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WOMEX 2003, Sevilla, Spain
October 30, 2003 The tenth annual World Music Exhibition (WOMEX) has just wound down in Sevilla, Spain, and as always, it proved an extraordinary feast of music, information, socializing, partying, renewing old ties and making new ones, and tantalizing prospects for the future. For the first time, the daytime conference and nighttime music showcases went on in different locations, the former at the Fibes convention center out near the airport, and the latter at the 3-stage, tent-covered, Palenque performance space just across the Guadalquivir River from downtown Sevilla.
The two-site format had the disadvantage of dispersing the 2000-plus delegates during the dinner hour. That, plus the distraction of being in this beautiful city of old Andalusia, probably cut down on some of the informal interaction that is such an important part of WOMEX. But it also had the advantage of making a clear separation between the business of the day and the sheer enjoyment of all the music at night--unless, like the Afropop crew, you had the task of recording four or five bands in rapid succession during the evening programs. Luckily, this crew has learned how to combine sheer enjoyment with hard work.
The fruits of those labors will be played out in a number of upcoming Afropop Worldwide programs, starting with the WOMEX 2003 highlights program in November. But here are a few impressions and images of the action. WOMEX introduced Afropop to a few new artists. Three stand out: Majid Bekkas of Morocco, Manecas Costa of Guinea Bissau, and Sidi Goma of Gujarat, India.
Why India? Well, amazingly, the musicians and dancers in this large group trace their ancestry back to East Africa. Their ancestors went to India--probably as slaves and servants--centuries ago. Within today's 35,000-strong "Sidi" community in Gujarat, these artists practice a form of Sufi Islam, and sing songs in Swahili without actually understanding the language. Earlier in 2003, this group had the chance to go to East Africa and perform in Zanzibar and Kenya.
Based on their performance at WOMEX, it's no surprise to learn they were well received. The set began with the group seated and chanting to the accompaniment of a tapped, metallic bow and drums, moved on to a lively costumed dance section in which the moves and music looked African, but small touches--such as exaggerated, theatrical facial gestures--suggested India, and ended in a tour-de-force moment in which the entranced performers tossed coconuts in the air and broke them open on their foreheads! For more on this group, have a look at the Sidi Goma feature we posted earlier this year.
Manecas Costa has been making waves in the European world music scene this year, ever since the release of his debut album, Pariiso Di Gumbe (BBC Music). Costa has been a figure in the Lusaphone music scene in Lisbon for years. UK producer, broadcaster, writer and scholar Lucy Duran decided to help him make a record that would put both him and the music of Guinea Bissau on the map. Unhappy that so much of the African music out of Lisbon was becoming homogenized into a pseudo-zouk sound, Duran sought to let Manecas be Manecas. She went to Guinea Bissau with engineer Jerry Boys (of Buena Vista Social Club, Kulanjan and other fame), and they recorded most of the album in spontaneous, live settings.
The core of Costa's sound is the percussion tradition called Gumbe, which began as slave music in Jamaica, and became something of a craze in many West African countries when it returned there with freed Africans. The sound became the national music of Guinea Bissau, and was suppressed by the Portuguese during the final years of colonialism. Gumbe has not been a major force in recorded Guinea Bissau pop for some time, but that seems likely to change, given the success this album is having in Europe now. The album is both gentle and lively, featuring Costa's fleet acoustic guitar playing, and on three tracks, Venezuelan harp in place of the more expected sound of the kora, and plenty of crisp percussion and sweetly melodic singing.
Majid Bekkas of Morocco is one unusual cat. Raised in a Gnawa family in Salé, Morocco, he began playing the guimbri in healing ceremonies. But inspired by the expansive traditional pop music of the group Nass El Ghiwane in the '70s, he began to branch out, and never stopped. Playing guitar and guimbri and singing in a variety of styles, he has worked with popular, jazz and experimental musicians over the years, only recently emerging as a talent in his own right.
The title of Bekkas 2001 album, African Gnaoua Blues (Igloo), says a lot about his sound. Bekkas is fascinated by the similarities between Gnawa and blues, both musical genres created by African slaves in a foreign cultural context. Bekkas is fascinated by Malian music, because he says his ancestry lies in that country. So on guitar, he evokes both John Lee Hooker and Ali Farka Touré. (Bekkas would have fit perfectly into Afropop's recent "Blues Reflections" program.) At WOMEX, he performed as a trio with an excellent drummer who played with jazz nuance, and a supremely expressive wooden flute player.
Some of the more intimate acts, like Bekkas's, were challenged to come across in the Palenque venue with its three adjacent, enormous stages, flooded with colorful, rock-show lighting and machine-generated fog. But most of them managed well, including Mauritanean singer Malouma, who presented material from her excellent new album, Dunya (Marabi).
Naçao Zumbi of Brazil also gave a spectacular performance, despite some technical problems. While guitarist Lucio Maia searched for his sound, the group's standing percussion section thundered and swayed and drove the crowd--which included thousands of young Sevillanos in addition to the WOMEX-ers--absolutely wild. Another artist from Naçao Zumbi's native Pernambuco in Northeast Brazil, Otto, also gave a strong, late-night set at Palenque.
There was lots more on those stages as well, including Tinariwen of Mali (at work on a long-awaited follow-up to their debut release), Portuguese fado from Ana Sofia Varela, Lebanese hip-hop from Clotaire K, Tunisian pop from Amina, a very successful set from Lo'Jo of France, and inspired late night DJ parties from DJ Martin Morales (Peru/UK), DJ Delores (Brazil), and Future World Funk (UK).
The American delegation was especially pleased when New York afrobeat band Antibalas gave a sensational closing set on Sunday night. It was the one time the Spanish police had to close the entrances to the center stage dance floor because it was too full, and the one time a band got to do an encore--a triumph by any measure. America's boys on the front lines of the cultural struggle did us proud! In all, 33 acts played over the three nights of music at Palenque, and there was something for everyone.
The setting definitely worked better for some acts than others. Some of the quieter artists suffered from the interference of sound from another stage, and would have done better in a closed hall. But on the other hand, it was possible to listen to every group if you wanted to, something that has not always been true at WOMEX showcases. The truth is, there is no perfect place for an event as complex as WOMEX, and on balance, this worked very well.
African music enthusiasts were talking a lot about two upcoming festivals: the Festival in the Desert, January 9-11, 2004, and the Swahili Music Festival in Stone Town, Zanzibar, February 13-15, 2004. Email busara@zanlink.com for more on that one.
Finally, on the last day of WOMEX, the conference award was given to Freemuse, the Danish human rights organization dedicated to fighting music censorship worldwide. And, the nominees for the BBC Awards for World Music were announced. They are as follows:
Africa: Cesaria Evora, Oumou Sangare, Rokia Traore, Daara J
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