Review - Womad New Zealand

The best thing about Womad is wandering up to a stage and coming across something you've never heard or seen before. Where else will you see a guy from the Sahara, who's draped in traditional garb, with an electric guitar slung around his neck?

Then there are those Tuvan throat singers; the Fado diva, who looks like she'd be a right diva too; the crazy women from the Mahotella Queens who were the first act; or that Albino-African singer. And you can wash all this down with a slice of Maori bread or a curry from the Global Food Village. Yum.

Womad (World of Music Arts and Dance) is a worldwide tour showcasing the top world music groups and musicians from around the planet. It's been to New Zealand many times but after the success of New Plymouth's first Womad in 2005, organisers claimed it had found its natural home at the beautiful Bowl of Brooklands.

And on Friday night, as French/Argentine group Gotan Project woo the crowd with their saucy brand of Argentinian Tango, that claim is in no doubt. Gotan tell the crowd it's the nicest place they've ever played, and who's arguing? It is one of the world's best.

Read More

Please Visit Echoes of the Land aStore

Gotan Project at Womad

At long last the French masters of the contemporary tango Gotan Project, are set to play in New Zealand this March. The full 10 piece ensemble of Gotan Project will perform in at Womad in New Plymouth Friday evening March 16th. Described as ‘intoxicating tango chic’, Gotan Project has developed a new style by combining classical tango, nightclub beats with dub, hip-hop and jazz influences along with visuals and live performance to create a rich and sensual musical experience.

Gotan Project consists of a core nucleus of three French musicians: Phillippe Cohen Solal, Eduardo Makaroff and Christoph H. Mueller, all with an equal love of traditional Argentinean tango. Drawing on everything from Jamaican dub music and hip-hop to ambient drift, Gotan Project re-shapes tango with a contemporary dance feel whilst retaining tango’s soulful beauty.

Accompanying the core Gotan Project performers, the full ensemble consists of two DJ’s, an enigmatic lead singer, a live tango band performing against a backdrop of archival footage and visual images to help bring the essence of tango sensuality alive.

With an already substantial ‘tango loving’ following, many others may be surprised to find that they too have enjoyed Gotan Project’s works when watching Sex in the City, Nip/Tuck or the famous romantic dance scene with Richard Gere and Jennifer Lopez in the smash hit, Shall We Dance.

Gotan Project’s debut album La Revancha Del Tango, has sold over a million copies and the current album Lunatico has topped the itunes charts across Europe, debut at #1 on itunes Australia’s club chart and once again New Zealand is one of their strongest per capita sales territories.

Read More

Please Visit Echoes of the Land aStore

Seed Newsvine

WOMAD UK Line-Up

The 2007 edition of WOMAD in the UK announced the line-up for the festival. Baaba Maal (Senegal); Balkan Beat Box (Israel/USA); Bassekou Kouyate & Ngoni Ba (Mali); Ben Taylor (USA); Bill Cobham (USA); Candi Staton (USA); Cesaria Evora (Cape Verde); CJ Chenier (USA); Daara J (Senegal); El Tanbura (Egypt); Kronos Quartet (USA); Kung Nai & Ouch Savy (Cambodia); Lila Downs (Mexico); Mariza (Portugal); Marzoug (Algeria); Sam Tshabalala (South Africa); Samba Mapangala & Orchestre Virunga (Kenya/Democratic Republic of Congo); Serta-Gesar Troupe (Tibet); Sheila Chandra (UK); Steel Pulse (UK); The Dhol Foundation (UK) The Imagined Village (UK); Toots & The Maytals (Jamaica); Toumast (Niger Republic); Warsaw Village Band (Poland)

Please Visit Echoes of the Land aStore

Womad New Zealand 2007 CD Released

The CD was released by Shock Records NZ through Border Music on Monday 12 February and features 16 tracks from some of the fantastic worldwide performers set to take to the stages at WOMAD New Zealand 2007 at New Plymouth's Brooklands Park and TSB Bowl from March 16-18.

The CD truly is a world music journey, beginning in Mali with a track from "the Golden Voice of Africa" Salif Keita, followed by sensational French/Swiss/Argentine tango act Gotan Project.

Next up is Kronos Quartet and Afrobeat superstar Femi Kuti from Nigeria, with tracks from New Caledonia's traditional Kanak performers Celenod, and the legendary Mahotella Queens from South Africa.

New Zealand's own Don McGlashan contributes a track, before the stunning sounds of Portugese fado singer Mariza, and Mexico's Lila Downs. Next up is Australia's Augie March, Chinese bamboo flautist Guo Yue and another Australian act, Lior.

The festival's incredible world tour continues - off to Israel for Yasmin Levy, and to Tuva for Huun Huur Tu, before coming back to New Zealand with a track from dDub and finishing with Indonesia's SambaSunda.

Read More

Please Visit Echoes of the Land aStore