Popular and Unpopular Music From Around the World (Visit homepage.)

August 31, 2019: Mdou Moctar @ WFMU's Monty Hall + Rob & Katie's Labor of Love


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The phenomenal Tuareg guitarist from Agadez, Niger Mdou Moctar and his scorching band recently played a sold-out show at WFMU's Monty Hall. We'll air a substantial portion of that sizzling set on our show this week.

(If you missed them last time, good news: Moctar and band's extensive tour brings them to Brooklyn's Industry City Courtyard 1/2, 274 36th Street, Brooklyn, Wednesday evening September 4th - with another FMU fave, Brazil's neo-psychedelic Boogarins, opening.)

Mdou Moctar's tour dates are on his Sahel Sounds label web page, https://sahelsounds.com/artists/mdou-moctar/. (More on Sahel Sounds below.)

Check out Mdou Moctar's latest album, the super-charged tour de force Ilana the Creator, at https://mdoumoctar.bandcamp.com/album/ilana-the- creator.

And of course you can like and follow Mdou Moctar on facebook if you haven't already, at https://www.facebook.com/mdoumoctarofficial/.

Mdou Moctar's music - and that of many more amazing artists from the Sahel - has been brought from West Africa to the world by the record label Sahel Sounds. Check out Sahel Sounds' fabulous catalog, see videos, listen to exclusive field recordings and learn lots more at https://sahelsounds.com/.

And it just so happens... that another wonderful group on the Sahel Sounds label, the female trio Les Filles de Illigahad from central Niger, embarks on its US debut tour this fall, including a Tuesday evening October 15th date at Pioneer Works (159 Pioneer St., Red Hook, Brooklyn). Learn more about Les Filles de Illigahad and see their tour dates at https://sahelsounds.com/artists/les-filles-de-illighadad/.

Moctar's show at Industry City is part of the City Farms Presents summer concert series there. More info on the series, which runs through the end of September and still has some pretty exciting shows to come (including Budos Band, Lee Scratch Perry, Guided by Voices and Antibalas), at https://www.cityfarmpresents.com/summerseries.

Also this week: Rob's annual "Labor of Love" DJ duel with his better half Katie Gentile! The eighteenth edition of an annual late summer tradition. Rob Weisberg and longtime sidekick Katie Gentile play radio ping-pong, trading tracks back and forth. Rob bounces popular and unpopular music from around the world off Katie's vintage and contemporary indie rock. It's genre-clashing at its FMU-iest.

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Organizations supporting the rights of immigrants and refugees:

(For more suggestions see https://www.bustle.com/p/9-immigration-organizations-to-donate-to-if-you-want-to-support-daca-recipients-80757.)

National Immigration Law Center: Established in 1979, the National Immigration Law Center (NILC) is one of the leading organizations in the U.S. exclusively dedicated to defending and advancing the rights of low-income immigrants.

National Immigration Forum: The National Immigration Forum is one of the leading immigrant advocacy organizations in the country, with a mission to advocate for the value of immigrants and immigration to the nation.

New York Immigration Coalition: The New York Immigration Coalition aims to achieve a fairer and more just society that values the contributions of immigrants and extends opportunity to all. The NYIC promotes immigrants’ full civic participation, fosters their leadership, and provides a unified voice and a vehicle for collective action for New York’s diverse immigrant communities.

Arab American Family Support Center (New York City): The Arab-American Family Support Center is a 501(c)3 non-profit, non-sectarian organization that provides culturally and linguistically sensitive services to immigrant communities throughout New York City.

Action NYC: ActionNYC connects New Yorkers to free, safe immigration legal help. You can make an appointment to learn your immigration legal options and get immigration application assistance. There are ActionNYC sites in all five boroughs. Appointments are required. Your appointment will be in your language.

Immigration Equality is the leading LGBTQ immigrant rights organization in the country. It provide s advice and legal services to thousands of LGBTQ and HIV-positive immigrants seeking refuge, fair treatment, and freedom in the United States. The work is truly lifesaving because there are nearly 80 countries around the world where it is a crime to be LGBTQ, with consequences up to and including the death penalty. For this reason, Immigration Equality fights to obtain asylum in the United States for LGBTQ and HIV-positive refugees - with a remarkable 99% win rate.

International Refugee Assistance Project: The International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP) organizes law students and lawyers to develop and enforce a set of legal and human rights for refugees and displaced persons. Mobilizing direct legal aid and systemic policy advocacy, IRAP serves the world’s most persecuted individuals and empowers the next generation of human rights leaders.

International Rescue Committee: The International Rescue Committee responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises and helps people whose lives and livelihoods are shattered by conflict and disaster to survive, recover, and gain control of their future.

Kids in Need of Defense (KIND): KIND serves as the leading organization for the protection of children who enter the US immigration system alone and strives to ensure that no such child appears in immigration court without representation. We achieve fundamental fairness through high-quality legal representation and by advancing the child's best interests, safety and well-being.

Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF): AALDEF is a national organization that protects and promotes the civil rights of Asian Americans by combining litigation, advocacy, education, and community organizing. Issues / focus include immigrant rights, civic participation and voting rights, economic justice for workers, language access to services, educational equity, housing and environmental justice, and the elimination of anti-Asian violence, police misconduct, and human trafficking.

Make the Road New York (MRNY): MRNY builds the power of Latino and working class communities to achieve dignity and justice through organizing, policy innovation, transformative education, and survival services.

Make the Road New Jersey (MRNJ): Make the Road New Jersey builds the power of immigrant and working class communities in New Jersey to achieve dignity and justice through community organizing, legal and support services, transformative education and policy innovation.