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As Tinariwen release their latest album, we look at their role in putting the music of the Sahara on the map and what the future holds for the Touareg.
The diva of Turkish pop makes a rare UK visit next month but proves highly elusive when Songlines goes to meet her in Istanbul.
Guitarist Justin Adams and ritti player Juldeh Camara have struck up a winning formula with their fusion of West African grooves and old-school blues.
The Imagined Village, Cecil Sharp Project and Lush cosmetics – what’s next for the young English folk singer and fiddle player?
The new name on the Malian music scene who’s been making waves on the festival circuit this summer.
Desert Blues
Sezen Aksu
JuJu
Jackie Oates
Fatoumata Diawara
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Tinariwen & Touareg guitars
Jackie Oates Sezen
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JuJu
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Fatoumata Diawara Songlines 3
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It’s easy to see how these islands have inspired and informed songwriting for hundreds of years
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7 Welcome 9 Top of the World CD 10 My World: Ravi Shankar 12 News 19 L ondon African Music Festival 20 Obituaries/World Music Chart 21 G lobe-Rocker: Pink Martini 23 W here in the World? 23 NEW Cerys Matthews 24 G rooves: Rachael McShane,
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Maria Bethânia 52 Festival Profile: Warsaw Cross-Culture Festival 54 S ounding Out: Montreux 57 Postcard from: Scotland 58 S ubscribe & Back Issues 91 Gig Guide & TV/Radio Listings 96 You Should Have Been There... 98 Backpage from... South Sudan
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y highlight on WOMAD’s Open Air Stage this year was the magnificent singer Khaira Arby from Timbuktu. Dressed in a gorgeous blue robe with big, brightly-coloured squares, she had the indomitable voice and presence that Mali’s best female singers so often possess. She was accompanied by a young band on mainly electric guitars – with “le petit Abdramane Touré,” as she described him, playing flamboyant solos. She represents Malian music at its best, reaching back into a rich tradition, but bringing it alive in a contemporary way. What made it even more extraordinary for me was that I had been introduced to her by Ali Farka Touré when I was in Mali over 20 years ago making Now That’s What I Call Mali!, a BBC radio series with Andy Kershaw. We recorded a fresh young girl accompanied by Ali on the guitar – and tipped by him as someone to watch out for. It hasn’t been easy for her to pursue a musical career, but now she’s a star in Mali and deserves recognition worldwide. Because she’s a little-known name and she was programmed on the Saturday afternoon, it was possible to see Khaira Arby at her best. That wasn’t the case for the ‘headliners’ like Baaba Maal and Rodrigo y Gabriela. The Siam Tent and Open Air Stage areas were so crowded it was impossible to get a glimpse of the musicians unless you’d claimed a space long before the show. Several people asked at the Songlines stand why WOMAD don’t use screens to help this situation. Chris Smith, WOMAD’s director, says it’s mainly the cost, but also that it changes a 3D musical experience into a 2D one. True enough, but if you are stuck a long way away, 2D is better than no decent musical experience at all. As usual at WOMAD, it’s the bands you haven’t heard before and the more intimate experiences that are best. This year it was the Taste the World stage that came into its own. It started three or four years back as a fringe-like thing, but this year was properly timetabled in the programme. The idea is simple: artists come and prepare a dish from their home region, chat and play their music. Food, music and an informal chance to ask questions – it’s a great way to get to know an artist and their culture more personally. A dozen artists took part over the weekend and you could get a taste of Cajun home cooking from the Savoy Family Cajun Band, hear the protest songs of Tahrir Square as El Tanbura prepared bamboute fish, or enjoy a close encounter with Mongolian throat singing as Anda Union invited us to try their firewater, dumplings and horse-riding songs. It’s a great reminder, of course, that music is inseparable from the culture that surrounds it. During Anda Union’s hour at Taste the World you got a real sense of the horse-dominated culture from which they come, their Buddhist faith and how hard they can party. The tasty dumplings at the end (pictured above) were just a delicious bonus. Apart from the rediscovery of Khaira Arby, Anda Union were the discovery of the WOMAD festival. A dozen musicians from Inner Mongolia – that’s the Chinese bit where Hanggai also come from – who play horse-head fiddles, spectacular drums and perform other-worldly throat-singing that is sensational to hear. I hope we’ll be hearing a lot more of them in the coming year.
