Tallying Up: Ron Wiseman and "Measure for Measure"

Our featured random song today is by Ron Wiseman. Born and raised in Winnipeg, Canada and exposed in his childhood to such types of music as rock, r&b and blues, he began playing blues piano as a child. He worked with some bands as a young adult, and diversified his playing to rockabilly, country and r&b. he was living in Toronto when he took a vacation to Israel. While traveling in the hills of Judea, he had a mystical experience which led him to create music that he called Spiritual (or Conscious) Reggae based on the words of the Torah and other Jewish religious texts. He came back to Canada, began putting songs together and playing them in his club gigs. The result was a mixture of reggae, ska, rock and blues and which earned him the unofficial title of "the king of Jewish reggae." His website says that he interprets sacred texts through the eyes of a musician who has experienced love and suffered loss. He has shared the stage with Kinky Friedman, recorded in Jamaica with Sugar Minott and has built a following of fans from many backgrounds, religions, and ethnicities. He is currently a resident of Tel Aviv, Israel. This song, Measure for Measure, is off his 2005 release Mystical Mood.

Bono Would Approve: Hapa and "Pride (In the Name of Love)"

The Global Music randomizer seems to have a thing for Hawaiian bands lately. Today's random tune is by Hapa, whose name Hapa means "half," and refers to the fact that one of the members, Barry Flanagan, is a white guy from New Jersey who is currently paired up with native Hawaiian Ron Kuala'au. Flanagan has been a consistent 30 year member of the duo. He started out partnering with Keli'i Ho'omalu Kaneali'i. Following Kaneali'i, Flanagan teamed with Nathan Aweau, who eventually left for a solo career. Flanagan then partnered with Hawaiian chanter Charles Ka'upu, who described Hapa's goal as helping revive the Polynesian language and to totally change the way the world perceives Hawaiian music. Unfortunately, Ka'upu died suddenly and unexpectedly in his early 50s in 2011. In its new incarnation Hapa continues to draw from jazz, folk, blues, bluegrass, Latin, flamenco, rock, Irish music and slam poetry as well as traditional Hawaiian music. Hapa's debut CD in 1995 became the biggest selling album ever by a Hawaiian group, and they have since released eight albums. Today's song, a cover of U2's Pride (In the Name of Love), can be found on their 2002 album In the Name of Love. I found the song online as part of a Martin Luther King tribute video.

Jimi Would Totally Jam With Him: Oumar Konaté and "Laissez Nous Tranquille"

The random tune for today will wake you up. It is a hard driving guitar tune by Malian musician Oumar Konaté called Laissez Nous Tranquille (Leave Us Alone). Konaté started music at an early age, astounding his hometown of Gao with nightly performances on an old bucket, helmet and drum outside his family's home. He joined the Orchestra of Gao while in high school and accompanied them on their national tour. While in the orchestra, he was introduced to guitar. He went on to enroll in the National Institute of Arts in Bamako and recorded his first album there which brought him to the attention of many artists such as Vieux Farka Touré, Sidi Touré and Khaira Arby. He has performed in numerous festivals all over the globe, and has received accolades worldwide for his music. The recorded version of Laissez Nous Tranquille can be found on his 2014 CD Addoh.

Hawaii Renaissance Man: Kuana Torres Kahele and "Kawaihae"

Does the warmer weather have you thinking about Hawaii? Here is a song to scratch that itch. Kawaihae is by Kuana Torres Kahele, a Hawaiian musician, vocalist, songwriter, record producer, dancer, and educator. While he does traditional Hawaiian music, he is more well known for his original compositions which he performs on a variety of instruments such as ukelele, guitar, ipu (a percussion instrument made from a gourd) and bass. He is a co-founder of the award winning Hawaiian group Na Palapalai, and released his first solo album in 2012. He has voiced the lead character in the 2014 Pixar short Lava, and he teaches cultural workshops and classes. He operates the Na Lei Lanakila O Ni'ihau halau (hula school) in Hawaii and the Kuana School of Hawaiian Music & Culture in three Japanese cities. The recorded version of Kawaihae can be found on his CD Music for the Hawaiian Islands: Vol. 1 Hawaii Keawe (2014).

I Dream of Genie: Christine Salem and "Djinn"

Today's random tune is performed by Christine Salem from the island of Réunion in the Indian Ocean, a French territory about 120 miles southeast of Mauritius. Her music centers around "maloya," the traditional music made up of work songs and chants of the former African slaves of the island. These songs are percussion driven and of the call and response type and are often used to induce a trance where one communes with their ancestors in a musical gathering called "servis kabaré". The music was illegal on the island until 1981, as it was considered by the Catholic Church to be "devil's music" and by the authorities as a political threat. In fact, a woman singing this type of music upset some of the older generation, because it was also generally seen as "men's music." Salem came upon the music while attending a servis kabaré, and she became hooked. She has received international acclaim for this music, and has performed at WOMAD. The recorded version of this song, Djinn, can be found on her 2013 CD Salem Tradition.

A Reel Birthday: Altan and Drumnagarry/Pirrie Wirrie/Big John's"

A very happy birthday to Ms. Megan Kamerick, host of this show, on today. The random tune today is actually appropriate as it hearkens to her Irish heritage. Drumnagarry/Pirrie Wirrie/Big John's is a set of tunes performed by Altan, a band originally formed in County Donegal by vocalist and fiddler Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh and her husband Frankie Kennedy in 1987 after the pair initially released a pair of albums as a duo. They named the band after a lake in County Donegal. County Donegal has a rich tradition of Irish music and styles, and Altan made this music available to the world and in the process became known worldwide with a popularity to match The Chieftains. Kennedy died of Ewings sarcoma in 1994, leaving Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh to keep the band going. Altan has recorded and toured with fellow countrymen The Chieftains, and other musicians such as such as Enya, Dolly Parton, Bonnie Raitt and Alison Krauss. Drumnagarry/Pirrie Wirrie/Big John's can be found on their 1993 release Island Angel.

Not a Miscue: Zap Mama and "Miss QN"

Today's song is by Belgian artist Zap Mama, and is called Miss QN. Zap Mama is the music act of Belgian artist Marie Daulne. Daulne sings in polyphonic and Afro-pop styles, infusing harmony with African vocal techniques, as well as throwing in some hip hop. Much of her musical inspiration comes from her roots in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where her Belgian father was killed during the Congo Crisis. Her Congolese mother and all the children were airlifted to Belgium, where she grew up in a household infused with Congolese culture but also in a society where there were few black people. Her first musical influences were African songs her mother sang, European music, especially French, and later blues, reggae and hip hop. In 1984, she returned to the Congo to learn about her heritage and trained in pygmy onomatopoetic techniques. First conceived of as an a capella quintet, Zap Mama has evolved to just Daulne's voice and instrumentation. Miss QN can be found on Zap Mama's 2004 CD Ancestry in Progress.