STACK NZ Mar #60

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When it comes to music festivals,
WOMAD –TheWorld of Music, Arts and
Dance – covers more diverse musical and
cultural territory than any other (and the
food is always different and far better than
your average fests).
The annual event inTaranaki, this year
between March 13-15, typically brings together
big names, some half-familiar ones and
artists you’ve never heard of. Often the latter
provide the highpoints because they are so
unexpected.
Here’s a broad selection from the
line-up, and relevant albums so you can
do your homework. But remember,
the ones we don’t mention might just
be your favourite.That’sWOMAD for you.
BalkanBeat Box(Israel/US)
Out of Brooklyn viaTel Aviv, Balkan Beat Box
emerged a decade ago as a force in NewYork’s
underground with Mediterranean-inflected,
globalised electronica.The cover of their 2012
album Give depicted a gun in profile, the barrel
of which was a megaphone. “This is our most
hardcore album so far,” explained founderTamir
Muskat. “The songs and subjects are darker and
more political.”There’s also piercing saxophone
adding spice and exotic harmonies to the hard,
Eastern-inspired rhythms; imagine a hip hop
inclined, multi-cultural, clubland Clash if they’d
formed in Brooklyn.
Bombino (Niger)
World music – like pop, rock and hip hop
– has its emerging stars, and this guy
is one of them.Tuareg guitarist Omara
WHEN THEWORLD
COMESTOTOWN
“Bombino” Moctar is another who works the
desert blues sound, but his influences are
as much Hendrix as the electric guitar of the
region. His breakthrough 2013 album Nomad
with producer Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys
debuted at number one on the Billboard World
Music album chart.Think Jimi dialled down
into seductive trance music and you’re coming
close. Not to be missed, especially if you’ve
enjoyedTinariwen, Etran Finatawa and
Tamikrest previously.
The Gloaming (Ireland/USA)
The Irish supergroup with legendary fiddlers
from Afro Celt Sound System, as well as in-
demand pianistThomas Bartlett (AKA Doveman)
from NewYork. With a sound both ancient and
new, embracing haunting traditional songs and
rousing instrumental medleys,The Gloaming
have been hailed internationally.Their self-titled
album last year took unmistakably Irish music in
captivatingly different directions.
Lake Street Dive (USA)
The breakthrough moment for these jazz-school
graduates came when they sang a cover of the
Jackson’s I WantYou Back on a local street for
aYouTube clip.This quartet – who studied at
Boston’s New England Conservatory – initially
Graham Reid casts an ear over some of the artists coming to this year’s WOMAD
SINEAD O’CONNOR
wanted to make a kind of avant-garde country
music, but that transformed into soul-inspired
pop with cool choruses and a real feel for classic
Motown.Their album Bad Self Portraits of last
year might not be the best thing they ever do, but
it’s a collection of addictive, repeat-play songs.
Malawi Mouse Boys (Malawi)
If they invite you for dinner, think twice and
check out theYouTube clip which shows them at
their day job, selling mice kebabs as takeaway
food for passing truck drivers. But carry on
watching because then they pick up battered
and homemade instruments and sing sweet
harmony spirituals in what might pass as goodtime
pop, which can also sound uncannily similar to
Polynesian music.Their album He is #1
was recorded in their own environment, so
captures these authentic voices just as you
want to hear them.
Public Service Broadcasting(UK)
EveryWOMAD has artists which make world
music purists say ‘why?’ and doubtless this
English duo will get that response.They mix live
music with vocal samples before a backdrop
of archival footage from old docos and films,
and their 2013 debut album Inform – Educate
– Entertain was one of the best of the year.
It reflects on the British night mail trains, the
stalwart public resolve during the London Blitz,
an ode to the Spitfire fighter plane – and their new
album The Race for Space focuses specifically
on the excitement and drama of the great age
of space exploration.You probably never thought
you’d dance to a piece about Russian heroYuri
Gagarin, but you will be.
Sinead O’Connor (Ireland)
Yes, the mainstream rock critics will be here for
this act among all others and again another artist
whose inclusion manyWOMAD regulars might
question. But put your prejudice aside, because
she’s here on the back of her best album in
years, I’m Not Bossy, I’mThe Boss. O’Connor is
also apparently on top form and her recent live
MUSIC
MARCH 2015 JB Hi-Fi
FEATURE