on the SONGLINES stereo BEN Tinariwen’s ‘Tenere Taqhim Tossam’ is my track of 2011... so far
sophie Beirut’s new album, The Rip Tide – ahead of his Brixton gig this month
courtesy of alex I am currently rocking out to JuJu’s kicking new album In Trance
NAT Socialist dreams under Stockport viaduct with Pilgrim’s Way
SONGLINES DIGITAL SONGLINES DIGITAL Look out for this symbol throughout the issue to see which free tracks are available. For a free trial see www.songlines.co.uk/digital
h NEXT ISSUE Free bonus CD of Australian roots music Songlines 7
UPFRONT
79
On your free CD – the editor’s selection of the top ten albums reviewed in this issue
1
Vieux Farka Touré ‘Sokosondou’
From the album The Secret on Six Degrees Records The son of legendary Ali Farka Touré, Vieux has finally found his own identity and voice. See p65
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June Tabor & Oysterband ‘The Leaves of Life’ From the album Ragged Kingdom on Topic Records A triumphant return for the two powerhouses of English folk. See p73
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Old Sledge ‘Boats Up the River’
From the album Don’t Let Your Deal Go Down on Old Sledge These Virginians have put together an album of real, downhome Appalachian bluegrass. See p67
4
Uxia ‘Os Teus Ollos’
From the album Meu Canto on Fol Música The Galician singer shows off the full scope and beauty of her voice on this stripped-back, poetic album. See p74
5
Dawda Jobarteh ‘Karang Folo’
From the album Northern Light Gambian Night on Sterns Music An album of beautiful music by the Danish-based Gambian kora player with guests. See p63
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1 5 7
Turn over to see Ravi Shankar’s playlist »
Sezen Aksu ‘Arkadas¸ S¸arkısını Duyunca’
From the album Öptüm on World Village Hailed as the ‘Queen of Turkish Pop’, the talented Sezen Aksu returns with her most mature album yet.
See p79
7
Fatoumata Diawara ‘Bissa’
From the album Fatou on World Circuit The Malian songbird draws on hunters’ rhythms of Wassoulou tradition for her confident and impressive debut. See p62
8
Trio Chemirani ‘Nokay’
From the album Invite on Accords Croisés The Iranian family trio branches out to collaborate with international musicians. See p81
9
Amina Alaoui ‘Flor de Nieve’
From the album Arco Iris on ECM The Moroccan singer offers her contemporary take on the Arab-Andalus repertoire of Moorish Spain. See p79
New to Songlines? Subscribe now and get a
10
Brock McGuire Band ‘Because It’s There/The Coalminer’ From the album Green Grass Blue Grass on Paulman Music An invigorating melding of traditional Irish music and bluegrass. See p80
album for free!
We’re giving away a choice of Vieux Farka Touré, Sezen Aksu or June Tabor & Oysterband’s new albums (to new subscribers only). See the flyer inside your covermount CD for details, visit www.songlines.co.uk/cd79 or call +44 (0)20 7371 2777. www.songlines.co.uk
Songlines 9
† Fusionland
6
UPFRONT
My World Ravi Shankar
The Indian music maestro is now in his 90s, but he’s still an avid fan of new, innovative music, as shown in his choice of artists for Songlines P O RT R A I T V i n c e n t L i m o n g e ll i
Also on your CD: five tracks chosen by Ravi Shankar
11
Nitin Sawhney feat Faheem Mazhar ‘Daybreak’
From the album London Undersound on Positiv-ID Ravi says he never gets bored listening to Sawhney’s music. This track features the classically trained Indian vocalist Faheem Mazhar.
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Karsh Kale ‘Avalanche’
From the album Cinema on Six Degrees Records The UK born and US raised musician has collaborated with Ravi’s daughter Anoushka. Ravi describes Kale’s music as being ‘very intimate’. His latest album is reviewed in this issue, p80.
