Already the 15th edition of this expo annex showcase festival. In Cardiff, Wales UK this time, and it was immediately clear that the ex-harbour city could really use such a Womex and its 3,000 visitors. Gone are the shipyards and in their place you have the one semi-hip restaurant on the docks next to the other shopping centre in the entire city centre. With the funniest word-play of the umpteenth gambling establishment: Cashino. Then for the sensible connoisseurs: the local beer is called Brains.
Enough advertising, on to the music. Even though ENSEMBLE AL-KINDI from Syria didn't make it:
Dreadful.
FILASTINE was there, fortunately, and was well worth seeing! Very fine act. Or rather 'project', as it's based upon the stunning sounds gathered together by Grey Filastine: 'an American in Barcelona', here with extra Indonesian vocals, thus billed as Filastine & Nova plus super impressive images.
A full hall too for Ireland's WE BANJO 3 with a passionate 'award winning' sound that would also charm fans of Mumford & Sons, for example. Or, rather, convert them.
Masterful natural craftsmanship by Canadian rocking folk veteran YVES LAMBERT (ex Bottine Souriante) and his (slightly younger) trio: ambiance, nonchalance and other silly business, but irresistible and convivial (if we may say so?)
Very pure set by 9Bach: from Wales itself, and possessing the sort of airy vocals performed with the finesse patented by British ladies like Kate Bush or Enya or Virginia Astley (the video is already a little 'dated'):
Ready for a real surprise? JAMBINAI from South Korea is a foursome with a metal attitude but then with those rickety traditional instruments, the combination of which often created post-rock apocalyptic sparks:
Lastly (drum-roll) in the stimulating-drums section, you could also enjoy ORQUESTRA CONTEMPORÂNEA DE OLINDA and GRUPO BONGAR from Brazil and LES TAMBOURS DE BRAZZA from the Congolese Republic... boom, tching, klets, trrrrrr...
By the way, there was plenty more to enjoy but these were the highlights and everyone was welcome, welkom, bienvenue, willkomen etc but one language seemed to have been forgotten:
Then back into that incomplete city, attempt a little sight-seeing, see almost no beautiful people (not even in the mirror), but plenty of crazy hairdos, rugby fans and halloweeners, and also an occasional monument for Ivor Novello (google it yourself) or this people's hero:
