WOMAD

World of Music, Arts & Dance

A noble enterprise that's been running as a concept since 1980 and as a festival since 1982, I've been tempted to sample WOMAD for many years but frankly deterred by the prospect of a whole weekend of unknown (to me) artists performing in mostly foreign tongues, accompanied by the standard festival discomforts of mud and sleep deprivation.

I was finally tempted this year by the availability of day tickets (£60, free for kids) and the presence on Saturday of one Peter Gabriel, a man more deserving of a knighthood and national treasure status than many already enjoying such accolades. As a founder of WOMAD, PG has put his money where his mouth is, not only by supporting the organisation but also by bringing the artists involved from all over the world to market via his Real World label, many of the products being recorded at his Real World studios. Famously an early WOMAD festival resulted in such losses that he had to re-engage with his former Genesis bandmates for the Six Of The Best concert at Milton Keynes in 1982 to bail the whole thing out, but it seems some stability has now been established. That said, his sole U.K. appearance for 2009 at WOMAD, whilst ostensibly in support of his Witness charity, may well have been to prop up feeble ticket sales, as it was apparent that many, myself included, made the trip to Malmesbury last Saturday primarily to see him.

There was much else on offer, though. Several venues (even the largest much smaller than the three largest at Glastonbury) presented musicians from all over the world, while catering and merchandise stalls mixed a good selection of quality product with the usual bottom-end tat. Throw in a steam fair and mostly decent weather and the recipe for a very pleasant family day out was complete (although we were down to one child having sent Sprog One to Scout Camp)!

By definition, the music is a mixed bag, and sponsorship from Radio 3 rather than the more usual 1,2 or even 6, points at the potential heavy-going involved. No question that most artists, however esoteric, received a warm welcome, but of those I saw (and the festival set up inevitably means choosing between simultaneous performances), some were easier for western ears to metabolize than others.
It emerged that lyrical incomprehension is not the greatest barrier, as I ended up buying a CD ("Eagle") by Chinese artist Mamer who spoke not a word of English and had all his introductions translated by a band member. Nevertheless, "tunes" from some contributors seemed almost random successions of notes, faithful to a key but without readily discernible melody to these jaded lugholes. Perhaps repeated exposure would open them up but the opportunity wasn't there, supposing I'd felt strong enough.

This partly misses the point, though. As a celebration of cultural diversity, WOMAD is exemplary. Much has been made of music as a universal language, much of it cobblers, however as an excuse to present people of one background at their best, to those of another, it is more than fine.

One further reservation. Maybe because of the ticket price, the social and cultural mixture of those attending did not reflect that providing the entertainment. If I found Glastonbury noticeably white and middle-class, WOMAD was positively WASPish! It may present a rare opportunity to hear African musicians,but there weren't too many of ethnic background doing so. It doesn't matter to the extent that at least the WASPs are being educated, but the apparent alienation of those you might hope to turn up and root for their own (sorry about the pun), is disappointing, if hardly surprising.

(P.S. WASP = White Anglo-Saxon Protestant, although White Anglo Saxon Professional might apply better here)