Text and Photos by Banning Eyre
globalFEST, Webster Hall, January 13, 2008

In its fifth year, GlobalFEST is now a New York tradition.  Twelve acts on three stages in a single night, the event is a physical and emotional marathon, but there’s nothing quite like it to jolt one out of post-holiday doldrums.  As ever, Afropop Worldwide was there, absorbing, recording, and photographing.  We taped five concerts for an upcoming radio program.  In the meantime, here is our customary review and photo essay.  Once again, my review is incomplete, weighted as it is towards the African-related acts.  While it is theoretically possible to taste all twelve GlobalFEST offerings, this festival hound did not manage it, particularly in the latter part of the evening, entranced as I was by the spectacle of Fallou Dieng & le DLC (mbalax music from Senegal), the venerable folksiness of Puerto Plata (Dominican Republic), and the revelation of Nation Beat (USA and Brazil), the most original and alluring fusion band I’ve heard in years. 

The evening began in the first floor Marlin Room—a mostly seated, cabaret-style venue—with accordion-driven roots music from the north of Argentina.  Chango Spasiuk, weathered and emotive on accordion, led a four piece ensemble through a sensuous set of artfully reconceptualized folklore, much of it in the chamamé style, which features 6/8 and 12/8 rhythms.  Spasiuk swayed, grinned, and grimaced, telegraphing the music’s emotions on his long, world weary face.   He was backed by a taut ensemble of nylon string guitar, violin, and a percussionist who played mostly cajon, but occasionally picked up a second guitar.  My only prior experience of chamamé on stage was seeing Brazillian guitarist Yamandu Costa at WOMEX 2007.  Spasiuk’s take on the genre was less frenetic and fiery but just as deep, balancing the elemental appeal of rural music with a measured dose of worldly urbanity.

From there, I forewent the French gypsy jazz trio Samarabalouf (described to me as “Djanjo on steroids.” Sorry I missed that!) and ascended to the grand, and spectacular Ballroom for a bracing performance of Korean drumming by Dulsori.  Like Spasiuk with his chamamé, this all-female (save one male dancer) ensemble adapts a rural, farmers’ tradition to the stage—although the result could hardly be more different.  Amid towering, thundering drums, the performers wailed and leapt through a riveting set that drew roars of approval from packed dance floor.  It is intriguing to experience complex, powerful drumming music that has no evident connection with Africa—so often portrayed as the root source of all drum traditions.  These grooves were certainly persuasive, although most of the audience seemed more inclined to gawk at the sheer theatrical spectacle of Dulsori’s joyfully relentless stage show, than to move their hips and legs.

Then, while Crooked Still  (USA) offered their gritty take on bluegrass and old time music in the Marlin Room, I made my way to the tight, intimate, barroom surround of the Downtown Room for a shot of Pistolera (NYC and Mexico).  Lead singer and guitarist Sandra Velásquez literally sported bullets on her guitar strap, which she said she had had to purchase three times as it kept being confiscated by airport security agents.  Pistolera delivers an edgy but joyful take on cumbia, norteña, banda and other Mexican and Latin folklore.  There’s that rural-gone-urban theme again.  This four piece combo may not be the most polished act around, but they sure have a lot of fun, and the warmth and playfulness of their performance definitely translated to the crowd.

Next, it was back to the Ballroom for the evening’s most eccentric act, Vinicio Capossela of Italy.  There was an air of Commedia dell’Arte as Capossella donned hats, masks, colorful jackets and the like and moved between guitar and piano.  The music seemed rooted in musty, Euro-folk rock with moments of bluesy, even tropical swing, although one sensed that understanding Capossela’s lyrics would have enormously enhanced the experience.  His vocal delivery suggested wit sadly lost on me.  Still there was much to enjoy in the stage play, and Vincenzo Vasi’s turns on the whistling, ethereal theramin loaned an other-worldly air to the spectacle.

I caught only a brief moment of Lo Còr de la Plana (France) a six-man vocal and percussion ensemble from Marseille, but it was enough to know they had something special.  This group sings in the all but forgotten Occitan language of southern France, but their harmonies and rhythms are deeply engaging.  As I left for the Ballroom, they had half the audience on their feet dancing in a circle around the perimeter of the Marlin Room.

