Dhabi’s Womad woman
‘We’re upping the pace this year. We have more artists and two days in Al Ain [last year there was only one]. There are more cultural collaborations, and we’re aiming to introduce more and more of these in the years to come, especially with artists from the Middle East, the Gulf and Africa.
‘Coming up with the final line up is long and laborious. It took us around six months this year. It’s very much a collaboration, specifically with myself [on behalf of Adach] and Paula Henderson [on behalf of Womad]. We start by throwing names and ideas at each other and we try to balance everything; men and women, regions, the style of music – we always try to have traditional and classical as well as fusion and contemporary. It’s not the Eurovision, so it’s not as if every country has to be represented. Our basic criteria is artistic excellence, and we always check each other on performance. Some acts are very good on record, but not so good live. We really pay attention to how these artists present themselves.
‘I wouldn’t say I’m the world’s expert on “world music”. I absolutely love music, and I’m a live performance enthusiast. But I don’t really consider “world music” to be a term. It’s very odd, and to a lot of people very annoying, because it kind of categorises music. I believe Womad presents “music of the world”, rather than “world music”.
‘I’m excited about trying to match the incredible vibe that was there at last year’s festival. I wouldn’t say I’m looking to improve anything at all, just wishing that we match it and also that we draw in a wider community – people who may not have realised it’s such a family festival, as much as a music festival. We’d love to see people who come here to the kids’ workshops, even if they’re not that keen on the music. That’s fine! Womad is a festival for everyone.’
Isadora’s key collabs
Look out for the following unique collaborations, commissioned especially for the event.
• Titi Robin and Faiz Ali Faiz
Thu, Apr 22, 9.50pm (Abu Dhabi Corniche, Stage South)
• Tinariwen, TV on the Radio and Mehdi Haddab
Sat, Apr 24, 9pm (Abu Dhabi Corniche, Stage North)
• Abri and Tariq Ali
Fri, Apr 23, 8.10pm (Abu Dhabi Corniche, Stage North)
Justin time
Justin Adams is the curator of the two-day Desert Cultures stage in Al Ain.
‘Womad asked me to do something to do with deserts. We had the Sahara covered with Tinariwen, so I thought it would be interesting to spread it out and think about deserts from around the world. We’ve got an incredibly varied lot.
‘One of the groups I’m very excited about seeing is the !Gubi Family. They are of the sand people in the Kalahari desert. You could say that it’s one of the most ancient, unchanged forms of music in the world, going back maybe 10,000 years. It’s haunting, ethereal music that’s played through the night in the desert for ritual healing trances.
‘We’ve also got a group called Musafi who are gypsies from Rajasthan. Their music and dance is incredibly colourful and vibrant. Classical Indian music is kind of erudite; Rajasthani music still has the Indian sound, but it’s a bit more raw and wild with a strong dance element and gypsy vibrancy.
‘Then we’ve got a fantastic group called Hanggai, from the Gobi desert, and also a group from Abu Dhabi. I’m very interested in that, because it can be quite difficult to find roots music from the Gulf. In the rhythms that I hear from this region there’s a fascinating connection: you can hear the Arabic scales, but you can also hear the polyrhythms of Africa, too, and even something of the Indian Ocean.’
Desert Cultures stage, April 22-23, Al Jahili Fort, Al Ain.
