Boomtown 2019: Five Ones to Watch

Boomtown is a festival that I’ve had my eye on for quite a few years. Its reputation is immense, and so, by all accounts, is its personality. The whole thing is a giant performance art piece with a narrative that slowly reveals and trundles along year after year, with so many plots and subplots playing out in what has grown to be a city of music. Like any city, there are loads of districts in Boomtown (up to 14 this year), each with their own character, architecture and culture = and each with their own set of stages. There’s over 25 main stage and 80 smaller ‘street venues,’ all with their own programmes – that means there’s a LOT of music, of all sorts of styles.

And excitement – I get to go this year for the very first time! This year, it’s held over 7-11 August. The line-up looks amazing – as it does every year – and, yes, it’s absolutely humongous. So in my excitement, I thought I’d give you a run-down of just five artists that I cannot wait to catch there…now I’ve just got to hope that none of them clash!

Ozomatli feat. Chali 2na
Ozomatli are basically a globetrotting party. I’ve seen them live a handful of times now and every time they have absolutely blown me away – they’re still some of my favourite live shows to date. Their mix of hip-hop, rock, tropical pop and all sorts of Latin music from son to cumbia to samba to norteño and more is just so infectious, their shows turn into a joyful riot, it’s absolutely amazing. Even better: they’ve now reunited with Chali 2na of Jurassic 5 and an original Ozo band member – he’s got one of the most recognisable voices in hip-hop and his thoughtful lyrics and supreme flow put him, for me, right up there with the greatest rappers. I can’t wait to see them perform together.

Prophets of Rage
Okay, I’ve never actually heard any recordings of this group, but their pedigree is unreal. They’re a supergroup featuring members from Rage Against the Machine, Public Enemy and Cypress Hill. Do I really have to say more? Yes yes, I know supergroups usually come out as less than the sum of their parts, but I’m willing to risk it. Come on: Chuck D and B-Real battling it out between funk-metal solos from Tom Morello – inject it directly into my veins.

BCUC
BCUC (Bantu Continua Uhuru Consciousness) are a group from Soweto that combine all the music of their neighbourhood, from traditional dance styles, church music and beerhouse songs to hip-hop, soul and rock. The group have been getting so much hype over the past 12 months, and I’ve got friends who are absolutely mad about them, saying they’re the greatest live group around right now. I saw them myself at WOMAD last year, and the crowd went nuts; thing is, their forever-looping riffs and heavy beats didn’t strike me at all, and I left, bored, after about 10 or 15 minutes. But the hype train has continued, so I fully admit I’m the one in the wrong – I’m looking forward to seeing them again in August to give them (and me) another chance.

Nubya Garcia
The UK jazz scene has been booming in the last decade, and saxophonist Nubya Garcia has been one of its leading lights. Her music brings in modal and spiritual jazz in the Coltrane way together with the contemporary styles being fermented in places such as Trinity Laban and Berklee as well as hip-hop, soul and electronica. I’ve never seen her show before, and festivals are all about new experiences – I reckon Nubya Garcia is one I can bank on to be a winner.

Mik Artistik’s Ego Trip
Would it really be a festival season without Mik Artistik? The loony Leedsman* has been a staple on the festival circuit for many years and he’s the perfect act for when you’re quite drunk, quite muddy and just a little disorientated. He’s absolutely bananas, he’s hilarious but he’s also touchingly earnest when he wants to be, all while making music behind his trusty little Yamaha keyboard. The man is a legend, and if you’ve never heard or seen him before, you owe it to yourself to go and experience this true institution of British festivals.



…and then there’s so many others. Gogol Bordello, General Levy, San Salvador, Bassekou Kouyate, Napalm Death, DJ Yoda, Asian Dub Foundation, The Streets, Skream and the man behind it all AAA Badboy…there is so much great music happening everywhere that it seems pretty much impossible not to see some amazing and unexpected artists wherever the current takes you. And really, what I’m most looking forward to is that atmosphere, and diving into the huge, deep and bonkers world that is created at Boomtown every year. Basically, I can’t wait! So if you’re heading over, I’ll hopefully see you there, and either way I’m sure you’ll hear about my exploits on here sooner or later.


