The second day of Womad is always a marathon: twelve hours of music. This year it was a mixture of the good, the bad and the astonishing.
Ezra Collective performing at WOMAD 2020 Photo: Isabella Brown
Ezra Collective consistently fell into the first category, and occasionally in the third. The young London-based quintet draws on African music, especially in their powerful polyrhythmic grooves, on which they build melodic and chordal elements of jazz. You could dance to it and it was full of hooky bits, but also pushed boundaries with plenty of expansive soloing.
WOMAD 2020 Photo: Isabella Brown
If we’re talking virtuosity, L. Subramaniam is your man. Over the decades the 72-year-old violinist has collaborated with western classical, jazz and pop musicians, but here he offered a classical set of India raga. He started out with a solo improvisation, highlighting the rich, almost-vocal tone of his instrument, before being joined by two tabla players.
The rhythms moved rapidly, effortlessly and bewilderingly. The hot sun and bustling crowd made we wish for the cool quiet of an auditorium, still the music was transporting.
The crowd at the Bowl Stage, WOMAD 2020 Photo: Isabella Brown
It was the classical traditions of Mali that were on display at the intimate Dell Stage. Trio Da Kali combined the deep woody tones of a balafon (a wooden African xylophone) and a bass ngoni with percussion and a voice that cut through like a scalpel.
It was beautiful delicate music, and it will be worth hearing them again on Sunday when they team up for a one-off collaboration with adventurous New Zealand string ensemble the Black Quartet.
Selfies at the WOMAD 2020 main stage Photo: Isabella Brown
In the ‘astonishing’ category were New York/Mexican quartet Flor De Toloache. That they are an all-female mariachi group - complete with costumes - is novel, but there was much more to them than that. Their set ranged through cumbia, original Latin soul and even a medley of Nirvana songs, all with thrilling four-part harmonies, vibrant Latin rhythms, some terrific violin and trumpet.
Kids entering the WOMAD 2020 Kids Zone Photo: Isabella Brown
I tore myself away from Flor De Toloache to catch the last part of Ifriqiyya Electrique’s set, and immediately regretted it. As I approached the Bowl Stage I wondered what the horrible din was; a dense mess of pre-recorded beats, live metal guitar and a whole lot of singers and percussionists jamming shambolically. Even a guest appearance by the wonderful King Ayisoba couldn’t save it.
Photo: Isabella Brown
Laura Marling opened with two long, intricate and personal songs in raga-type tunings that showed her guitar skills, but I bowed out early to catch the second half of Soaked Oats.
Laura Marling performing at WOMAD 2020 Photo: Isabella Brown
If the international acts all bring something musically distinctive from their own culture to Womad, what makes the New Zealand contribution unique? That can be hard to pinpoint, but two very different bands - Soaked Oats and L.A.B. - both somehow sounded like they could only have come from Aotearoa.
L.A.B. performing at WOMAD 2020 Photo: Isabella Brown
L.A.B. hit the Bowl Stage like the stadium act they are: a thundering amalgam of funk, reggae and 70s rock - all styles that have embedded themselves in this country - and were an instant crowd-pleaser. In the more intimate confines of the Dell, Soaked Oats charmed with a quirky guitar pop that included songs about shoes and avocados. They reminded me in some ways of a classic Dunedin band, but were far better at working an audience. They were great.
L.A.B. performing at WOMAD 2020 Photo: Isabella Brown
Led by blind singer Jimmy Carter who is now close to 90, The Blind Boys Of Alabama formed just after the Second World War and proved they are still able to rock the church, which they did with old gospel staples like ‘I Want To Be Ready’, more recent material like Tom Waits’ ‘Way Down In The Hole’, and a soaring mashup of ‘Amazing Grace’ and ‘House Of The Rising Sun’.
Blind Boys of Alabama performing at WOMAD 2020 Photo: Isabella Brown
The night closed on a high note with the thirteen-piece Orquesta Akokan, from Havana by way of New York, who play the mambo style of pre-revolution Cuba as though it were only invented yesterday. With spectacular horns and a pair of percussionists who played like one musician with four hands, there was virtuosity to admire.
But there was also joy and warmth, much of it emanating from the diminutive white-suited frontman José "Pepito" Gómez, who sang and danced wonderfully. Their set stretched beyond the standard one hour to 75 minutes, but I could have listened to them all night. Astonishingly good.
Blind Boys of Alabama performing at WOMAD 2020 Photo: Isabella Brown
David Fane reading his book as part of WOMAD 2020 World of Words Photo: Isabella Brown
David Fane's cooking workshop at WOMAD 2020 Photo: Isabella Brown
Selina Tusitala Marsh enjoying David Fane's cooking workshop at WOMAD 2020 Photo: Isabella Brown
Tuutelar performing at WOMAD 2020 Photo: Isabella Brown
Tuutelar performing at WOMAD 2020 Photo: Isabella Brown
Tuutelar performing at WOMAD 2020 Photo: Isabella Brown
Young crowd go wild for Montell2099 at WOMAD 2020 Photo: Isabella Brown
KermesZ à l'Est performing at WOMAD 2020 Photo: Isabella Brown
KermesZ à l'Est performing at WOMAD 2020 Photo: Isabella Brown
KermesZ à l'Est performing at WOMAD 2020 Photo: Isabella Brown