13
Philip Glass ‘Car Ride’
From the album Undertow on Orange Mountain Ravi is a big admirer of Glass and his film music, such as this track where he manages to create a great feeling of suspense and tension.
14
Joshua Bell & Anoushka Shankar ‘Variant Moods: Duet for Sitar & Violin’
From the album At Home With Friends on Sony Music ‘The sound created by the sitar and violin is so compatible yet so different, it’s a perfect improvisational match,’ says Ravi.
15
Anoushka Shankar ‘Red Sun’
From the album Rise on Angel Records ‘There is so much energy and experimentation,’ Ravi says of this track by his sitar-playing daughter Anoushka. He describes touring with her as being one of the great joys of his life. 10 Songlines
R
avi Shankar doesn’t need much introduction, especially to readers of Songlines. ‘The godfather of world music’ was how the Beatles’ George Harrison described him. When looking back at his lengthy career, this certainly rings true – he’s done more than any other artist to showcase the music of India to the world. Ravi-ji, as he is affectionately known, has collaborated with everyone from George Harrison and Yehudi Menuhin to Philip Glass and Herbie Hancock. ‘I will keep playing as long as my body lets me, and as long as I’m wanted by my listeners. Because music is the only thing that keeps me going,’ he told The Guardian some years ago. Now 91, performances by the maestro are rare, although he did play at the Barbican in London in July. We’re very fortunate that he’s selected six tracks for Songlines – five of which appear on the CD and a bonus track that can be heard on the podcast. Here he tells us why he’s chosen these particular tracks; how he feels the music scene in India has changed; and how to encourage people to be openminded and explore different types of music. “Music has the power to draw listeners into a common space and time – no matter what their backgrounds, interests and opinions. Audiences come to the music with the mindset that they are going somewhere together and that is a powerful motivator and wellspring for social change. If there is music, there is the possibility of people seeing beyond their immediate wants and needs. Sadly, I fear that the classical music traditions in India are being lost. Today’s world of media, work, work, work and cell phones make it hard to completely lose yourself to a single dedication. There remains a respect and adoration for the music, but there is not the single-minded dedication to its study. All I can really say is to listen to everything you can. There are artists who are open and artists who are not, just like audiences. The artists I’ve picked here all have that openness in common. I was
thinking recently of a performance I saw of Sting with the Royal Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl. I remember thinking that this is an artist with a surprising depth. I was very impressed, and I think it had to do with Sting’s seemingly very open-minded approach to music. It’s a powerful thing, this fearlessness to be open to everything. These tracks are all inspiring to me, for one reason or another. I will say that I find nearly everything my daughters do to be
“If there is music, there is the possibility of people seeing beyond their immediate wants and needs” inspiring. Often it may be because they each approach things so differently from one another, and more importantly, so differently than I do. I find it helpful and enriching to experience new approaches to things you’ve been doing for a long time. All these tracks have that in common for me. I remember when Anoushka worked with Karsh [Kale], her being very impressed by his unique restraint. He’s not afraid to use a lot of forces in a minimal way. It creates a very intimate music, so much so that his breathing even becomes part of the orchestration. He is very popular among the youth, although many with more experience in traditional Indian classical music may question this approach. I think it is interesting to take note of how successful he
Asian fusionist Karsh Kale October 2011
UPFRONT
Nitin [Sawhney] is a brilliant musician and composer. I hear such joy in this tune. Its simplicity is its real strength, just like daybreak itself. So much energy! The pizzicato in the instrumentation combined with his melodic voice is just perfect. I am never bored when listening to his music. It always surprises me! Norah’s voice has such range of emotion. I think that is what most impresses her listeners: her ability to cover a vast range with seeming simplicity. She has a rare ability to connect with nearly everyone. She is also very intuitive as a collaborator, and of course so is Herbie (who I’ve worked with on several occasions). Both are gifted at seeing where two musical minds must find each other in order to produce something truly memorable. They are wonderful together. And Joni Mitchell is quite a songwriter, so to hear their interpretation of her tune is really something special.