*Okay, I just looked it up and the actually demonym for someone from Leeds is a Leodensian, which is awesome but also completely impenetrable, so I’m leaving it as Leedsman, and all of you Yorkishers are just going to have to deal with it.

Diving Into Somali Arts with Numbi

Because this website is nominally a blog, maybe it’s time for me to write a blog? Or give it a try at least, let’s see how it goes. I thought I’d give a bit of an update on a thread that’s been going through my life lately.

As you may know, I am currently studying an MMus Ethnomusicology. I’m doing it all in one year and I started back in September, so it feels like the home stretch at the moment, but I still have the biggest hurdle to clear first, writing my dissertation. My subject is something I’ve had an interest in for a few years but I’ve never really been able to delve into it like I wanted to, so this seemed like a good opportunity. I’m looking at Somali music, or, more specifically, what music means to Somali people in the UK. I’m learning so much (as you’d hope), and it’s really exciting to engage with so many people with interesting ideas to share.

One particular organisation that has been invaluable to me so far, and is really doing stunning work, is Numbi Arts. When you know that Numbi is the name of both a traditional Somali healing dance and also the last feature film made in Mogadishu before the devastating civil war, you can kind of see where they’re coming from. Numbi Arts is an organisation in Tower Hamlets (based out of the wonderful Rich Mix, actually), where there has historically been a significant Somali population and looks at art as a way for people to engage with their community and their identity, their history and their future.

I’ve been to two events run by Numbi so far. The first one was back in February, actually at Rich Mix. It was rather gloriously chaotic. As far as I can tell, it was the first event of the new ‘season’ for Numbi, and so the projects featured were perhaps works-in-progress leading up to the big festival in July (more about that in a little bit). But despite some rough edges, it was a load of fun. The theme for the day was Coming Here, Being Here, and that was reflected in an emphasis on kids and their connections with their families, with London and with their links to East Africa. The highlight for me was a lovely little film by Salma Bihi, interviewing her mother about her memories of Somalia, the journey to the UK and her life here. It was really well made, and provided insights for us in the audience and Bihi herself. It complemented the rest of the programme well, too, which included poetry from kids with a helping hand from Sai Murray and Mr Gee (yeah, the same Mr Gee from the Russell Brand radio shows), a short podcast and a collective creative writing exercise. After a

hearty meal (it’s always good to have a meal, right?), the event came to a close with some music led by Mohamed Maalow Nuur, who in his time was a member of at least two of the most iconic ‘golden era’ bands, Waaberi and Iftiin. With oud and bongos, and vocals provided by as many people as knew the words, the music served well to accompany a troupe of Somali dancers (you can see them on the left, there). I really don’t know much about dancing at all, and it was the first time I’d ever encountered Somali dance, but it looked good to me!

After having a really nice time at that first event, I got in touch with Kinsi Abdulleh. She runs Numbi and her passion is obvious and really inspiring. She’s an artist, first and foremost, and I think that comes across in her work. She’s not about the standard way of doing things, she likes to mix things up. Do them in a different way to get reactions that would otherwise remain hidden. Make it weird, a bit. Who else would think to work on community engagement in Tower Hamlets by arranging a yoga retreat in Gambia? We had a great conversation about all sorts of things, and I was delighted to be invited to an event co-hosted by Numbi and the British Library, called A Postcard from London, which happened just last weekend.

It was a much smaller event than in Rich Mix, with about 20 participants as opposed to the maybe couple of hundred in February. This was on purpose – it is a library, after all – but it really lent an intimate vibe to everything, and we all got to know each other a little bit, which was nice. The day started with a small tour of the library’s treasures. Unfortunately, the Library gave the task of tour guide to possibly the most boring man who worked there, and he somehow managed to make some really interesting stuff impossibly dull. But hey-ho. After that we got to what we were actually there for.

