A few months ago I wrote about a feeling I called ‘The Worldwide Effect‘. I suggested that Gilles Peterson’s Worldwide Festival in Sète was an experience made up of magical moments strung together by our favourite music. I recently returned to France to find that in its fifth edition, the festival has grown significantly, so much so that some old faithfuls may consider this a year of transition and change of direction. Although they will perhaps mourn the intimacy lost apropos of previous editions, it is clear on even the most superficial inspection that its valued spirit of familiarity remains untarnished.

This year’s edition confirmed that the Worldwide Festival is a space for friendships to be made and consolidated. As soon as I landed in Sète I was met with warm faces, both old and new, and it was not long before a spontaneous crew was assembled that would see us through the weekend. This friendly outlook also found expression on another level, as the frequent collaborations between performers – conveyed most notably by Gilles Peterson, Norman Jay, and Laurent Garnier’s playful sparring on the last night – indicated that this festival is also the place where the artists get a chance to get together, relax, and enjoy the convivial atmosphere. Furthermore, on a strictly utilitarian level, these friendships were fundamental to the festival’s success this year. Untimely cancellations from Gil Scott Heron, Joy Orbison, Flying Lotus, Ross Allen, and Kev Beadle forced significant and hasty readjustments that could not have been met without the good will, flexibility, and energy of artists of the calibre of Laurent Garnier, LeFtO, and SBTRKT.

The festival was organised into four arenas that, whilst complimentary to one another, remained clearly distinct experiences both atmospherically and musically. In past editions the festival has, to a degree, felt like a DJ’s playground but this year the organisers have really hit the winning formula with regards to live performances: energetic music with strong percussive foundations and the single-minded aim of bringing the audience to its feet. The festival’s live repertoire began at the street party on the Thursday afternoon at the Centre Régional d’Art Contemporain in town. The sounds of Half Seas Over gently shuffled the audience into cool before Dorian Concept matched the blistering heat with an infectious and feverishly energetic performance. Soon after, as Gil Scott Heron’s cancellation was announced, the momentum that had gathered waned. Nevertheless, his brilliant band kindly took to the stage, but through no fault of its own, it struggled to hold the crowd’s attention, which missed the charismatic presence of its frontman. It was, however, the two evenings at the wonderful Theatre de la Mer that were the most memorable, as its sloped seats became an impromptu ballroom for the sun-kissed crowds.

The evening music was dominated by big bands, big sounds, and big horns. In its exploratory tour of the urban influences currently touching Afro Cuban traditions, Gilles Peterson’s Havana Cultura project effectively integrated hip hop and club shades into rumbas and high energy latin jazz. Danay Suárez’s controlled and personal delivery was a particular stand out, as was Roberto Fonseca’s muscular playing, which brought necessary intensity to the danzón numbers. The pair’s matching in the mournful ballad ‘Lágrimas de Soledad’ gave me a real feeling of presentness, as if all my senses were momentarily in absolute harmony with the experience. Then, the Orchestre Poly-Rythmo de Cotonou thrilled the crowd by propelling the complex rhythmic heritage of Benin’s Vodoun traditions with a touch of analogue Africa. A cheerful disposition accompanied bellowing horns and agile guitar licks and, with a little help from an intense thunderstorm, the band provided a memorable finale, continuing to play as the stage crew covered the musicians in loose sheets of golden foil in a scene reminiscent of James Brown’s infamous cape routine.

My personal highlight of the festival came on the second day, courtesy of Hypnotic Brass Ensemble’s irrepressible, raucous, and theatrical stage show. Blaring bold melodic hooks, the nine-piece band drew from the ceremonial street music traditions of the earliest days of both jazz and hip hop, teasing the audience into rhythmic and vocal call-and-response games over the dark basslines served up by the mighty sousaphone. However, their show was not all party: as the band abandoned looping lines in favour of crafted harmonic fanfares, the real depth behind their music was brought into view. When the chance comes, make sure to seek out these boys. After the Hypnotic Brass Ensemble’s pulsating display, I seriously feared for the Quantic y su Combo Bárbaro performance that would follow. In spite of that, my doubts could not have been dispelled more quickly or thoroughly, as Will Holland’s lush band furnished us with the perfect soundtrack to the summer evening. Like the members themselves, the music was a multicultural blend of upbeat tropical numbers that moved from cumbias to latin funk to boogaloos. Although Alfredo Linares’ extravagant piano and flavoursome montunos merit special mention, the general musicianship was exceptional. For my money, Quantic’s ensemble is one of the best latin bands in the world at the moment.

