March 11-14, 2022 – Adelaide, Australia
The ever-wondrous global gathering in South Australia’s capital managed to be the last major Australian festival held pre-pandemic lockdowns in 2020. A modified version was hosted as a seated event with a series of evening concerts featuring Australia-based acts in 2021. By all accounts, there were some impressive shows but the buzz just wasn’t quite the same. In a triumphant return to the Botanic Park setting, the four-day festival welcomed fans back this year. While few overseas artists were able to fly in to perform, the diaspora from far and wide provided an invigorating range of entertainment.
Australian Indigenous Artists
Australian Indigenous acts presented traditional and contemporary fusions with song, dance and storytelling. Powerhouse vocalist Kutcha Edwards (a survivor of The Stolen Generations) captivated the crowd with songs from his latest album Circling Time. His band featured violin, rhythm section and a hand-picked trio of young SA local backing singers from the CASM Foundation Year program (A dedicated entry program for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians wanting to study at university.) Edwards distinctive vocals sounded richer and more soulful than ever.
Indigenous songstress Emma Donovan and band The Putbacks got punters on their feet with Stax-era soul-funk originals. Mixing digeridoo, clapsticks, tribal moves and language with rock and hip-hop, younger fans were sated by big local names: From Arnhem Land, Baker Boy (aka Danzal Baker, with moves like Jagger), loud and proud duo A.B. Original and the Yolngu surf-rock of Northern Territorians King Stingray. Members of the latter include children of Yothu Yindi founding members.
Iconic folk-rock band Goanna celebrated 40 years of protest anthems with their original line-up and special guests, including fellow agitator for change John Schumann (Redgum), Emma Donovan and didgeridoo maestro William Barton.
African Rhythms
Authentic African beats were plentiful. Dynamic eight-piece Ausecuma Beats boast a blended West African rhythm section (dundun, jembe, balafon, congas) with saxophone, guitar, bass and drums. Members hail from Guinea, Mali, Senegal, Cuba and Australia. Crowds grew over successive performances as word spread of their irresistibly danceable repertoire.
Adelaide-based, The Shaolin Afronauts brought West African, Ethiopian, avant-garde jazz and Afro-funk influences, announcing a return to recording after a long hiatus. Many of the 11 members developed their craft from their incidental education as kids attending WOMADelaide with their families.
Born in Nairobi and hailing from the Nilotic tribes of Kenya, Elsy Wameyo charmed with gospel and R&B melodies. Also in gorgeous voice, Grace Barbé delivered polyrhythmic basslines and island percussion from the Seychelles.
Undisputed ‘happiest man in the park’, South Sudanese ‘King Of Music’ Gordon Koang is now based in Australia. Born blind, the singer plays the four-stringed thom, accompanied by his cousin Paul Biel. With backing band, they blend traditional Neur rhythms and original compositions in English, Arabic and Neur. Like Ausecuma Beats, Koang is part of ‘Music in Exile’ – a not-for-profit record label and artist services organization. Days 2-4 were pretty sultry when a capella quintet Makepisi soothed the sweltering crowd sprawled under shady trees with hypnotic South African harmonies and humor.
Sounds from other Corners of the globe
Further corners of the planet were represented with a tasty variety of sounds. From Guatemala, the delightful Latin Grammy winner Gaby Moreno presented folk, soul and blues with one tune familiar to most, ‘Perhaps’, sung in Spanish with crowd accompaniment.
Chilean guitar master Victor Martinez Parada seemed quite moved by the overflowing crowd gathered to hear his solo classical Latin-American guitar playing – from the avant-garde to jazz stylings. He moved from frenetic and intricate finger work to lullabies and a gentle version of ‘Over The Rainbow’. His first performance was in trio format with his two sons as Martinez Akustica.
Composer and virtuoso of oud, Joseph Tawadros along with percussionist brother James, joined the Adelaide Symphony orchestra on the opening night for an utterly captivating concert. The pair went on to perform in duo format across the festival. The Egyptian-born Aussies are acknowledged as two of this country’s finest musical imports.
Grandson of bluesman R.L. Burnside, Cedric Burnside carries the tradition of his ‘Big Daddy’ with North Mississippi Hill Country blues. His single performance began in acoustic guitar and voice format. Joined by a drummer he then switched to electric guitar, also having a turn on the skins, being an accomplished drummer himself. His set featured songs from his latest Grammy nominated album I Be Trying.
Elephant Sessions, from the Scottish Highlands, brought a fiery melange of fiddle, mandolin, guitar and electronica to an enthusiastic audience.
The Crooked Fiddle Band (Sydney) induced similarly energetic dance moves at stagefront with Swedish nyckelharpa, 16th century cittern, bouzouki, Vipin and more.