I’ve always loved violin and sitar together. They are very different and very similar at the same time. I remember when I wrote and played with Yehudi Menuhin there was a sense that the two instruments would continuously come together at a sort of point and then diverge, weaving a remarkable pattern. The sound created by the sitar and violin is so compatible yet so different, it’s a perfect improvisational match. We aimed to bring more possibilities in the dialogue between the two instruments. Eventually Yehudi and I found out how powerful this match could be when we played the United Nations concert for Human Rights in 1967. I think Anoushka and Joshua [Bell] have such chemistry here. It will be interesting to see what they will do after time has passed, if they record again later in their careers. What more can one say about Philip Glass? Of course, I was first drawn to Philip by his rhythmic intricacies inspired by Indian music. There is a lot I like about this particular composition. It’s so short, but it is www.songlines.co.uk
bill wood photography
is with that approach, even though I, personally, would not gravitate towards it.
Ravi-ji, as he is affectionately known, with his daughter Anoushka
truly amazing as film music. In film, you have limited time to convey an emotional state to a listener. Here, Philip builds such suspense, such tension. Much is due to his ingenious use of non-Western instruments, in this case the didgeridoo – so inspired. I’m also always impressed with film music that is so precisely able to capture the appropriate mood, and with such efficiency. It is not easy to bring a voice to a director’s vision – as I experienced with Satyajit Ray and the Apu trilogy. But when you can come together and find the harmony between sound and vision – it is magic. Philip is gifted at bringing this magic out. I hope he gets his Oscar one day soon.
Touring with Anoushka has been one of my life’s great joys. A father often sees his daughter grow up from some distance. This is normal and there is certainly joy and pride in it, however, when on stage with Anoushka, it’s like I’m experiencing her grow as we experience and interact with the music. I am very fortunate to have had this opportunity. When I hear this track, ‘Red Sun’, I hear Anoushka’s youth in the best way. There is so much energy and experimentation that I think it comes from a try-anything approach. It is something that one sometimes finds harder to achieve as you get older. It’s something I try to be aware of in my own music and when listening to others. Innovation is the only way to keep music alive and here, there is a bold compositional sense, pushing to get what she wants out of conducting. I also admire Anoushka’s drive to bring together very strong and diverse traditions to create something totally new. It isn’t easy but I see her relish in the challenge here, which, of course, makes me happy and reminds me how important challenges are to music.” l Podcast Listen to Norah Jones & Herbie Hancock’s ‘Court & Spark’ from River: The Joni Letters on Verve on the podcast Next issue Anoushka Shankar will be the cover feature in the November/ December issue of Songlines Songlines 11
BE G INNE R ’ S
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BEGINNER’S GUIDE
Maria Bethânia
Alex Robinson reviews the career of the Brazilian singer who is a huge star at home, but still relatively unknown abroad portrait L e o Av e r s a
‘M
aria Bethânia sings like a young tree which burns in an explosive crackle into the sky above; everything is fire in this extraordinary singer whose voice comes to us from Bahia with a message of rare poetry and love,’ wrote Vinícius de Moraes, the great bossa nova poet and writer of ‘The Girl from Ipanema’, with whom Bethânia worked in the late 1960s. Outside Brazil, Maria Bethânia is famous for being Caetano Veloso’s sister, but within Brazil she is a superstar, celebrated for her remarkable voice and her uncompromising individuality. It was Bethânia who made tropicália possible, whose fame brought recognition to Veloso. She was the first Brazilian female singer to record an album which