A Less Punky Manu: Kad Achouri and "Mi Negra"

Kad Achouri is the performer of our random tune for today, called Mi Negra. A London-based musician, Kad Achouri is of Spanish-Algerian ancestry and his music falls somewhere between Mediterranean traditional music, French chanson, jazz, and hip hop - in fact he has been compared to a hip hop Manu Chao. Initially deciding between music and professional tennis, he chose music and gained traction in the industry after Natacha Atlas recorded three of his songs in 2001, which led to the recording of his first solo album. He continues to perform as well as produce albums for other musicians. Mi Negra can be found on his 2002 debut album Liberté, as well as the 2004 various artists compilation Putumayo Presents: Nuevo Latino.

Listen to songs like this and more on the KUNM Global Music Show every Monday night from 10 pm - 1 am Mountain Standard Time. Live streaming, program information and the two-week digital archive can be found at http://www.kunm.org.

Source: https://www.allmusic.com/artist/kad-achouri-mn0000293849

Alaap, Alaap a Day: The Bollywood Brass Brand with Jyotsna Srikanth and "Deva Deva Kalayami (Molly's Bar Extended Alaap Mix)"

Our tune for today is called Deva Deva Kalayami (Molly's Bar Extended Alaap Mix), and is by London-based Bollywood Brass Band. Formed in 1992 to play with the Shyam Brass Band at a London festival of street music, they have continued to perform and record focusing on traditional Indian music and Bollywood music. Their musical styles include Bhangra, Hindi film music, Punjabi folk, wedding songs and qawwali spiced with slight jazz influences, traces of other world music, and a pinch of modern dance music. They boast more than 10 musicians and often augment their numbers with dhol drums from the Dhol Foundation. They also have a parallel performing group called SamBhangra! which plays Brazilian and Indian music and also features both Indian and Brazilian dancers. They are joined by Indian violinist and composer Jyotsna Srikanth. You can find Deva Deva Kalayami (Molly's Bar Extended Alaap Mix) on The Bollywood Brass Band's 2016 album Carnatic Connection.

Listen to songs like this and more on the KUNM Global Music Show every Monday night from 10 pm - 1 am Mountain Standard Time. Live streaming, program information and the two-week digital archive can be found at http://www.kunm.org.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bollywood_Brass_Band

Necking: Shri featuring Hammonds Saltaire Brass Band with "Neck to Neck"

Shrikanth Sriram (who performs under the name Shri), with his guests the Hammonds Saltaire Brass Band, brings us today's random tune, called Neck to Neck. A British-Indian acoustic, electric and computer-based musician, Shri delivers eclectic live performances that also features traditional Indian instrumentation. Shri grew up learning classical Indian music on tabla in Mumbai, but tired of its rigid structure and taught himself how to play bass, guitar and flute. Today his trademark instrument is a self-designed fretless bass guitar that he plays with a bow. After working with rock bands in India, he moved to London in the 1990s where he worked with such musicians and producers as Nitin Sawhney, Talvin Singh and DJ Badmarsh. After touring five years with Sawhney, he released his own debut album in 1997. Since then he has released 15 albums, both solo and as part of the electronic trip-hop duo Badmarsh and Shri. You can find Neck to Neck on his 2015 album Just a Vibration. The song includes the Yorkshire-based and award-winning Hammonds Saltaire Brass Band.

Listen to songs like this and more on the KUNM Global Music Show every Monday night from 10 pm - 1 am Mountain Standard Time. Live streaming, program information and the two-week digital archive can be found at http://www.kunm.org.

For the Homies: The Pleb and "One for Senegal"

Today's random tune is by Moreno Visini from Italy whose music comes by way of Africa. Also known as The Pleb and DJ Zeb), Visini is from from Northern Italy but left home at age 14 and ended up in London, where he learned electronic programming and sequencing, and where he was heavily influenced by Asian and Arabic music. In the mid 1980s, he was invited to join the American alt-rock band The Indians, but after they disbanded in 1994, he went back to experimentation with electronica and world music. This song, One for Senegal was inspired by the song Amadou Tilo by Senegalese band Touré Kunda in honor of a fallen brother who had died of a heart attack on stage in 1983. Visini heard it late one night in his apartment and was transfixed. He sampled the song, a mostly a capella, rootsy style of track, and put a funky Afrobeat drum rhythm and guitar riffs under it. The surviving members of the band have greatly admired Visini's interpretation of their song. You can find One for Senegal on the compilation CD Putumayo Presents: African Groove (2003).

Going Underground: Transglobal Underground and "International Times"

Today's tune is by world music legend Transglobal Underground. A London-based collective that fuses Western music with Asian and African musical styles (often called world fusion or ethno techno), Transglobal Underground was formed in the early 1990's and to date has released 10 albums along with five compilation and remix albums. The first four albums featured Egyptian-Belgian singer Natacha Atlas, and many other musicians have moved through the collective over the years. The group has a reputation for elaborate stage shows that include dramatic costumes, belly dancing, endless percussion and members of the group disguised as Nepalese Temple guardians. This song, International Times, can be found on their 1994 album of the same name. The song has a lot of different remixes - we were introduced to the song as the One by the Drum Mix but we couldn't find that online - we believe this version is the original. If you are interested in the One by the Drum Mix, it can be found on the compilation album Digging the Underground (2016).

Subcontinental Brass: The Bollywood Brass Band and "Deva Deva Kalayami (Molly's Bar Extended Alaap Mix)"

Today's tune, Deva Deva Kalayami (Molly's Bar Extended Alaap Mix), is by London-based Bollywood Brass Band. Formed in 1992 to play with the Shyam Brass Band at a London festival of street music, they have continued to perform and record focusing on traditional Indian music and Bollywood music. Their musical styles include Bhangra, Hindi film music, Punjabi folk, wedding songs and qawwali spiced with slight jazz influences, traces of other world music, and a pinch of modern dance music. They boast more than 10 musicians and often augment their numbers with dhol drums from the Dhol Foundation. They also have a parallel performing group called SamBhangra! which plays Brazilian and Indian music and also features both Indian and Brazilian dancers. You can find Deva Deva Kalayami (Molly's Bar Extended Alaap Mix) on their 2016 album Carnatic Connection.

Pioneer: Orlando Julius and The Heliocentrics with "Buje Buje"

Today's random song comes from artist Orlando Julius of Nigeria. Julius is known as an innovator and a crucial personage in the development of modern afro-pop. In the 1960s, he was fusing traditional Nigerian music with American R&B, pop and soul. In the United States, he collaborated with such artists as Lamont Dozier, the Crusaders and Hugh Masekela. His 1966 breakout album, Super Afro Soul, was ahead of its time and possibly influenced the development of funk that was about to sweep over the United States. It also made him a superstar in his native Nigeria where he released a long string of records. However, he was relatively unknown internationally until the re-release of Super Afro Soul in 2000. In 2014 the Heliocentrics, a London-based collective that fuses funk, jazz and hip hop, brought Julius to their studio and backed him on his latest album that consisted of vintage, never before heard tunes and new compositions. This funk/R&B song, Buje Buje, is from that 2014 release entitled Jaiyede Afro.