Martin Carthy + David Delarre - The Round Chapel, Hackney, London

First published in Songlines Magazine issue 163, December 2020.



Martin Carthy + David Delarre
The Round Chapel, Hackney, London
16th October 2020

In a year where ‘live music’ has mostly meant sitting around a computer screen, it was an utter delight to gather with real-life human beings to witness music being made in the flesh. This was the second of the Fire in the Belly concert series, set in Hackney’s beautiful Round Chapel. The converted church was spacious enough to accommodate a socially-distanced audience, and what was lost in cosiness was made up for in camaraderie.

Support came from David Delarre, Eliza Carthy’s regular guitarist, playing an enjoyable set built around traditional repertoire from his twin homes of Hackney and Essex. ‘I've missed having applause,’ he grinned near the end of his set, and the audience obviously relished giving it.

Then, framed by a magnificent arch, lit by fairy lights and with a church organ as the backdrop, Martin Carthy gave his first live performance in seven-and-a-half months. Perhaps there was a little rust to be shaken off, with some verses taking a little while to come to mind, but the high spirits of the evening kept everything running with alacrity. With his aging but soulful voice and nimble, meaty guitar playing, Carthy’s songs brought us from the beginnings of his career all the way up to his Imagined Village days.

For many present, it was the first real concert for a long time and, with new restrictions brought in just an hour after it finished, maybe the last one for a while too. But what a joy it was while it lasted!

Qwanqwa - Volume 3

First published in Songlines Magazine issue 163, December 2020.

Qwanqwa
Volume 3
Qwanqwa (45 mins)

If you’ve been paying attention to Ethiopian tradi-modern music over the past five-odd years, you will have come across the names of Qwanqwa’s musicians. Mesele Asmamaw (krar), Anteneh Teklemariam (bass krar), Endris Hassen (masenqo) and Misale Legasse (kebero) have cropped up as sidemen in so many projects; here, together with Addis-based American violinist Kaethe Hostetter, they all get their own time to shine.

Qwanqwa are, for the most part, an instrumental group. The interplay created between the krars and fiddles mean that they’re adept at playing traditional or contemporary music, and with the help of electronic effects (not to mention Anteneh’s slap bass on the krar) they’re more than capable of making it funky. However, there is a tendency for the group’s textures to feel a bit static after a while, like something is missing – that’s all solved whenever Mesele picks up the microphone and freshens everything up with his voice. It’s a pity that only happens on two tracks.

The shredding krar and dubtronic violin of ‘Sewoch’ are delightful, but it is the epic 18-minute finale, ‘Serg’, a brooding, groove-laden medley of wedding songs, that you want to look out for here. When Qwanqwa strike the right balance, they can be absolutely irresistible.

Mónika Lakatos - WOMEX 20 Artist Award

First published online as part of the WOMEX – World Music Expo 2020 Awards announcement.



When Mónika Lakatos was crowned the winner of the Hungarian TV talent show Ki Mit Tud? in 1996, she wasn’t blasting out pop covers to pre-recorded backing tracks. Instead, she sang the traditional music of her own community, the Olah Romani people. The strength and passion of her voice made her a stand-out performer, and the win provided her first big break. Thus began an impressive professional career, championing the people and culture of the Olah every step of the way.

Within Hungary, the Olah Romani are a minority of a minority, with only around 30,000 people still practicing their language and way of life. Mónika has her roots in Nagyecsed, a village famous for its music, at the heart of the Olah community in north-eastern Hungary. With music and songs all around her, she has been singing for as long as she can remember, allowing her to imbue her own work with heartfelt emotion.

Now the leader of prominent ensembles including The Gipsy Voices and Romengo, Mónika always keeps her family’s vast repertoire of lyrical hallgató and danceable pergető songs to the fore. Within a very traditional setting, she pushes boundaries, celebrating the voices and experiences of women in a society often focused on the masculine, and providing space for Romani youths to make themselves heard, too.

It is for her commitment to the Olah people and their music, for her mission to ensure that female Romani voices can be heard on the world stage and for her highest personal artistry as a performer that Mónika Lakatos is presented with the WOMEX 20 Artist Award.


Photo: Mónika Lakatos and this Gipsy Voices, by András Farkas.

L’Atelier des Artistes en Exil - WOMEX 20 Professional Excellence Award

First published online as part of the WOMEX – World Music Expo 2020 Awards announcement.



The mission statement for l’Atelier des Artistes en Exil – the Agency of Artists in Exile – contains a particularly powerful phrase: ‘being a refugee is not a profession.’ People in exile are not defined by their exile. When people leave their homes to flee instability, war or persecution, they do not leave their humanity behind, nor their experiences, nor their skills. When artists leave their homes, they remain artists.