sold more than a million records, and in a career which spans almost 50 years, she has released more than 30 records. Bethânia grew up in the tiny but then prosperous town of Santo Amaro da Purificação in Bahia, some 1,600km north of Rio de Janeiro. Modern Brazil was born in Bahia – from the sugar plantations tilled by the hundreds of thousands of enslaved Africans, from the Portuguese administration based in the country’s first capital, the baroque city of Salvador, and from the rhythms of samba and capoeira, which were fomented here. Yet despite its heritage, Bahia was regarded as something of a backwater by Brazil’s ordered and progressive 60s new wave – (or in Portuguese, bossa nova) generation – a middle class, intellectual set based in Rio de Janeiro. Bethânia and a group of young Bahians, comprising of, amongst others, Veloso, Gilberto Gil, Gal Costa and Tom Zé, made waves in early 60s Salvador staging shows at the Vila Velha theatre. Nós Por Exemplo, (Us, For Example) and Mora na Filosofia (She Lives Philosophy) deliberately challenged the national artistic status quo, mixing music and theatre (Bethânia had long dreamed of being an actress) and attracting an arty,
50 Songlines
October 2011
Beti Niemeyer
avant-garde crowd who comprised many of the young intelligentsia of Salvador. But they would probably have gone unnoticed by the rest of Brazil were it not for Nara Leão, a singer and Rio de Janeiro intellectual, who attended one of the performances whilst on holiday in Salvador. Leão had already played a crucial role in the growth of bossa nova in her home city – bossanovistas had honed their art and discussed their ideas in her Copacabana flat, and Leão herself remained a key player within the movement. She was to play a crucial role in tropicália too – for after she became entranced by Bethânia’s shows, Leão invited the singer to come to Rio and take her place in a polemical theatre show in Copacabana, called Opinão (Opinion). This epitomised, in the words of Veloso, “the trend among some of the bossanovistas to promote the fusion of modern Brazilian music with politically engaged art.” Opinão culminated with Bethania singing ‘Carcará’ – which describes a violent attack by a caracara hawk on new-born calves in the dry backlands of Brazil’s north-east. It was intended as an allegory and a call to arms against the incipient military dictatorship. The song became an underground hit, and Bethânia, whose Middle Eastern, indigenous Brazilian and African looks contrasted markedly with the pretty, white faces of Rio bossa nova, came to be seen as a roots protest singer. She was just 17. Whilst her success opened the door for a series of new Bahian artists (who would include her brother, Gilberto Gil, Tom Zé, Gal Costa and Novos Baianos) thereby beginning the tropicália movement, Bethânia was not interested in being a protest singer or in tropicália. Her focus was solely on music and the art of singing and interpreting. Her first two solo albums, both recorded in 1965 were artistically conservative, dominated by traditional sambas by composers like Noel Rosa and Benedito Lacerda, chosen to showcase her voice – breathy, deep, resonating and as intimate as a whisper in the ear. These albums established her name throughout Brazil, and they were followed by a series of collaborations with well-known bossa nova performers and composers, including Edu Lobo (with whom she recorded Edu e Bethânia) and Vinicius de Morães (with whom she made Vinícius + Bethânia + Toquinho). As Brazil entered the 70s, Caetano and his tropicalista cohorts had transformed traditional acoustic Brazil into electric, psychedelic and subversive, and Bethânia turned her intimate singing style to compositions by a series of emerging Música Popular Brasileira (MPB) composers, many of whom she collaborated with. They included her brother, the protest singer and poet Chico www.songlines.co.uk
BEST ALBUMS
Maria Bethânia e Caetano Veloso ao Vivo (Phonogram/Universal, 1978) One of Bethânia’s best live recordings, with a mix of cover versions (including ‘Carcará’) and songs by Caetano himself, sung separately and as duets.
