Rough Sundays

Has there ever been a more researched, prepped, planned and causing-excitement show? Probably. But never on this podcast. For the final (for now) Japanese Chapter—recorded in a tiny ryokan atop audible tatami mats—we dive into city pop, brother's folk, futuristic funk, female hip-hop, island breeze and new wave, all suitable for waking you up on this Sunday Morning. Hit play! Be glad you did!

From the base of Mt. Fuji and from inside one of those space capsule hotels, it's five tracks from a hip, rocking, steamy, racy, swingin' 1950-70s Japan, featuring a seedy actress, anime theme song producer, Tokyo's Serge Gainsbourg and the always dreamy Tome Kitagawa (photo). Plus a bit more, but coming in under 30 minutes! How's that for a polite, efficient, innovative and fascinating show/country? Hit play!

From a gorgeous Osaka and an even-more-gorgeous no-longer-freezing-in-a-tent, it's your absolutely favorite Sunday Morning show. This week, we dive deep, deep into old vinyl—journeying everywhere from a boogie-woogie 1940s Tokyo, to protests tracks of the 70s, funky stuff from Jiro Inagaki, and much much more. So sit right there, sip that coffee, and let's travel to some dreamy old magic from a yesterday Japan... courtesy of Rough Sundays! 

A traveling show this week—one from the park, the ferry, the tent and the hotel—but it doesn't stop us from digging up some of the goodness from a 1960s-80s Japan. Funk + soul kicks it off, some near-electro, then to country + folk, then summer + blue and finally with some sexy + robot. Is that too many "+" for you? Then may we suggest a smooth jazz show. This is Rough Sundays, live from Northern Japan! 

The colors might be starting to change here in Hokkaido, but the purpose of the show isn't—to wake you up nicely on your Sunday Morning, courtesy of music from wherever we are. And what a where we be! The magic, mysterious and mayhem-ic Japan. With tracks this week ranging from the 1960s-80s, featuring funk, soul, jazz, "city pop" and what one artist referred to as, simply, experimentalism. So sit back and let us—and more importantly, the good stuff coming from this archipelago—handle your next half an hour. Rough Sundays, the Japanese Chapters. Yes, really!

From a farm outside of Hokkaido, it's the first of what we hope are many shows from Japan. We kick it off with some Tokyo soul from the early 70s, then move from pop-princess turned disco queen, to sultry swing, funk from the early 80s and a whole lot more.  Rough Sundays, totally from Japan, you guys! Hit play.

From a tiny island south of South Korea, it's probably the best Sunday Morning wake-me-up show featuring old gospel, jazz, funk and blues coming to you from a tiny island south of South Korea. Some Pacific religion, feel-good Doris Day, songs about rain, Algerian gems from the 50s, a big baby talkin' bout struggle and much more. So sit back, sip back and let us handle this for the next 20 or so minutes. Rough Sundays, you heard! 

High above the Mekong in the gorgeous old town of Luang Prabang, Laos comes 25 minutes of a proper Sunday morning wake-me-up, featuring not one, but two Queens of New Orleans, gay black British poets, some gospel from 1917, a recently lost voice and much, much more. So sit back and let us handle things for the next half-an-hour, would'ya? 

Coming to you from high atop the Pokhara Mountains, Nepal, it's totally Rough Sundays, you guys! We dive into much goodness—including France's last great troubadour, the lady who made Bob Dylan, old Trinidadian Calypso by way of a 1940s Harlem, as well as the Queen of Havana, the two deaths of Sam Cooke, outlaw country and much, much more.  So sit back. Sip black. Hit play. And let us start your Sunday morning off the way it should be... by you doing absolutely nothing. 

Coming to you from the famed Apostle Studios in Pokhara, Nepal, it’s your hopefully favorite Sunday Morning wake-me-up show! We start with some new Haitian, go back 102 years to New Orleans, a track you only know from the sample, a little ticklin’ from Taj, plus the late great Cameroonian doing his own voodoo… plus much more. It’s Rough Sundays! You’re in the right place! Huzzah! 

Hardly a show to set your clock to—our first in five months and second in the past year—but still probably the best Sunday Morning wake-me-up coming to you from the Northern suburbs of Kathmandu. We start with a bit of French influenced pop from a sunny 1960s California, diving into some Nepalese Afrofunk, a visit from the inimitable Dasha who introduced us to the Ukrainian LELÉKA, some boogaloo from Queens, as well as some sounds from an Everest Base Camp trek...  Plus a whole lot more. So sit. Coffee. Press play. And enjoy. Because who knows when the next show will be?

