WOMAD Pageant
Malmesbury, Wiltshire
twenty seventh – thirtieth July 2023
There’s no pageant like WOMAD for the sheer breadth within the line-up. The infectious exuberance of such a lot of acts from around the globe turns this distinctive collecting in Wiltshire right into a comfortable party of track by which the surprising all the time triumphs.
Once I seemed in the course of the programme for this yr’s WOMAD pageant a couple of days prior to arriving, I may pick just a handful of if truth be told acquainted acts.
I used to be gratified; this was once precisely what I had was hoping for. In contrast to such a lot of different occasions within the congested summer time pageant calendar, WOMAD isn’t reliant on reserving a few large names to herald the crowds.
As a substitute, it is going in opposition to the grain and remains utterly true to its authentic goal of offering a store window for dozens of bands from around the globe who would another way stand little likelihood of having the acclaim they benefit.
This admirable custom is why such a lot of folks go back to one of the most nation’s maximum liked gala’s yr after yr. They love the surprising moments of euphoria and collective pleasure that WOMAD supplies; they know that it’s doesn’t in point of fact topic who’s at the invoice.
Not anything higher summed this up for me over the process an totally jubilant weekend than the semblance of Lova Lova, an artist from Kinshasa within the Democratic Republic of Congo, on Sunday afternoon. Utterly suddenly, theirs was once essentially the most compelling, peerless set, although there had already been many highlights.
Inconceivable to classify, Lova Lova – singer Wilfred Luzele and his three-piece band – had been edgy, punky, livid, channelling aggression with extremely tight musicianship which had the entire of the Siam Tent roaring in appreciation. The set was once delivered at a breakneck tempo, propelled by means of intricate interaction and thunderous riffs. It was once utterly distinctive, utterly Congolese in its basis, and prefer not anything I’ve ever heard prior to.
In its steadfast devotion to selling track that doesn’t simply have compatibility into any class, WOMAD conjures up a loyalty which guarantees that 1000’s make it their go-to annual pilgrimage. It’s 5 years since I used to be final at this brilliantly organised pageant within the superb surroundings of Charlton Park, close to Malmesbury in Wiltshire. In that point there were some minor tweaks, however the format is just about the similar as after I first attended about 15 years in the past.
The website is completely compact, so it is just ever a brief stroll between the 5 primary phases. At the some distance aspect of the sector box are perennial WOMAD favourites just like the All Making a song, All Dancing and Rhythms Of The Global tents the place skilled percussionists from international locations like Senegal run workshops. At the back of is the restful arboretum by which a number of smaller phases are tucked between choice remedy tents and an enormous array of peculiar tools to take a look at out. The incessant rhythm emanating from those puts is every other of the original facets of WOMAD which makes it so a laugh to be a part of.
I were given there on Friday, in time to catch lots of the brilliantly upbeat set from Peruvian veterans Los Wemblers De Iquitos. They had been the very best band to begin the pageant with, implausible musicians I had by no means even heard of till an afternoon prior to, fusing conventional cumbia and ’60s psychedelia with hypnotic panache. The guitarist was once so slick I simply may now not take my eyes off his arms at the be anxious board.
Afterwards, wandering across the website for a couple of hours, I used to be again in entrance of the principle level for Ibibio Sound System, a pointy, funky London-based outfit steeped within the pulsating rhythms of West African highlife and Afrobeat.
The night time was once peppered with snippets of various sounds, from Brazilian rapper Emcida to Zimbabwean guitar band Mokoomba. Even the occasional sound clashes between phases are a good inadvertent excitement at WOMAD.
The principle act for me at the first night time was once Snapped Ankles, a band I’ve noticed a couple of instances prior to. At earlier gigs, their Krautrock-influenced rhythms and forest-inspired costumes have gave the impression outrageous, however this time round – in all probability as a result of the musical range I had already been privileged to witness all through the day – their display didn’t reasonably click on.
Saturday were given underway on the very decent time of 1pm with Dele Sosimi’s Afrobeat Orchestra, one of the crucial musically exuberant performances of the entire weekend. The day was once filled with thrilling, contrasting units, from the Palestinian outfit 47 Soul, who mash up hip-hop with conventional dabke, to Alogte Oho and His Sounds Of Pleasure from Ghana, as upbeat and stirring because the identify suggests.
Remaining up on Saturday had been three-piece The Comet Is Coming, who whipped up a hypnotic, transcendental soften of riotous jazz and pulsating electronica.
What additionally makes WOMAD this kind of well-loved pageant is the at ease, playful surroundings that pervades the entire position. The organisers do their utmost to verify it stays reasonably priced, and there may be little of the flagrant profiteering that has tarnished many in a similar way sized gala’s lately.
Greying hippies, die-hard traveller households and reasonably much less crusty youngsters dance and mingle fortuitously. Via going to such nice lengths to nurture this kind of colourful tournament, everybody will get alongside and tries out new stuff. Peculiar juxtapositions catch you off guard, just like the peculiar sight of the vibrant and colourful Brazilian performer Lia De Itamaraca taking part in within the downpour underneath leaden skies on Sunday afternoon.
WOMAD 2023 was once totally sensible all the way through, the very best fusion of the unknown and unplanned at one of the crucial welcoming and pleasant gala’s round. The acts it brings in combination are extra numerous than every other pageant, however it manages to tug off the trick of feeling like a closely-knit group.
Tickets and line-up main points for subsequent yr’s WOMAD might be right here
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All phrases by means of Tom Parry, you’ll be able to in finding his creator’s archive right here plus on Twitter and his website online
Pictures by means of Garry Jones Images
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