Bahian star Maria Bethânia whose brother is Caetano Veloso
Buarque and Milton Nascimento. Her voice grew as she explored a new musical style. It matured, became richer and more varied in mood and range, with a deep sonorous tone, thick with feeling and a subtly shifting tonal and dynamic range. Her albums became increasingly intimate and romantic, and as they did so, they became ever more successful, reaching a peak with the lush, jazz and bossa novatinged 1978 release, Álibi – the first release by a Brazilian woman to sell more than a
She was the first Brazilian female singer to sell more than a million records million copies. The album gave her a massive hit with the Nelson Gonçalves ballad ‘Negue’ – later covered memorably by Cesaria Evora. Through the 80s and 90s, Bethânia largely stuck to Álibi’s successful formula – releasing intimate albums which at times suffered from a suffusion of sickly sweet strings but which pleased her everincreasing legion of fans. Bethânia broke the mold in the new millennium, downsizing her sound and producing a series of reflective, intelligent CDs aimed at a more discerning public, and released on Biscoito Fino, Brazil’s pedigree independent label. These included the wonderful, smoky Que Falta Você me Faz – a tribute to Vinicius de Morães and the twin CDs Pirata and Mar de Sophia, which reflected in the relationship between Portugal and Brazil. She enters her fifth decade as popular and well-loved in Brazil as she was in her first – a remarkable feat of endurance, unknown to most non-Brazilians, but surely unequalled by any other woman singer worldwide. l podcast Hear a selection of music from Maria Bethânia on this issue’s podcast
Álibi (Universal, 1978) If you can get beyond the lush strings, this is a flawless collection of jazz-tinged songs, by Caetano, Chico Buarque and Nelson Gonçalves, spiced with deliciously 1970s Fender Rhodes and effortlessly sung in a voice tinged with melancholy. Mar de Sophia (Discmedi, 2008) A reflective mix of Brazilian and Portuguese songs imbued with saudade (a uniquely Lusitanian blend of nostalgia, sweetness and longing) and mercifully free of those overly lush Bethânia strings. Reviewed in issue #49. Que Falta Você Me Faz (Biscoito Fino, 2005) A tour through some of Vinícius’ most beautiful and reflective bossa nova songs, with a diversion here and there into an occasional joyous samba. Reviewed in issue #33. Songlines Digital subscribers can download ‘Asa Branca’ from the album Dentro Do Mar Tem Rio. See p58 for details
To Avoid
Romântica (BMG, 2002) Bethânia at her most syrupy, string-smothered and lush.
If You Like Bethânia, Then Try...
Elis Regina
Little Pepper, The Definitive Collection (Universal Music Brazil, 2004) Bethânia’s rival as the greatest diva in Brazilian MPB, with a voice as varied and saturated with feeling, and a repertoire comprising songs from some of the greatest Brazilian composers of the 60s and 70s, including João Bosco and Milton Nascimento.
Elis Regina who died in 1982 aged 36 Songlines 51
FE STIVA L
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P R O FILE
FESTIVAL PROFILE
Warsaw CrossCulture Festival Poland Over the past decade, Poland has re-asserted itself as one of Europe’s cultural powerhouses. Alongside its visual arts, cinema and classical music, it also has a great world music festival – actually one of Songlines’ Top 25. Simon Broughton reports P hotos J K W i t kow s k i , u nl e ss stat e d
M
different Asian instruments as well as reconstructions of medieval Polish instruments. “The Cross-Culture Festival is also a way to help the residents of Warsaw become more open to different cultures,” she adds. While Warsaw is quite a culturally homogeneous city, Poles are now richly contributing to the cultural diversity of other cities in Western Europe – and beyond – and bringing more cosmopolitan tastes home with them. What impressed me was the quality of the music, the dedication of the audience and the fact that it was held in and around the magnificent, Stalinist Palace of Culture and Science in the centre of the new city of Warsaw. This socialist skyscraper was Stalin’s gift to the Polish
Warsaw’s most recognisable landmark – the Palace of Culture and Science
SIMON BROUGHTON
The festival also has a week of workshops, including a didgeridoo one, pictured below
aybe because it’s not on the Mediterranean or in the Caribbean – or because it’s not home to a diverse melting-pot of cultures – Warsaw seems a surprising place for a world music festival. But it’s for those very reasons that the city of Warsaw is keen to have one. The Warsaw Cross-Culture Festival (Festiwal Skrzyżowanie Kultur, in Polish) started in 2005. “The mission of the festival is to open both residents and guests of Warsaw to the cultural wealth of the modern world,” explains artistic director Maria Pomianowska. She is a musician who studied Indian sarangi and plays several
