Photos by Banning Eyre

WOMEX 2007 returned to Seville, Spain, and for old timers like Afropop Worldwide, the town is starting to feel like home.  As always, an amazing array of talented artists performed over the course of four days and nights, over 2800 delegates came from all over the world, laden with literature, promotional CDs and DVDs, and pitches on everything from artists, music festivals, and emerging genres and styles, to new technology initiatives.  Beyond all this, WOMEX is the biggest social gathering in all of world music, and when all the networking and research is done, there’s nothing like catching up with veterans and newcomers to the mission—before the sun rises.  Once again, the Afropop team did everything but sleep in Seville .

This is the third WOMEX in Seville , and while most delegates seem very happy with the town itself, the consistent problem has been deciding where to stage the evening showcases.  The daytime trade fair takes place a bit out of town at the Palacio de Congresso.  This vast complex is perfect for the mega-networking part of WOMEX, but for evening music, it is too far from town, and does not offer adequate live music venues for the heavy demands of WOMEX showcases.  At last this year, a good solution.  The showcases went on downtown in the most beautiful part of Seville .  The sit-down, indoor stage was the spectacular Teatro Lope de Vega, and then there were two, outdoor tents in the pavilions of the Plaza de Espâna.  These venues lie about a five minute walk apart, so it occasionally took some quick hoofing to catch groups with overlapping sets.  But it was worth the effort to see shows in appropriate venues with, for the most part, very good sound.

Afropop Worldwide recorded and collected tons of new music, which will be heard on a series of upcoming programs.  This feature provides the visual side of live WOMEX, with the best of Banning Eyre’s photographs from the showcases.  There were many great performances this year.  Seun Kuti and 80 was a favorite.  Seeing Fela’s youngest son—now 24—leading the old man’s band is moving enough.  But that band is sounding better than ever—reminding us of the incomparable power of a big, well-oiled African juggernaut, with massive brass, percussion, and guitar sections.  Few bands of this sort still tour, and of those that do, few can match the earthy force of these afrobeat forefathers.  Seun is growing as a performer, from his rubbery stage twists to his full, forceful voice and tasty saxophone playing.  Seun’s debut CD is expected early next year, and based on what the band kicked out at WOMEX, this will be a milestone release.

The other great Afropop treat this year was the Kasai Allstars of , the latest act from the Congotronics stable to hit the road in Europe .  Think Konono No 1 with twice as many musicians and dancers, as well as raffia and body paint.  That gets you part way there, but then there’s the extraordinary, hypnotic vibe of music from the Kasai region, roots of Papa Wemba, the mutwashi pop genre, and much more.  Kasai Allstars on stage are every bit as good as their recordings would lead one to hope.  When this group does finally make it to America, you won’t want to miss them.  Also powerful on the roots tip was Dizu Plaatjies of South Africa with his new group Ibuyambo Ensemble.  Dizu was a founder of the legendary SA roots group Amapondo.  Now he’s branching out to a more pan-African approach, with fantastic results. 

Other showcases of note include rootsy, virtuoso Brazilian guitarist Yamandu Costa; Vieux Farka Toure from Mali; a new, hard rocking entry in the Tourag guitar band scene, Toumast; also Mamani Keita and Nicolas Repac blending Bambara folklore and techno rock; Siba with his brass and percussion ensemble from Pernambuco, Brazil; a taltented new diva from Cape Verde and France, Marya Andrade; Maravilla de Florida of Cuba; 3-Canal from Trinadad & Tobago; and continuing the roots-meets-techno theme with an Argentine twist, Bajofondo Tangoclub.  And there was more: Dengue Fever with their exuberant take on Cambodian pop classics, Balkan Beat Box mixing Eastern European folklore and club rock; a harmonica quartet from Sweden called Sväng; and from the south of Iran, the fabulous Shanbezadeh Ensemble, performing the trancey, Sufi folklore of Iran’s most African-tinged region. 

The WOMEX prize this year went to Andy Palacio of Belize and his hard-working producer, Ivan Duran.  Together with the Garifuna Collective, these guys created one of the most original albums to emerge from Caribbean culture in many years, Watina (Cumbancha).  They received the award with wise and moving words, and then Andy brought his band and women from Umalali, the Garifuna womens’ band. 

First published: www.afropop.org