WOMAD – CHARLTON PARK, WILTSHIRE 24-26 July 2009
Review by Andy Thomas

Now in its third year in the grounds of Charlton Park, WOMAD once again proved how unsuitable the term ‘World Music’ is for the dizzying array of music on offer during this weekend.

Perhaps the most eagerly anticipated performances this year were those of the West African soul sisters Oumou Sangare and Rokia Traoré. After storming sets at previous WOMAD festivals, the two heavyweight singers provided quite different representations of African modernism and female empowerment. While Sangare shimmered across the stage, every inch the majestic diva, with her ancient to modern electronic/acoustic band complementing her celestial voice, the younger Traoré brought a more progressive air to proceedings. Throwing on her beloved Gretsch guitar, the shaven headed songbird and a stellar band stormed their way through a blistering set of African rock and blues. Also drawing in the crowds this year were African artists from the East side of the continent, and the Ethiopiques review did not disappoint. Backed by a great little French group of musicians and the Ethiopian sax titan Getatchew Mekurya, the deep voices of Mahmoud Ahmed and Alèmayèhu Eshèté more than justified the recent hype lauded on this forgotten corner of African music.

It wasn’t just the elders reaching into the Amharic soul and funk of swinging Addis in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s. The appropriately named Dub Colossus picked up the baton by fusing the liberating sounds bursting out of the Ethiopian capital during its heyday, with the echoplex hypnotics of the Kingston studios of the ‘70s (imagine if King Tubby had hitched a ride back with Haile Selassie during his infamous trip to Jamaica and you’re close). They weren’t the only ones offering up some bass pressure though, with the lover rock of Dennis Bovell and the cavernous dub of Mad Professor bringing positive vibrations to accompany the Friday evening sunshine.

But as ever the real delights of WOMAD were to be found in the little gems that you’d stumble across – to educate your ears and blow your preconceptions skywards. Take an artist like Mamer, from Xinjiang whose beguiling Chinese folk/country had many running to the Real World section of the WOMAD shop (where his recent ‘Eagle’ LP for the label sat next to other WOMAD performers like the excellent minimal folk band Spiro and the forever moving Portico Quartet) or The Sweet Vandals, a powerhouse funk band that sounded more Memphis than Madrid. However, the hardest working artist was Burkina Faso’s Victor Deme who appeared three times over the weekend, and it was his mournful yet uplifting West African folk that will linger longest in these ears – Deep music that deserves more attention.

While one of the other high points of the weekend were Orishas whose Cuban hip hop tore the roof off the Siam Tent on Saturday night, if there was one small gripe it was that WOMAD could reach a little deeper to uncover the street sounds that are reverberating across the world and really connecting with the youth. So although Shlomo and The Vocal Orchestra and RSD represented the UK beatbox and dubstep scenes respectively, the global beats from the likes of Durban’s House/Kwaito scene or the Angolan kuduru rhythms of modern day Lisbon were notable by their absence. Having said that the young crowd jumping to the rare deep funk of DJ Snowboy and the raucous horns of the Hypnotic Brass Ensemble showed that WOMAD might finally be getting the younger vote.

But it was left to a WOMAD elder to induce the biggest response from the crowd, as Youssou N’Dour and his band Super Etoile De Dakar dropped the Mbalax bomb in the rain on the main stage on the last night, proving why he has become the most famous name in what many still call ‘World Music’ but which really defies such categorisation.