Sublime Frequencies at 20 | 7-10 PM EDT

 

Launched in 2003 by co-owners Alan Bishop and Hisham Mayet, Sublime Frequencies is, for our money, the greatest American label of the 21st Century. Tonight, we'll listen to dozens of our favorite tracks and wax cornball about first hearing some of this extraordinary music

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Women : Folk : Japan | 7-10 PM EDT

 

TONIGHT on WFMU's Give the Drummer Radio: An all-vinyl celebration of more than half-a-dozen folk-forward singer-songwriters, from traditionalists like Keiko Hanawa and Mayumi Itsuwa to avant-garde legends Sai Yoshiko and Maki Asakawa.

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Musician of the Generations: Mohamed Abdel Wahab

TONIGHT from 7-10 PM EDT on WFMU's Give the Drummer Radio: So fierce was singer, musician, and composer Mohamed Abdel Wahab, Egyptian diva Oum Kalthoum refused for decades to work with him, fearing he’d upstage her. When the two finally collaborated, they produced several of Kalthoum’s greatest songs, including Enta Omri, Fakarouni, and Laylet Hob. This tribute focuses on rare 45s, LPs, and cassettes of Abdel Wahab’s own recordings, with a few covers and songs written for others woven in.

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Yas Khedr (1938-2023) | Two Cassettes

 Admonitions & Mawawil (Date Unknown)

We woke early this morning to the news that Iraqi singer Yas Khedr passed away in mid-August. Blessed with powerful and expressive voice, Khedr began as a reciter of the Koran and in the 60s released a string of hit 45s, including "Al-Hadal," "Abu Zarka," and "Al-Mukair." Dubbed the Voice of the Earth, Khedr's career spanned six decades, with his last recording released in 2022.

We've got two cassettes by this remarkable artist; first up is something from the 1990s or aughts, "Admonitions & Mawawil." An incredible recording, with minimal instrumentation including percussion, oud, a single string instrument, a very suppressed keyboard of some kind, and Khedr's mind-blowing voice up front in the mix.

(Listen to "Forgive Me سامحيني")

Download the whole cassette here

Azaz (1988)

In addition to "Admonitions," we'd like to share this 1988 live cassette, "Azaz."

It was not entirely clear where each of the tracks began, so rather than cut up the recording and risk mislabeling anything, we kept each side a whole. Both sides are 30 minutes long and well worth a full immersion.

Download the whole cassette here

60 Years of the Cassette | 7-10 PM EDT

TONIGHT on WFMU's Give the Drummer Radio: 

Developed in 1962 by the Philips Company, the first cassette tapes were released on August 30, 1963, at the Berlin Radio Show. This episode of Bodega Pop presents a three-hour celebration of the format focused on international cassette-only releases sourced from compilations, music blogs, friends, and Gary’s personal collection. HT to Andrew Simon for alerting us to this anniversary.

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Comb & Razor Sound | 7-10 PM EDT

 

TONIGHT on WFMU's Give the Drummer Radio: Writer, music historian, producer, researcher, blogger, and DJ Uchenna Ikonne's Comb & Razor Sound released just seven long-playing records in as many years. But the vision, the packaging, the whole approach had a significant impact on reissue culture -- and the music is unimpeachable.

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It's Bigger Than Hip Hop | 7-10 PM EDT

 

TONIGHT on WFMU's Give the Drummer Radio: A deep-cut, idiosyncratic tour through the first three+ decades of hip hop recordings, 1979-2012-ish, one track per year

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HOT MESS | 7-10 PM EDT

 

TONIGHT on WFMU's Give the Drummer Radio: Freeform as freefall. The fucked. The hated. Doomsayers. Out of control and over the top. The despondent. Los Locos. Y mas.

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Fables of the Reconstruction of the Fables | 7-10 PM EDT

 

TONIGHT on WFMU's Give the Drummer Radio: How we reimagine the past in music. The Parisian avant-gardist. An invasion from Mars(eille). The Lebanese conceptual artist. An Iraqi-American archivist. Cambodian-American bootleggers. A Vietnamese-American icon self-publishing her glory days. Mujeres en el underground metalico. All Bagged Up.

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The Year Oum Kalthoum Died | 7-10 PM EDT

 

TONIGHT on WFMU's Give the Drummer Radio: With the passing of Egypt's greatest voice in February, 1975 evolved into a transitional year in the nation's music. Sono Cairo released its last 7" singles, going all-in on longform formats forever after. Hany Mehanna's debut LP hinted at an electronic era to come while Ahmed Adaweya published his first shaabi collection on cassette -- the first couple of what would prove fatal blows to the more traditional strains practiced by Kalthoum, Abdel Halim Hafez, Warda Al-Jazeera, and Farid Al-Atrash. This episode will highlight defining moments ripped from original media of the period.

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