WOMAD UK 2016 edition will also be the 10th on the grounds of Charlton Park, that’ why the organisers are already going all out to celebrate the anniversary… You just have to take a glance at the first name announced for the upcoming 34th edition of the event, which will take place the last weekend of July, from the 28th to the 31st.
It’s really hard to keep your enthusiasm down when you read that one of the Festival headliners will be the funk godfather: Mr. George Clinton in person supported by Parliament & Funkadelic. Then, to keep the expectations high, Senegalese icon Baaba Maal (who we met in Bristol few weeks ago) will bring his energetic yela and afrodance to the peaceful Wiltshire’s countryside.
Next to two of the main acts, some other fine names have also been announced. For example, the New Orleans brass bonanza played by Hot 8 Brass Band, which are also going to celebrate their 20th birthday in 2016. And to keep the trumpet blowing, Ibrahim Malouf and his distinctive Middle-Eastern touch will be at WOMAD too.
Another exciting name already revealed is the one of the Colombian upbeat project Sidestepper. They have just released a new album after a five-year hiatus and we have reviewed it few days ago. Also from South America, but this time Southern Brazil, Dom La Nena will show her tasteful artistry on one of the Festival stages. We’ve recently had the pleasure to have a chat with her and enjoy her London gig too.
We’re still in March, but more acts are already in the line-up. Like the up-and-coming Guinean talent of Moh! Kouyate, London based but West African inspired Afriquoi and Congolese new icon and eclectic artist Baloji.
We’d like to conclude pointing out two more intriguing names. The first one is the heartfelt tribute to the creative spirit of Martyn Bennett performed by the Grit Orchestra. While the second name is the one of Aziza Brahim. The voice of Saharawi people will surely bring her tradition and significant messages to the park next to the tunes of her new release.
If this was just a taster of WOMAD Charlton Park 2016 edition, we can’t wait for the upcoming main courses.
Rendez-vous with Lucas for a beginner’s guide to Baloji – the multi-faceted artist from DRC via Belgium making some of the most inventive Afrofuturist music and visuals about. Track List 1. Baloji – Le Reste Du Monde [from Hotel impala, EMI Music Belgium, 2007] 2. Baloji – Congo Eza Ya Biso [from Kinshasa Succursale; Crammed Discs,…
Artists: Baloji
Every month, we bring you a collection of the best world music-related videos. That’s our way to give value to too often overlooked, rich and diverse artistic expressions. Listen with your eyes! Watch the full playlist:
Artists: Ana Tijoux , Asian Dub Foundation , Aziza Brahim , Bigyuki , Deradoorian , Ghetto Kumbe , HHY , Lous and the Yakuza , Luedji Luna , Mas Musiq , Nubiyan Twist , Populous , Sumac Dub , The Kampala Unit , U-Zhaan , Urban Village
Rendez-vous with Lucas Keen for an appointment to meet the little boat shaped lute played across the West African Sahel since the time of Mansa Musa. Hear the story of the djeli n’goni, get the job description for a griot, and learn where this iconic instrument which is the…
Artists: Baaba Maal , Bassekou Kouyate , Djenba Seck , Lucas Keen , Mansour Seck , Rokia Traoré
At times, we are the first to lose track of how many exciting music events happen in London each month, so we have decided to offer you some sort of “public musical service”, meant for all the locals and passers-by, with the aim of suggesting where to listen to some…
Artists: 3ma , Afrikan Boy , Ballake Sissoko , Driss El Maloumi , Gaia Mobilij , Hot 8 Brass Band , Irreversible Entanglements , Kallemi , Kampire , Let Drum Beat , Melt Yourself Down , Oum , Princess Nokia , Princess Prada , Rajery , Riobamba , Saronde , Shabaka Hutchings , Simo Lagnawi , Simo Lagnawi & Gnawa London , Sudan Archives , Tarabband , Wara
For three days and nights there will be a wave of eclectic live music, DJ’s and Q&A sessions across Camden. Ranging from spoken word to dancehall, math-rock to afrobeat – all with an experimental and original flare. The main headliners include Michael Kiwanuka, Róisín Murphy, Kate Tempest, and Mike Skinner,…
Artists: Boko! Boko! , Ed O’Brien , Gilles Peterson , Hot 8 Brass Band , Kampire , Kate Tempest , Kojey Radical , Kokoroko , Melt Yourself Down , Michael Kiwanuka , Mike Skinner , Róisín Murphy , Squid![Album Review: Aziza Brahim – Sahari [Glitterbeat Records; November 2019]](http://www.rhythmpassport.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/aziza-brahim-sahari-cover-620x620.jpg)
Sahari is an exciting new step for Aziza Brahim featuring more electronic elements than her previous two Glitterbeat albums Soutak and Abbar El Hamada. The different soundscapes and instrument arrangements of each track give a coherent arc to the music and storytelling. Unlike her previous albums which were recorded as…
Artists: Aziza Brahim
At times, we are the first to lose track of how many exciting music events happen in London each month, so we have decided to offer you some sort of “public musical service”, meant for all the locals and passers-by, with the aim of suggesting where to listen to some…
