UPDATED: As all good things must come to an end, we bid the World’s Festival adieu once again as we reflect on four amazing days of Music, Art, and Dance.
The day started with a good wander around the grounds and proper thorough exploration of the scenery and stalls around the place. Being the last day of the festival, of course merchandise prices had fallen to an all time low for what was around, and some other items had already sold out for this year.
One of the first acts we really allowed to immerse ourself with for the day was at the Moreton Bay Stage, a unique middle eastern group on early in the afternoon, hailing all the way from Baghdad, Iraq. The trio are called Rahim AlHaj Trio and featured instruments such as the oud (Arabic lute) and undeniably sounded very cultured. They were certainly very middle eastern in sound. It was interesting to see the different ways in which the audience would respond to the music, very hot and cold, mixed responses indeed. But the three performers on stage were totally in sync with what one another was playing and are absolutely fantastic musicians.
Dinner was needed early due to extreme exhaustion after so much walking again today in addition to the long day and night before. This time we decided to get some vindaloo curry from a fine Indian cuisine vendor called “Arya” which is a fine dining Indian restaurant usually found not in a tent in Botanic Park but instead on O’Connell street, North Adelaide. Also got a side of hot chips. All washed down with a Coopers Session Ale or two before venturing to check out more great world music.
It was great to see Francois Knoetze, who was also roaming the open play pen that is WOMAdelaide. A filmmaker, sculptor and performance artist who travelled all the way over from Cape Town, South Africa, Francois uses waste and discarded objects to make sculptured suits and focuses on the objectification of persons through the personification of objects. He was spotted more than once wandering around with a assortment of compact discs attached to himself in the form of some unique costume. Very interesting addition to the festival. WOMAD really keeps you guessing. I really like the artsy vibe of his unique costumes. Although I don’t quite understand it, I certainly appreciate it.
One of the highlights of the day was checking out the artists signing tent by the Mr V Music records store stand. We met Tinariwen, the Grammy award winning group of Tuareg musicians from the Sahara Desert region of northern Mali who use instruments such as the one stringed fiddle the imzad and lutes. They seemed super pleased to be meeting and greeting fans and appeared totally content with life after performing their set just earlier. We also managed to bump in to the one and only REMI out of the blue while he was hurrying through the grounds with another fellow performer, and we even managed to get a photo with him. He was super cool and had a great tolerant attitude toward the idea.
Next we checked out third generation Chilean singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Fernando Daniel Stern Britzman better known by his stage name Nano Stern at the massive stage 2. People were dancing passionately together and independently left, right, and centre. His ability seemed from within and reflected that it was in his blood and passed down naturally through the generations.
Then it was Canadian folk music group from Saint-Antoine-sur-Richelieu (Quebec) called Le Vent du Nord. The band performs traditional Québécois music. They use instruments such as the Hurdy-gurdy, bouzoukis, guitars, fiddles and button accordions. They undeniably had between them a vast array of influences from across the ages and continents. Feathers were flying in the air as those in the crowd danced happily along to the merry music.
One of the highlights of the entire festival came near the end with a mind bending, mesmering set from the legendary Grammy award winning Thundercat. Perhaps American’s most highly rated bassist, the multi-instrumentalist composer who is often best known for his work with Kendrick Lamar and the Brainfeeder crew put on an epic show to remember with dazzling bass lines and collaboration with an air tight band, including a very highly skilled drummers. With complex time signatures, ultra fast compositions and his surprisingly smooth neo-soul vocals, Thundercat’s show at WOMAD will be one talked about for years.
Energetic local lads in house / acid jazz duo Hartway kept it real (and classy) with their combination of bongos, keyboards and saxophone bringing the beat back later in the evening.
The headlining act of the night was Nickodemus, a world renowned DJ from the United States who has been touring the world since the nineties, his years in the game and experience flipping decks shows both visibly and audibly. Nickodemus has remixed many classic artists and put on quite the show.
After four magnificent days, a myriad of sights, sounds, amazing acts and people interactions, we look forward to seeing what next year’s offerings have in store for this great Festival. We trust that you’ve at least been able to share the WOMADelaide experience through the daily writings of our music team trio and, if you attended, that you enjoyed it as much as we did if not more.
Until next year, remember these words from Plato- ” Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and life to everything!
By Dazz Hassan, Gav De Almeida, Jonathan Matthews.
Pics: John Kol www.jkfoto.net
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