I mentioned a few days ago that I'm starting to gear up for this year's trek to Sevilla for the annual globalpalooza known as WOMEX. (This is apparently the last year we'll be in sunny southern Spain, at least for a while.) If you happen to be coming, please track me down and say hello: I'm slated as the press/promotion/PR "mentor", and friend Tad has organized a little session for some of us journo types to break down what we've been hearing in Seville in what he hopes will be a McLaughlin Group-style raucous caucus.
I can't remember the last time I was so intrigued by the artistic lineup, showcase by showcase. With no disrespect meant to previous juries, many of the showcased artists in past years were musicians I already knew (in many cases, for years) and that's a frustrating situation to be in, as much as I might enjoy revisiting old favorites.
True, there's the whole problem of being a "butterfly collector" that I think is especially endemic in world music circles, which is the notion of hearing a particular artist or style once, and then moving on to the next bit of exotica rather than taking the time to appreciate artists' evolutions over the course of years. I would argue, however, that either because of external or internal pressures, many of the best-known "world music" artists essentially perform the same shows for their US audiences year after year--decade after decade, in some cases--because that's the perception (correct or incorrect) of what Americans want to hear them do.
For example, I just read some friends' Facebook updates about going to see one such musician, someone who has been well known and loved--albeit in that world music ghetto-y kind of way--for a very long time. I'm not going to say who this artist is, but I will cop to having written a bunch of different liner notes for various bits of this musician's output, and followed his/her career pretty intently. (No, it's not who you think it is!) I haven't gone to one of this artist's concerts in years, simply because as great a show as it is, it's the same show every time, down to the little stage bits between songs. The end result? You see the show once or twice, you dig out the albums every once in a while, and then you're done. But there seem to be enough newcomers season after season to make international tours viable. (Wow, have I gotten jaded.)
That was a long tangent. Anyway, I thought I'd spend a bit of time highlighting upcoming WOMEX acts, all new to me, that I'm really looking forward to hearing.
Bedouin Jerry Can Band: a new Konono No. 1 from the Sinai?
The Amazons of Guinea, an all-female band made up of serving officers and soldiers in their nation's army, spreading the message of women's liberation:
By day, a cassette seller on the streets of Bamako; at night, Mo DJ:
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