Meanwhile, Fallou Dieng et le DNC was cranking up a set of no-holds-barred mbalax.  No group at GlobaFEST seemed to be having quite as much fun as Fallou and his Senegalese juggernaut.  The smiles, dancing and playful, fluid interaction among the musicians—and one super-energetic dancer—was infectious.  Fallou is a towering, benevolent presence with a searing, deep-toned voice.  To be sure, he’s no Youssou N’Dour at the microphone, but he and his awesome band deliver something N’Dour rarely does anymore—a full set of undiluted mbalax, rooted in the cracking rhythms of sabar drums.  This was high end, roots Afropop with a big band feel rarely heard on American stages in these days of downsized African bands.  Dieng has been playing New York semi-regularly in recent years, but to see him on a well-lighted stage in a show starting before 1 AM was unusual and deeply appreciated by all who saw it.

From Niger and France, Toumast was next up in the Ballroom, debuting the group’s muscular take on desert rock.  This act is well poised to slip into the stream created by Mali’s desert rockers Tinariwen.  Toumast’s French rhythm section makes for a louder and more driving sound, but lead man Moussa Ag Keyna comes through with the same brand of mesmerizing vocal melodies and meandering guitar riffs.  His cousin, Aminatou Goumar—ill in a hospital in Paris—was missed, but Toumast will be back, and they’re sure to build a loyal American following in years to come, given their seamless blend of full-on rock and desert roots.

Simultaneously in the Marlin Room, the Dominican Republic’s most loveable octogenarian, Puerto Plata (José Cobles) was leading a 7-piece, acoustic ensemble through a set of old school meringues and sons.  The understated charm of Plata’s robust, raspy tenor, gently turning dance moves, and radiant smile were balanced by his brilliantly unified ensemble, particular his fleet lead guitarist Pablo Rosario.  This was not the exact group featured on Plata’s exceptional debut CD, Mujer de Cabaret, but no matter.  They heated up the room nicely.

The night ended in the Downtown Room with Nation Beat, a band that merges Brazilian carnival and maracatu rhythms with New Orleans second line rhythms, funk, bluegrass and more.  If this sounds like a mish mash, all you need is to hear their version of Hank Williams’s “So Lonesome I Could Cry” to think otherwise.  Shuffling rhythms and full throated harmonies come together in an amazingly coherent transformation of the familiar.  Brazilian vocalist Liliana Araujo—the group’s newest member—is the real thing when it comes to Brazilian party folklore, but she seems every bit as comfortable belting out folksy English lyrics, like Williams’s.  Changing instruments, styles, and sonic textures with ease, Nation Beat generated ecstasy to close out another kaleidoscopic GlobalFest extravaganza.

Editor’s Note: globalFEST is part of the Association of Performing Arts Presenters (APAP) conference, the premiere annual gathering of arts presenters from across North America. 3,500 people attended APAP this year. So a strong performance at globalFEST can mean bookings for artists at a venue near you. Kudos also to APAP on celebrating its 51st year in 2008 and for its commitment to globalFEST, now in its fifth year. World music fans take note: We suggest you start planning now for a pilgrimage to New York City in January 2009 for globalFEST!

A Random Selection of Other APAP Showcases 

Following the GlobalFEST photos below, check out some other images from showcases around New York the same weekend.  Most come from a long, rich evening of music presented by GlobeSonic Entertainment and Dawn Elder Management at Sullivan Hall on Friday, January 11.  Homayun Sahki, and Afghani rebab master began, accompanied on tabla by Salar Nader Khan.  Then, they were joined by ground-breaking Pakistani singer Riffat Sultana—with deep roots in qawwali and ghazal music—and her ensemble.  Next, Lebanese ney, flute, and oud virtuoso Bassam Saba debuted his gorgeous new ensemble.  Hassan Hakmoun then picked up the energy with a pop take on deep, Moroccan Gnawa grooves.  And Cheb I Sabbah brought the night to a clubby finale, joined initially by Sahki, Sultana, and Khan.

The final photos show Burkina Electric—an inspired mixture of musicians from Austria and Burkina Faso, based in New York—in their showcase performance at the Hiro Ballroom.  Burkina Electric performed as part of the Mundo Mondo showcase.  Enjoy!