A grassroots initiative right in the heart of Paris, l’Atelier supports artists that have been exiled from homelands as distant as Syria, Venezuela, DR Congo or Kazakhstan. The shape that this support takes is wide-ranging and invaluable, whether it is providing one-on-one advice regarding funding applications or CVs; facilitating workshops, training courses or meetings with industry professionals; or just as simple as giving a space in which to work in peace. Volunteers at l’Atelier offer everything from French tuition to legal advice to acting lessons.

Although the organisation has only run since 2017, the blossoms of their work are many and beautiful. Just a handful of l’Atelier’s 200-plus artists showcase at its annual festival, Visions d’Exil, but still their outputs span the worlds of theatre, dance, calligraphy, films, comedy, storytelling, graphic and performance arts, literature and music, all exploring the lived realities of exile from many different perspectives.

In honour of their role in giving artists in exile the tools and the space to reaffirm their humanity powerfully in their own way and their own words, we are delighted that L’Atelier des Artistes en Exil will receive the WOMEX 20 Professional Excellence Award.


Photo: Just some of the members of l’Atelier des Artistes en Exil, by Sara Farid.

Pedro Lima - Maguidala

First published in Songlines Magazine issue 162, November 2020.

Pedro Lima
Maguidala
Bongo Joe Records (36 mins)

After the success of their compilation Léve Léve: São Tomé and Príncipe Sounds 70s-80s earlier on in the year, Bongo Joe Records follow up with a reissue of an album by one of the islands’ most popular post-independence musicians.

Maguidala was first released in 1985 at the height of singer Pedro Lima’s career. His honeyed voice dances effortlessly among the puxas and rumbas as Angolan and Congolese grooves mix with traditional São Toméan rhythms. Lima’s band, Os Leonenses, are on similarly top form: the razor-sharp twin guitars of Leopoldino ‘Gúndu’ Silva and Rafael ‘Pety-Zorro’ Zuza tickle the dancing muscles while the close-thirds vocal harmonies massage the ears.

The album may only have four tracks, but it makes them count. Each track reaches towards the ten-minute mark, and each brings a slightly different flavour. The hot is balanced with the cool, the energetic with the relaxed, and everyone has just a lovely time.

When Pedro Lima died last year, his state funeral was attended by thousands of fans and admirers. His music and outspoken politics made him a hero in São Tomé, but what a shame that his music is only now reaching a wider international audience.

Captain Planet - No Visa

First published in Songlines Magazine issue 162, November 2020.

Captain Planet
No Visa
Bastard Jazz Recordings (48 mins)

Globetrotting producer Captain Planet calls his personal style ‘gumbo funk’ – all manner of flavours brought together and bubbled into one rich and ever-changing vat of deliciousness. For his fifth full-length album, his base layer of funky hip-hop, synthwave, house and reggae is bolstered by a panoply of continent-spanning African sounds, with healthy amounts from South America, the Caribbean and the Middle East too.

No Visa is built up through a typically wide range of samples (balafon, kalimba, washint, highlife guitar, even Libyan pop) and a big bunch of guests (this time including stars such as Alsarah, Shungudzo and Chico Mann among many others) together with synths and beats galore – there’s a lot going on. With all these different elements at play, Captain Planet’s sense of style never sits still throughout the album. Every track sounds unique, but it’s all held together by an undeniable cool, a chill retro vibe that harks to the 80s and 90s without drenching everything in a syrupy nostalgia.

The overall feel of No Visa is utopian: the music of a borderless land where sans-papiers is the natural state of things and everyone is invited to join the party. Captain Planet’s recipe is tried, tested and true – and there’s enough to go around.

Modou Touré - Touki

First published in Songlines Magazine issue 162, November 2020.

Modou Touré
Touki
ARC Music (39 mins)

Senegalese singer Modou Touré has big shoes to fill as the son of Ousmane Touré, lead singer of the legendary band Touré Kunda, but he’s become a staple on the UK scene since settling in London in the late 00s. After success with guitarist Ramon Goose as part of the West African Blues Project, he now presents his debut solo album, Touki (A Journey).

The album’s theme comes from Touré’s life of travel, and his lyrics in four languages (Wolof, Mandinka, Soninke and English) talk about weighty topics such as development in Africa, poverty and famine, ancestors and faith. It can’t be said, however, that the music is similarly weighty. Touré’s lyrics are set to a soft’n’easy mix of soul-funk, reggae, rock and Senegalese rhythms that blend into something generic and inoffensive, further marred by frequent wailing rock guitar solos that never stop sounding out-of-place.

Here and there, moments do stand out with interesting Wolof melodies, influences from mbalax or the occasional darker and more atmospheric track (such as ‘Yeurmande’) but those moments are exceptions to the whole. Touré’s skills as a singer are evident, but are let down by uninspired backing. A missed opportunity.