The first half of the workshop was curated by the Library’s Somali Collections Project Officer, Mahamad Ali, and it allowed us to take a small dive into the history of written Somali literature in English, Arabic and (after 1972) Somali. There was all sorts: poetry, novels, political pieces and academic writing, even some interesting, albeit rather distasteful, colonial works. What piqued my interest the most, though, wasn’t a book at all, but a long wooden board, covered in hand-inked Arabic (pictured right). One of the participants, a wonderful gentleman called Mr Ali Ahmed Hussein, who used to be the director of the National Museum of Somalia and was a font of knowledge throughout the day, explained to us that this was part of a Qur’an. It was a teaching tool: children were taught the Qur’an and how to write Arabic at the same time. They wrote out each Surah over and over until their penmanship was perfect and they had it memorised by heart. Each time they wrote it out, the board was washed, dried and used again.

Another element that was presented was a Somali philatelic collection…or, to you or me, a bunch of stamps. Surprisingly engaging, actually! They covered a big range of history and subjects, from architecture, art and dance, to denouncing apartheid and celebrating the Somali language and the Arab League. There were stamps from various iterations of independent Somalia, and of the colonial territories of Somaliland and Jubaland, and even a stamp representing Somali refugees. The details on these tiny stamps were impressive. This formed the seed of our workshop: we got a big bunch of photocopied stamps to chop up and remix into what we related to Somalia, and maybe even write them as if a postcard. I have never been one gifted in the visual arts, so mine was a rather feeble offering, but there was some wild creations. Most fun for me was getting to mill about, looking at everyone’s artistic efforts and having some really insightful chats.

After both of these events, I’m getting excited for the next one, it’s just around the corner! Numbi Arts host a festival each year, and each year has a different theme and focus city. Usually the city is in Somalia, but this year the focus is London, and the theme is Repair and Rebellion. This means the focus is very much on diaspora, and allowing people to negotiate and contest their experiences and opinions of being part of a diaspora through different artistic formats and cultural practices, including oral and written language, music, dance, film and theatrical performances as individuals and as groups. The festival will feature many different aspects and events including site-specific installations, an open archive, a mobile recording studio, documentation sites and intergenerational conversation.

The first event will be held at Rich Mix on 21 July to launch the festival, where Numbi will share all the interesting items in their own archival collection and encourage people to add to it themselves with workshops in smartphone storytelling and studio portraiture. After will be an evening of poetry (Somalia is well-known for being a country of poets) and music, again from Mohamed Maalow Nuur. Perhaps the most exciting for me is the big finale of this opening event: a conceptual music and spoken word tribute to Poly Styrene. She was best known as the frontwoman of the punk band X-Ray Spex, and also half-Somali. Her daughter, Celeste Bell, is also a musician and a film-maker; she’s currently making a film about her mother and will be helping to organise this tribute. Who knows, maybe we will get some Somali-flavoured punk going on? Perhaps I should bring my saxophone…

So, that’s it I guess. If you’re in London, you know where I will be on 21 July, you should come in and join the festivities! You can get your tickets here. See you then!

Maalem Said Damir - Gnawa or Never

Previously unpublished.

Maalem Said Damir
Gnawa or Never
1001 Knights Production (82 mins)

The Gnawa people of Morocco can trace their ancestry to the Bambara (or Bamana) people of West Africa. Their music serves as a clear connection between the past and the present, between the North and the West of Africa, and between the cultures of the Bambara, Berber and Arabic populations.

A master of Gnawa music is given the title of Maalem, and on this album, Maalem Said Damir lives up to it, leading the Gnawa Allstars through a wonderful set of some of the tradition’s most iconic pieces. At its core, this is religious music. While it may not have been recorded as part of a full ceremony (known as a lila), the swirling rhythms of the clattering qaraqab (metal castanets) and the skyward hollers of the Maalem and his chorus invoking the saints are at once hypnotic and ecstatic.

