Boomtown will be showcasing some of the finest jazz and world music crossover acts from the UK. The festival takes place August 10th – 13th, 2017 at Matterley Estate – Winchester. Boomtown offers festivalgoers a fully immersive, theatrically-led experience with hundreds of actors who bring the nine uniquely themed musical districts to life.
The Windmill stage, which is part of the Whistlers Green district, will feature on Thursday one of the most prominent British DJ’s, BBC6 Music’s Gilles Peterson. He will showcase his extensive record collection in a set with selections varying from jazz to world music, afrobeat and beyond.
Remarkable loop pedal act Dub FX will be taking live improvisation to new strengths with a beatboxing, horn layering, vocal enhancing journey to entertain the eyes and ears.
Groundbreaking dub poet, writer, social commentator and music maker Benjamin Zephaniah will be serving a unique blend of truth music along with his Revolutionary Minds band.
Portico Quartet, who have released albums on Real World Records and Ninja Tune, return with their own variety of atmospheric music and experimental sounds as a four string ensemble.
Manchester group GoGo Penguin interconnects minimalist jazz piano riffs with breakbeat basslines.
Soweto Kinch’s carefully arranged horns bridge the gap between jazz and hip hop while The Comet Is Coming incorporate psychedelic rock with infectious jazz riffs and electronica.
All female septet Nérija draws influence from South Africa, West Africa, the Caribbean and UK resulting in a sound that reflects the rich cultural backgrounds on London jazz.
Brazilian Nomad Orchestra brings ten of the country’s most daring musicians to share their aspect of Ethio-groove, afrobeat with hip hop infused dub undertones.
Cuban/Iranian quartet Ariwo create a soundscape of hypnotic polyrhythms crisscrossed with live instrumentation capturing traditional Tehran/Cuban sounds in modern jazz.
Jesse Royal’s authentic sounds of Jamaican folk represent the many strands of reggae revival artists through the festival.
Other stages in the Whistlers Green area include Floating Lotus and Sandcastle Stage. Floating Lotus represents the up and coming talent in R&B, soul and funk. This intimate venue gives artists a space to be known. Artist scheduled include Cardiff harmonisers, Baby Queens; acoustic Bristol trip hop triad Elder Island; and the smooth vocals of Anjelo Disons.
More information and tickets at www.boomtownfair.co.uk.
Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.