people in the early 1950s and was the dominant structure on the horizon until capitalist superstructures moved in after 1989. It has become the dominating symbol of the city, with its exaggerated crenellations and socialist realist statues representing the arts and sciences. If you strip away the cultural oppression from Moscow, it’s a fine piece of 50s architecture and features the Congress Hall which hosts the opening concert – this year Nigeria’s Femi Kuti. The other concerts take place in a smaller festival tent built outside the hall, but with around 1,000 seats it makes for a more relaxed space for the music. Pretty much all the concerts were full last year with a spectacular list of international names, including Ladysmith Black Mambazo (from South Africa), Hanggai (from China), Salif Keita (from Mali) and Buika (from Spain) at the opening concert. Talking to Albert Mazibuko, the spokesman of Ladysmith, he said he was keen to come to Poland because his first job, aged eight, was working on the farm of a Polish landowner in the city of Ladysmith. And he was mightily impressed by the audience – “it’s a very nice public and they like dancing,” he said. One of the real assets of the Stalinist monolith is a multi-screen cinema area where music films are shown. I have to declare an interest here as several documentaries of mine were part of the programme. But Poland has a fantastic culture of cinema, the screening facilities are first-class and the audiences are really good and responsive. This year they have films about Fela, fado, flamenco, the Guča festival and Crossing the Bridge: The Sound of Istanbul. The other surprising secret of the Palace of Culture is the Arts Café – an informal place where the musicians go and eat and where there are DJ sessions after the shows. Few festivals have a club-like space like this where audiences and artists can meet so easily.
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October 2011
Chinese folk band Hanggai were one of the many bands included in this year’s outstanding line-up
I like the idea that people might head to Warsaw for esoteric musical workshops whilst Poles colonise the world as plumbers
Festival has a European focus this year as Poland currently holds the EU presidency. There are concerts from Mercedes Peón and Carmen Linares (Spain), Maria Kalaniemi (Finland), Sara Tavares (Portugal), Psarantonis (Greece), Aynur (Turkey) and many others. Now that Poland is an active presence on the European cultural scene, it’s time for this festival to get international attention. l DATES Warsaw Cross-Culture festival runs from September 26-30 online www.festival.warszawa.pl
Tomasz Bidermann/Fotolia.com
Running alongside the week-long festival, Warsaw also has a week of workshops with top international artists – for a token fee of just 50zl (£10) per course. Last year there was Persian singing with Mahsa Vahdat, Middle Eastern percussion with Zohar Fresco and didgeridoo with Ondřej Smeykal – all of them full. I snuck in to just one of the sessions with Vahdat and it was amazing how much I picked up in two or three hours. Maciej Szajkowski, percussionist with the Warsaw Village Band, was going with his frame drum to the sessions with Fresco. How much can be achieved over five days is shown in a concert on the final afternoon featuring participants in the workshops. And this was no school concert, but a spectacular event, particularly the massed drummers
and didgeridoos. This year Fresco is back for a return visit and there are also workshops in flamenco percussion (with David Cobo Amores), Sámi joiking (with Torgeir Vassvik from Norway), tarantella (with Giovanni Amati from Italy) and others. I like the idea that people might head to Warsaw for esoteric musical workshops whilst Poles colonise the world as plumbers. There are workshops in Polish singing, but I wish there was a little more space for Polish roots music in the programming. The Warsaw Cross-Culture Festival certainly has few rivals in this part of Europe at this time of year (late September) and it’s already a musical magnet for people in the vicinity. And while Warsaw isn’t Poland’s most beautiful city, it is a great European capital that becomes even more interesting while the festival is on. The reconstructed Old Town, with its Royal Castle and churches, not to mention its many bars and cafés, is an extraordinary achievement, rebuilt from rubble after World War II and now looking like it’s been there for centuries. Apart from Femi Kuti, the Cross-Culture
Adam Oleksiak
Revellers dancing in the informal, club-like space, the Arts Café,
Main image: Concha Buika’s concert in the Congress Hall at the Palace of Culture and Science Inset: Warsaw’s new Old Town, rebuilt after World War II
TAKING YOU WHERE THE MUSIC HAPPENS Songlines Music Travel has a wide range of festival trips on offer, including the Festival on the Niger in Ségou and Carnival in Brazil. See p27 or www.songlinesmusic travel.com
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58 Songlines
October 2011