
Tchuni Preta
Midju Terra
Cabo Verde

"Un Mot de Toi"
Rhany
Putumayo presents North African Groove
Morocco/Tunisia

"Bò Kote'w"
Emeline Michel
Rasin Kreyol
Haïti

"Kania"
Les Amazones de Guinée
Wamato
Guinée

= = = Set 8: about 11:42 pm

"Kamussekele—Malala Nza"
Bonga
Angola
Angola

"Pesa le tout"
Tabu Ley & African Jazz
Sterns: African Pearls: Congo/Rumba on the River
Moçambique

"Mr. Eddy"
Obili Éba
Sally Nyolo & the Original Bands of Yaoundé: Studio Cameroon
Cameroon

"Soa"
Rossy
Island of Ghosts
Madagascar

"Foronto (Llorca Mix)"
Abdulaye Diabaté
Frikyiwa Collection 2
Mali/France

News: Leader of Massukos wins Goldman Environmental Prize

From Ella Millroy at Poo Productions:

Feliciano dos Santos – leader of Mozambiquan band Massukos – is the African winner of this year's Goldman award. Often referred to as the Nobel Prize for the environment, the Goldman award is the world's largest environmental prize for grassroots activists.

The award is in recognition of Santos' leading role in campaigning for better public health in Mozambique and music and the band Massukos have played a key part in Santos' initiatives. The prize was presented at an award ceremony in San Francisco on April 14. Please go to the Goldman Environmental Prize website for more information.

This is an extremely positive and uplifting story of an ordinary man who has risen out of poverty and disability to take extraordinary actions to protect the world he lives in.

The sad and untimely passing of Andy Palacio

Emmanuel and I regret to announce that one of our favorite musicians, the award-winning Andy Palacio, passed away unexpectedly over the weekend. Here is the story verbatim from the New York Times.
—Pamela
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Andy Palacio, Who Saved Garifuna Music, Dies at 47
By Jon Pareles, New York Times
Published: January 21, 2008

Andy Palacio, a bandleader and songwriter who spearheaded a revival of the Garifuna music of Central America, died Saturday in his native Belize City, Belize. He was 47 and lived in San Ignacio, Belize.

The cause was respiratory failure after a stroke and heart attack, according to Jacob Edgar, president of his record company, Cumbancha.

In Belize, Mr. Palacio was nationally known as both a musician and an advocate for Garifuna culture. “Watina,” his album with the Garifuna Collective, was acclaimed as one of the best world music releases of 2007.

The Garifuna (pronounced ga-RI-foo-nah) are descendants of West African slaves who were shipwrecked in 1635 off the coast of what is now the island of St. Vincent and intermarried with local Arawak and Carib people. Garifuna villages arose on the coasts of Honduras, Nicaragua, Guatemala and Belize. There are now an estimated 250,000 Garifuna people worldwide, a minority culture under pressure from assimilation and coastal development.

“I decided to use music as a medium for cultural preservation,” Mr. Palacio said in an interview with NPR last year. “At least we’d be able to use the language in the songs and keep them alive.”

Mr. Palacio grew up in a Garifuna family in the coastal village of Barranco, Belize, and soaked up local and international music. He worked as a high school teacher, and on a visit to Nicaragua with a literacy project, he met an elderly man who was one of the last Garifuna speakers in Nicaragua. He resolved to preserve the language at home and in 1981 served as host of a Garifuna program on Radio Belize.

During the 1980s, Mr. Palacio used Garifuna rhythms in punta rock, a popular Caribbean dance music, and had Central American hits, including “Bikini Panty” and “Gimme Punta Rock.” In the mid-1990s, working with the producer Ivan Duran, Mr. Palacio made albums with musicians from Belize and Cuba, and in 1999 he appeared with older Garifuna musicians on the album “Paranda.” After various government jobs, he was named director of culture at the Belize Arts Council in 2003.

Meanwhile, Mr. Palacio and Mr. Duran worked to assemble the Garifuna Collective, which brought together multiple generations of Garifuna musicians for socially conscious songs. Mr. Palacio’s album with the collective, “Watina,” uses the Afro-Caribbean lilt of vintage Garifuna styles along with modern touches like an occasional electric guitar. The songs carry messages like: “Our ancestors fought to remain Garifuna/ Why must we be the ones to lose our culture?” It stimulated a rediscovery of Garifuna music among younger musicians in Central America.

The prime minister of Belize gave Mr. Palacio the Order of Meritorious Service in September 2007, and in November, Mr. Palacio was named a Unesco Artist for Peace. “I hope that our efforts will not only preserve Garifuna culture but also re-energize a generation,” he told NPR.

Mr. Palacio is survived by his mother, Cleofa Avilez; his brother, Oswald Lopez; his sister, Jacinta Palacio; his children, Kami, Uani, Nita, Tara, Kamou; and two granddaughters.

Best of 2007: Africa Mix hosts select their top ten albums

This article appears in the January/February/March 2008 edition of the KALW Program Guide.

Though there are hundreds of African albums released in Africa and Europe, only a handful of artists have major U.S. labels that release their albums here. Our picks for 2007 are therefore albums of artists available here in the States. We hope you enjoy them!
—Pamela Brown & Emmanuel Nado

Africando: Ketukuba (Africa, Latin America)
The African super salsa band has no one to compete against but themselves. When musicians of Africando go into the recording studio, their only objective is to make an album better than their previous ones. On Ketukuba, which translates as “from the origin to Cuba,” Africando proved once more that the roots of salsa stem from Africa.

