The Panama Beat

They call Sam Mangwana "Le Pigeon Voyageur" - a roaming pigeon. He could also be called a rolling stone because wherever he lays his microphone is his home. In this episode, we behold the amazing return of rumba's living legend - Sam Mangwana. Produced by Georges Collinet. APWW #863

The Cumbia Diaspora: From Colombia to the World by Afropop Worldwide

When Zimbabwe’s dynamic roots band Mokoomba had a chance meeting with a house music producer and an American kamelengoni (Malian pentatonic harp) player, the sparks flew. A few weeks later, they all gathered for two days to write and record a song aimed at the lucrative Afro-House, DJ remix market. In this Zimbabwe-focused episode, we hear new mbira music from Mary Anibal and Othnell Mangoma Moyo, and go inside the creation of a future Mokoomba dancefloor sensation. Produced by Banning Eyre.

Afro-Cuban and Afro-Brazilian musical giants have long enjoyed the spotlight, yet throughout Latin America there are other black enclaves producing some of the New World's most vibrant music. Their stories have gone untold for far too long. In this episode, Afropop explores these lost sounds, starting in an Ecuadorian desert valley where African and Andean traditions have mixed seamlessly into fiery dance music. Then we're off to mangrove-studded Esmeraldas to search out the last marimba legends living on the jungle waterways. We continue to Bolivia, where a tiny black minority uses their music to fight for recognition by the indigenous government and last, we'll listen to the driving carnival music of Uruguay, candombe. Tune in for exclusive interviews and recordings by everyone from marimba master Papa Roncon to Candombe-jazz legend Hugo Fattoruso. Produced by Marlon Bishop. Originally aired 2009.

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Tsapiky is fierce, joyful, high-energy, electric-guitar driven dance music from southwest Madagascar. Producers Morgan Greenstreet and Boris Paillard went to Tuléar to record and interview today’s main female players in the tsapiky scene. The music is typically performed in “bal poussières” (dust balls, mandriampototse in malagasy) ) that can last from three days to a week—non stop! In this episode we hear both the raw rural blast of tsapiky as well as its cleaner studio version, both of which rock like nothing else on the planet. We meet Maxime Bobo, on a mission to document 21st century tsapiky, and we speak with women who play a key role in the story of this vibrant local tradition. Produced by Morgan Greenstreet and Boris Paillard.

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New York City has long been a major incubator for Latin music with its large populations of Puerto Rican, Dominican, Panamanian, Cuban, and Colombian musicians and music fans. We celebrate some of the giants of New York’s Latin music scene—Ray Barretto, Larry Harlow, Jerry Gonzalez—as well as less well known artists. Topics include the cross-pollination between Latin music and jazz, the Panama connection featuring Rubén Blades among others, the Latin-Jewish connection and much more. Produced and co-hosted by author and Afropop producer veteran Ned Sublette with special guest Dr. Ben Lapidus, musician and author of New York and the International Sound of Latin Music, 1940 to 1990. Produced by Ned Sublette APWW #845

Planet Afropop - Afro Nation by Afropop Worldwide

In this Hip Deep program, we explore musical connections between Africa and India. First up is the story of the Afro-Indian Sidi community. In the 13th century, Africans arrived in India as soldiers in the armies of Muslim conquerors. Some were able to rise through the ranks to become military leaders and even rulers. Their descendants continue to live in India today, performing African-influenced Sufi trance music at shrines to the black Muslim saint named Baba Gor. Next, we dive into the swinging jazz era of 1930s Bombay, when African-American jazz musicians arrived by the dozen to perform at the glitzy Taj Mahal Hotel. They trained a generation of Indian jazz musicians who would become instrumental in the rise of India's Hindi film music industry. Then we head south to the island of Sri Lanka, where Africans have had a presence for almost 500 years. We explore their history through the groovy Afro-Indo-Portuguese pop music style known as baila, popularized by 1960s star Wally Bastiansz and still performed at parties in Sri Lanka today. Finally, we speak with Deepak Ram, an Indian jazz flutist who recounts his experiences growing up Indian in apartheid South Africa. Throughout, we hear from leading experts, and of course, introduce fantastic and often-unexpected music. Produced by Marlon Bishop. APWW #663