What was thought to have been 4 months since the last show has actually been 7—the last episode coming from Namibia—and who knows why it started back up again this morning… but here we are. A newer track to kick things off, a bit of half-French pop, some Irish melancholy, Brazil’s Queen, some New Jersey collab, New Orleans gospel and much more.   It’s the 68th chapter of your favorite (albeit, unpredictable) show, Rough Sundays! Available in Spotify, Amazon, Google Podcasts and more.

From a theres-a-mamba-on-the-loose campsite in a tiny strip of land that borders five countries, it’s a proper (African) wake-me-up, featuring 1960’s Guinean orchestras, Senegalese serenades, one of Ethiopia’s best performing live in Paris, a politically-charged Zimbabwe track and a style of music that was illegal up until the 1980s in a tiny island off the coast of Madagascar… plus a whole lot more. So pour that coffee. Find somewhere comfortable. And let us handle the next half-hour or so. Rough Sundays, hooray! 

From Namibia’s infamous Skeleton Coast, it’s the greatest Sunday morning podcast coming from Namibia’s infamous Skeleton Coast! We kick things off with some Cape Town Flowers via Abdullah Ibrahim, and then get back into the magic of Soweto, the parallel line from African-to-Cuban music, Super Mama’s and Africa’s cutest and most talented couple... plus much more. It’s 33 minutes of pure audible gold! 

From the empty, confusing, captivating and gorgeous land of Namibia—thus the three-day delay—it's your favorite (we're assuming) wake-me-up, featuring some of the best vintage tracks that Africa has to offer, including the Bad Girl of Pop doing gospel, three (yes) songs with ties to Soweto, some Benga Blues out of Kenya, a Malian + Guinean duet, and the catchiest Kwaito tune we've heard in ages—maybe even years. And while we normally say "Sit back", this show is incredibly upbeat, so... stretch. Coffee. Boogie. Things like this. Alright. 

Think having Covid and being stuck near the Namibian border would keep us from having a show THINK AGAIN—and despite not *quite* being there isn’t going to stop us from starting an introduction to Namibian music either. From the Voice of the Resistance to the 1996 Song of the Year, Namibian reggae and the very first “Kwaito” track ever to sneak into the studio (currently: a canvas cover sticking out of the Defender). All of that, plus a Dolly Parton duet with one of Africa’s best guaranteed to melt your cold, cold heart. It’s Rough Sundays! 

The final show from Cape Town before we leave for the distant barren lands of Namibia, featuring some of the best Sunday Morning African Music you’ll ever hear… in one place, at least. From a 1970s Senegal to literally the happiest song ever recorded, a track from a Gambian “griot” (photo) + a lesson on why griots are so vital to West African culture, another track from the crowd favorite Ebo Taylor, some Congolese rumba and much, much, much more. It’s Rough Sundays! 

From under a canvas canopy in a quiet campground off the coast of Southern South Africa, it's 35 minutes of pure gold coming from the continent—from the Cuban-sounding 1980's Togo to the leader of Senegal's musical resurgence, some nasty + naughty funkadelic goodness from Soweto, a little more Nigerian "High Life" and yet another from the Ethiopian Elvis... plus some live-from-Carnegie Hall Portuguese + David Byrne magic. And much more. So sit back, pour a big cup of something strong and start (or end) your day off properly. Brought to you by Race Point Seltzer, it's Rough Sundays!  

We fly halfway around the world and allllllll the way back down for more African goodness—a trip that’s been 5 months in the making, and one guaranteed to lead to us discovering some true gems from this continent. From the two Queens of South Africa to diving back into Highlife + Palm Wine music from Ghana and Nigeria, to a duet brought to you by Aric’s friend who he met under a dinosaur after not knowing who Lin-Manuel Miranda was. All of this, plus a New England track so smokey, you’d think it was a cigar company sponsoring the show and not Race Point Seltzer. So make you a cup of strong coffee, sit back, and let’s rediscover the musical magic of this area. It's Rough Sundays!

What was supposed to be a show from a brand new adventure is actually a gorgeous hotel room in New York City (more or less) as we wait on a flight out BUT THE SHOW MUST GO ON AND GO ON IT DOES with the late Ronnie Spector, a Nigerian doctor, Ella + Chick, some Horace Silver goodness and what is perhaps the greatest New Jersey duo ever recorded… plus much more. So sit back, fill up that coffee mug and enjoy half an hour of Rough Sundays – brought to you by Race Point Seltzer.