Colombiafrica The Mystic Orchestra: Voodoo Love Inna Champeta Land (Colombia, Africa)
The music of the Caribbean coast of Colombia in South America was very much impacted by African musical traits imported along with West African enslaved natives in this country over a period of several generations. It is natural that Colombia musicians take interest in the roots of their music. On this album Colombian Champeta singers Viviano Torres, Justo Valdez, and Luis Towers invited the cream of Congolese guitarists to help build new bridges between African and Afro-Colombian music and culture.

Dobet Gnahoré: Na Afriki (Côte d'Ivoire)
Abidjan, the bustling capital city of the Ivory Coast is the crossroad of African music because of its music infrastructures. It has been a springboard for many artists from other regions of the continent to stardom. However, aside from reggae star Alpha Blondy, the Ivory Coast has not produced a major international star with name recognition. Now comes 24 year old Dobet Gnahoré. She is the total package, beauty, voice, dance, thrilling stage presence, and charisma. Her latest album is packed with varied African music style. Singing in several African languages, Dobet is quickly becoming the new rising star of African music.

Habib Koité & Bamada: Afriki (Mali)
In his latest musical effort in six years, Malian guitarist/songwriter has once again demonstrated that his reputation as a guitar player has become almost mythical as his country’s traditional past. Afriki emphasizes acoustic sound with lyrics that follow traditional themes. It has a wide range of sounds, while remaining close to the rhythms of Manding music.

Vieux Farka Touré: Vieux Farka Touré (Mali)
In the griots' land, they say that one does not learn to be griot; it is a craft that is passed on through ancestry from father to son. Malian Vieux Farka Touré’s self-titled sterling debut is a testimony that the son of the late Ali Farka Touré has learned well from his father. The album both honors and extends the life work of his father.

Massukos: Bumping (Mozambique)
Not only is every track on this CD spectacular, but also the uplifting backstory of this band makes it worthwhile to pursue Massukos. They promote a clean water and adequate sanitation initiative for Mozambique while spinning off track after danceable track.

Oliver Mtukudzi: Tsimba Itsoka (Zimbabwe)
Oliver Mutukudzi's 49th album offers emotion and introspection. Lush, pensive, sweet, and soulful, the mostly acoustic sound is still the quintessential "Tuku Music" that he has pioneered.

Youssou N'Dour: Rokku Mi Rokka (Senegal)
This refreshing new album has only one so-so track, and even that's forgivable—the rest are top-notch. Youssou has harvested inspiration from the countries surrounding Senegal for some of the new sounds. Absolutely a five-star release. You won't be disappointed, unless you're expecting pure mbalax.

Andy Palacio & The Garifuna Collective: Wátina (Belize)
Released at the beginning of 2007, Andy Palacio went deep into his garifuna roots to release this richly acoustic gem. The tracks are by turns emotional, rich, rhythmic, and inviting. This release earned Andy Palacio the WOMEX (World Music Expo) prize in October.

Tcheka: Nu Monda (Cape Verde)
Offering something quite different from the usual Capeverdean funana and morna, Tcheka has a percussive manner of playing his acoustic guitar. His raw, slightly off-key singing voice adds sweetness to this innovative style. Sparse and thoughtful, every track is completely listenable.

Please support Africa Mix and KALW

KALW is in its Fall Membership Drive and we encourage you to show your support of Africa Mix on KALW and its other top-notch programming.

Please call 1-800-525-9917 to become a new member or renew your old membership. You can also donate securely online at KALW's website—just click here.

During Africa Mix tonight we will be offering three CD titles hand-selected by Pamela and Emmanuel. For your donation of $75, you can choose one of these three CDs as our thank you for your support of our radio station. If you make a donation of $125, we will thank you with all three CD titles!

Click on the CDs below to hear samples of the fantastic music on each album.


Bumping—Massukos














ARC's Spotlight on Kenyan Music—Various artists









North Africa's Destiny?—Moh Alileche










We know you enjoy Africa Mix, and we love it that you enjoy our program. Please show your support of our programming by making a donation tonight ... or anytime (Click here to make your secure online donation).

If you have already made a donation, we thank you and welcome you to the KALW family!

—Pamela and Emmanuel

Nado presents: A special series on Africa Mix

The Politics of African Music: Songs of Protest, Revolution, and Liberation

Selected Thursdays from 9:06–midnight

In this series Emmanuel Nado will explore the music and lyrics of some of the most outspoken African artists and the political contents of their songs. Although they were once singers who praised the political leadership in the continent, African artists have become the voice of millions disenchanted Africans and the critics of bad government. Many artists voice their anger and speak about social issues and injustices in their countries. The series will cover music from the early years of independence to the present.

As Ken Wiwa, the son of Ken Saro-Wiwa, leader of the Ogoni people (assassinated by the Nigerian government in 1995) said, "When voices like my father are silenced, others rise and often they belong to musicians. Africa’s musicians are the griots, the historians of Africa’s rich, varied and complex past.”

Among other artists, Fela Kuti will be featured. World-renowned for leading this rebellion through music, he was the rallying point for the Nigerian underclass and for political prisoners everywhere. Fela once said, "Music is the weapon for the future."

Please join Emmanuel Nado for this special series beginning July 19th.

Nado presents: Kalbass live in the studio, June 21st

Africamix welcomes KALBASS on June 21

Kalbass is a Bay Area Haitian band playing a style of music that reflects their unique culture and imprints of the many cultures that they came in contact with. The band plays classic Haitian and Caribbean dance music—specializing in Kompa, Rara, Zouk, Reggae, Salsa, and Merengue.

Join Emmanuel Nado during Africa Mix on June 21st to hear this exciting band.