One of the things I like most about the Worldwide Festival is the clear and attainable time slot given to each performance. Although circumstances conspire to make the audience relax, with a little organisation, you can see virtually everything. After the evening performances came the festival’s clubbing experience in the fondly dubbed “car park rave” at the Phare du Mole. Foreign Beggars got the party started on the opening night before an expansive and uncompromising set by Mala, which enveloped the crowd in a penetrating and almost tangible sea of bass. Floating Points and Fatima delivered an elegant and versatile house session that set the tone for a soulful contribution from Mr Peterson. High off the Orchestre Poly-Rythmo de Cotonou performance, the second night at the Phare du Mole brought to stage a badly mistimed, careless, and arrogant performance by Gaslamp Killer and Gonjasufi which provoked the only negative audience response I heard at the festival. Nevertheless, along with any residual irritation provoked by Joy Orbison and Flying Lotus’ impudent absences, such woes were swiftly forgotten the moment the first strains of Laurent Garnier’s relocated surprise set kicked in. Garnier delighted the audience with a multifaceted performance that combined moments of dubstep and drum and bass with his signature techno sounds. To close the night, SBTRKT featuring Sampha lay out some subtle neo-soul vocals over crashing, grimey beats. On the Saturday, the unwavering few that made it down early were lucky to be eased into the night by a carefully constructed set by Jeremy Boon, who drew on warm disco, soul and house sounds. Kyle Hall’s tight deep house set lived up to its promise, with a welcome touch of acid chucked in to the mix. In stark contrast, the much hyped techno-cabaret act dOP was wildly disappointing and will be remembered only for the frontman’s nude antics with two progressively uncomfortable audience members. Thankfully, Josh Wink’s bass-flavoured techno rescued the night by holding the audience in tense raptures until the strings of an immense edit of fellow Philadelphia native Teddy Pendergrass’ ‘The More I Get, The More I Want’ came to a final fade.

During the day, the crowds descended upon the ACD beach for some sunshine, detox, retox, and late afternoon dancing. Early sets by Hugo Mendez and Klub Des Loosers generated a relaxed atmosphere that was much welcomed, but it was the late afternoon shows by LeFtO and Simbad on the Friday, and Ladybugz on the Saturday that really smashed it. LeFtO and Simbad closed last year’s festival and their beach performances are without question one of the festival’s consummate acts. These boys could happily play the entire four days and I doubt either they or the audience would get tired. This time they displayed an astonishing fluency and range, flying seamlessly through Brazilian to hip hop to pure party jungle. On Saturday, the Ladybugz adopted a similar celebratory and eclectic stance, bringing a bit of West London to the sea. Featuring Marshmello on MC duties, the girls dropped a sunny selection of bouncy classics, drawing from broken, UK boogie, and big edits – Yam Who’s reworking of Grace Jones, Maurice Fulton’s remix of Alice Smith, and Todd Terje’s excellent edit of Chic’s ‘I Want Your Love’ – to drench the beach in bright and hugely catchy sonic goodness. Peven Everett has never sounded so awesome.

For the final day, the beach was transformed into a fifteen-hour party. Norman Jay encapsulated the mood of the festival with his singularly uplifting sounds and disco-inspired shakers, but it is Jeremy Ellis and his magical fingertips that deserve to be remembered. His electrifying cyborg-funk performance was a genuine revelation to me, combining live sampling, dirty vocals, and keyboard wizardry. My attention then turned to the World Cup Final for a couple of hours, until nerves finally became elation. As the final whistle blew, my handful of Spanish friends and I discussed whether we would rather be here or in Madrid tonight, but soon our doubts were overcome with the joy of watching three giants – Garnier, Jay, and Peterson – fight for a moment’s glory in a night they too recognised as special. The host could not contain his enthusiasm and guaranteed that with the possible exceptions of Madrid and Barcelona, we were all witnessing the biggest party in the world. Indeed, as the final hour approached and Cee Lo’s evergreen ‘I Want You’ came out of the speakers, there was no other place and no better company that I would have rather been in. It was nothing short of amazing.

John M. Gómez

Worldwide Festival