Within and throughout it all, the Gnawa’s West African roots are easy to hear. The trademark instrument is the guimbri (bass lute). The bluesy tones of this not-so-distant decedent of the ngoni underpin the whole thing and flow with the mood of the pieces. At times, the guimbri can be mellow and surprisingly delicate, before slowly building up to a blistering pace that is positively thumping.

Gnawa or Never was recorded in Marrakesh by British-Moroccan DJ and beatmaster U-Cef together with Jason Emberton in 2011, and released as a digital-only album later that same year. Given U-Cef’s pedigree on the club scene, the production on display here is surprisingly down-to-earth. It is obvious that the aim has been to simply convey the music in its most natural way and in the highest fidelity. Everything is well-mixed and easily heard, which is somewhat of a rarity: the qaraqab often drown out all else on a record, but here they sit easily alongside the guimbri and vocals, integral without being overwhelming. Bonus points for going easy on the distracting reverb that is often heaped on similar recordings by the spadeful.

This unfortunately overlooked release is possibly one of the best presentations of the music of the Gnawa out there. If you need an introduction to this wonderful tradition, look no further!

Stephan Micus - Panagia

Previously unpublished.

Stephan Micus
Panagia
ECM Records (65 mins)

This album is based upon seven Byzantine Greek Orthodox prayers to the Virgin Mary – the titular Panagia. Micus uses this image to represent the ‘female energy’ that is represented in goddesses in many religions and the concept of yin and yang in Taoism, believing that this work helps to spiritually balance the male-dominated world we live in.

In his usual style, Micus performs all parts of the album himself on instruments thrown together from all over the world – here he uses plucked and bowed string instruments from Pakistan, Bavaria, India and East Turkestan, as well as the Egyptian ney (flute) and his own invention, the 14-string guitar. The styles of music he plays on these instruments are no less varied, from Greek Orthodox and Gregorian church music to elements of Indian and Chinese classical music. Micus’ vocals also play a prominent role on the album and they’re sung entirely in Greek – a language he doesn’t understand.

As pretentious as the album’s concept and execution seems, the music on it is actually not unpleasant. Most tracks display an interesting array of genres from around the world without staying overly precious to the instruments the artist has adopted. Micus’ overdubbing technique works well for the most part, especially during instrumental pieces, although it does have a tendency to get a little unsettling when vocals are involved – a chorus of 22 Stephan Micuses (Mici?) is somewhat disconcerting.

This is a good relaxing listen, and more enjoyable if you appreciate its spiritualism, or alternatively, ignore it.

Adrian Sherwood - Survival & Resistance

Previously unpublished.

Adrian Sherwood
Survival & Resistance
On-U Sound (40 mins)

After releasing his first two solo albums (Never Trust a Hippy and Becoming a Cliché) on Real World Records, Adrian Sherwood completes the trilogy after 9 years with this release on On-U Sound – the legendary label he founded 21 years ago, home to African Head Charge, Tackhead and many other influential names in experimental dub.

While Sherwood’s previous two records placed emphasis on global beats and guest musicians, Survival & Resistance focusses on the producer’s mastery of the avant-garde dub style he helped to invent. Dubstep and ambient minimalism provide the heaviest influence in the producer’s experiments with the ubiquitous dub sound, with individual tracks displaying elements of Brazilian bossa, blues and hints of Arabic music (Kerry Ava’s cello evokes comparison with Egyptian virtuoso Emad Ashour). Together, these elements define the overall feel of the album as tastefully minimalist – the sense is that this album is to be listened to and savoured rather than skanked to.

Compared to the producer’s other solo offerings, the cast of players on this album is relatively small, with most sounds being created or sampled by Sherwood himself. Other musicians include On-U favourites Skip ‘Little Axe’ McDonald, Ghetto Priest and Jazzwad providing guitar, vocals and programming respectively. The stand-out guest performance, however, is Alan Glen, whose blues harp is laid bare over the dark ambience of ‘Last Queen of England’.

As is the norm in the On-U family, Sherwood’s music continues to shift and change, and the pioneer’s made another cracker. The dub adventure continues…