Artists: Afrikan Boy , Afriquoi , Amadou & Mariam , Amira Kheir , Amy True , Blue Lab Beats , Bumi Thomas , Carthnage , Dele Sosimi Afrobeat Orchestra , Dj Jigüe , Elpeche , Emicida , Ezra Collective , Fatima , Femi And The Inrhythms , Gianni Denitto , Imperio Bamba , Kamaal Williams , Koroleko Moussa Dembele , La-33 , Lua Preta , Marcelo D2 , Mayra Andrade , Merca Bae , Nané , Naphta , Neneh Cherry , Onra , Renegade Brass Band , Sons Of Kemet , Stella Chiweshe , Tássia Reis , The Blind Boy of Alabam , The Bongo Hop , Xylouris White , Zara Mcfarlane
The most tropical weekend of the year is upon us! So, if you haven’t already, pack your tent, sunscreen and fun appetite, and head for Mount Pleasant Ecological Park. From Friday 13th to Sunday 15th July, Tropical Pressure festival will drop its cargo of Latin, Caribbean, West, East and Central African…
Artists: Afriquoi , Johnny Clarke , Lakuta , Let Drum Beat , Orchestre Les Mangelepa , Soothsayers , Sounspecies , Toto La Momposina , Zara Mcfarlane
A big revelry for exciting Brighton-based independent label Tru Thoughts, as they celebrated their coming-of-age with a punching all-day party! Full of friends and fans, there were queues to see their newest acts that not even a wink or a press pass could sneak you through. A sign that they…
Artists: Alice Russell , Anchorsong , Hot 8 Brass Band , Quantic , Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings
The last decade has seen a shift in the role of record labels in the music industry. More artists are choosing to sign with independent labels to maintain creative collaborative control. Tru-Thoughts are a UK indie label based in Brighton, created in 1999. Praised by Gilles Peterson, they have a…
Artists: Alice Russell , Hot 8 Brass Band , Quantic , Rodney P
The concept of an outdoor jazz festival hardly conjures images of glitter-filled Glastonbury excitement, a young hip crowd and dance-fuelled elation. However, previously exclusive jazz appears to be undergoing a fashion revolution and the grounds of Glynde Place hinted at this. Love Supreme, the UK’s only three-day greenfield jazz festival…
Artists: Camilla George Quartet , George Benson , Herbie Hancock , Hot 8 Brass Band , Kansas Smitty’s House Band , La Mambanegra , Lauran Mvula , Miles Mosely , Nubiyan Twist , Shabaka and the Ancestors , Shabaka Hutchings , Sons Of Kemet , The Comet Is Coming , The Jacksons , The West Coast Getdown , TriForce
You simply need to look at her, her eyes and expression to understand the nature of the experiences, adventures and encounters that Aziza Brahim has gone through in her life. The Sahrawi singer/songwriter, true mouthpiece of her people’s daily fight to be recognised, has spent her entire existence as a…
Artists: Aziza Brahim
They invited their fans singing “come see us play”. So we did it and enjoyed every single minute of it. Sidestepper brought their Afro-Colombian groove to WOMAD Festival and it was simply “chevere!” A few minutes later, we witnessed the brilliant 30-year reunion of Songhai – kora king Toumani Diabate with flamenco guitarists…
Artists: Ana Tijoux , Anoushka Shankar , George Clinton , Parliament Funkadelic , Sidestepper , Toumani Diabaté
Our top 5 discoveries for Womad festival’s first full day, Friday, showcase the rich and varied styles that WOMAD 2016 has on offer. In our pick there is music from Spain, Lebanon, Mali, Scotland and Colombia – you can’t get more diverse than that! La Mambanegra got us off to…
Artists: Bamba Wassoulou Groove , Buika , Grit Orchestra , Ibrahim Maalouf , La Mambanegra
Welcomed by a packed and doting Electric Brixton, The Hot 8 Brass Band met expectations: larger than life, feel-good and undoubtedly, infectiously groovy. Before the brassy boy entered, the muso Brixton crowd were well warmed with the reggae delights of the Ragga Twins. From their straight-up Jamaican vibes, to their…
Artists: Hot 8 Brass Band
“This is NOT world music, this is OUR music! You can’t put me in a box just because I’m black! You can’t put me in a box because I’m African and I’m proud of what I am! Brighton, if you are with us, raise your finger!” With these few words,…
Artists: Baloji
It was billed as one of the highlights of 2016’s La Linea Festival, but Criolo and Baloji gig at Koko went above and beyond all expectations. The event was the unequivocal proof that hip-hop has a thousand faces, and the remarkable ability to adapt and absorb different cultures to spread…
Artists: Baloji , Criolo
Aziza Brahim’s new album Abbar el Hamada (out now on Glitterbeat) blew us away on first listening with its haunting tales of a life spent in refugee camps. It was therefore a great pleasure to get the chance to interview this important singer. Exiled as she is from the country of…
Artists: Aziza Brahim
As it’s happening since 2001, for ten days in April, London sounds and plays Latino. The responsibility rests on ¡COMO NO! which, 15 years ago, started to organise one of the most chéveres Festivals of the London music scene. La Linea has indeed brought to the British capital some of the finest,…
Artists: A Guy Called Gerald , Adanovsky & Xavi y Los Imanes , Ana Moura , Ariwo , Baloji , Calexico , Chico Trujillo , Criolo , Daymé Arocena , La Yegros
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