The 22-strong juggernaut that is the Melbourne Ska Orchestra proved as popular as ever. The made-for-festivals big band was led by MC Nicky Bomba on vocals, beats and rabble-rousing. A mega-brass section backed the Calypso inspired musical mayhem with circus-like shenanigans cavorting across the stage.
To paraphrase Charlie Watts, ‘Nobody wants to hear a drum solo’. Unless, of course there are Taiko drums involved. Taikoz have been banging the big tubs (with big smiles and energy to match) since 1997 incorporating choreography, shakuhachi flute and 50-200kg instruments. I’ve seen some South Korean outfits belting the skins harder and faster but the Sydney-based outfit come pretty close.
Eishan Ensemble is led by acclaimed Persian-Australian tar player and composer, Hamed Sadeghi. Their Persian Chamber Jazz and Middle Eastern Jazz fusion made for a captivating breath of fresh air.
Two large line-ups formed just a stone’s throw from Australia’s north were especially impressive. Sorong Samarai are named as reference to a term used throughout Papua New Guinea and West Papua to express solidarity and oneness. Sorong is a town on the northwest tip of West Papua. Samarai is a small township 2,000 kilometers southeast, on the lower tip of PNG — only 5kms from Queensland’s Cape York Peninsula. Award winner Airileke Ingram is among the line-up with log drummers and dancers, reggae beats, chants, flutes and other traditional percussion.
From the Cook Islands, Te Tangi O Te Ka’ara are now Melbourne based. Members are descendants of drum masters of the Pate log drum, Polynesian ukulele, percussion and tribal chants. Eye-catching dancers caused much whooping and hollering with their blindingly rapid hip shaking.
Solomon Islands multi-instrumentalist Charles Maimarosia shared the Are’Are music he learned after inheriting his first coconut shell ukulele from his father. He formerly appeared at WOMADelaide with Narasiratu Pan Pipers. His two performances gave a lesson in elegant Pacifika culture.
Six-piece dub-fusion outfit from neighboring Aotearoa (New Zealand), SUB-TRIBE were a surprising highlight. I’d read them described as “packing a truckload of bottom end, glitchy beats, soaring harmonies and horns…roots-driven, bass-heavy…through chunky skank reggae, jazzy hip-hop and ragga dancehall.” In fact, they proved themselves an all-ages, cross-genre barrel of fun. Accessible rhythm and melody ruled with a double-barrel of charisma and vitality.
Wife and husband duo Alison Ferrier and Jeff Lang delivered a considered set of twisted folk under the moniker High Ace. It’s the first time the couple – each established artists in their own right – have made music together. His talent as one of Australia’s finest guitarist-songwriters and hers on fiddle, vocals and guitar, made for a unique sonic outing. Their vocal harmonies and outside-the-square melodies create a certain magic. The project was one of many lockdown decisions. ‘Wanna make a record?’ one asked the other during down time at home.
Forming in 2017, All female-identifying group Ye-Ye 2.0 crooned popular tunes from the 60s in So Frenchy, So Chic style with hits from the likes of Serge Gainsbourg and Françoise Hardy. Also performing on the intimate Moreton Bay stage, Punjabi-Australian vocalist Parvyn made her solo festival debut. Accompanied by bansuri, guitar, drums and harmonies, ‘Crossed The Line’ was a highlight from her new album SA. Known for her role in The Bombay Royale (Bollywood meets funkytown), Parvyn Kaur Singh proved her credentials as a solo vocalist. She toured since childhood with her father Dya Singh in his ensemble who continue to perform Sikh religious music. In contrast, Sydney rapper and hip-hop artist L-FRESH The LION, represented the handful of acts aimed at a more ‘contemporary’ inclined audience. Yet his music and composure in parts suggest an element of Sikh devotional practice.
One stand-out act signaled a return to better times for me personally. I’ve been missing regular exposure to live global sounds – songlines I’ve not heard before or from artists new to me. The thrill of a ‘world music’ event has been sorely missed. The opening strains of voice and violin from Farhan Shah & SufiOz were more than music to my ears. My eyes were suddenly misty as Adelaide-based composer and Qawwali singer Shah spiced the verdant setting with his Pavarotti-proportioned voice. The emotive soundwave stilled the crowd who would later rise to their feet in a dancing delirium. Shah gave a big shout out to the memory of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan who appeared at the first WOMADelaide 30 years ago. Musicians from Pakistan, Syria, France, Japan, Ireland and Fiji made up the group who brought so much love and joy to all present. It was a signal of higher humanity and hope. May citizens of the world soon be safe and free to gather as before…and then some.
Author: Chris Lambie
