WOMAD 2022 announces further artists to world class line-up to celebrate 40th year for the

WOMAD 2022 ANNOUNCES FURTHER ARTISTS TO WORLD CLASS LINE-UP TO CELEBRATE 40^th YEAR

 

• GILBERTO GIL & FAMILY, LIANNE LA HAVAS, OSIBISA, KANDA BONGO MAN, COMORIAN, JASDEEP SINGH DEGUN, FOLKNERY  and many more announced to join global party
• Artists previously announced include ANGELIQUE KIDJO, FATOUMATA DIAWARA, KAE TEMPEST, THE FLAMING LIPS, THE SUGARHILL GANG, FANTASTIC NEGRITO, NITIN SAWHNEY, GREENTEA PENG and more

 

 

 

 

Today WOMAD is thrilled to announce additional artists to its already glorious 2022 line-up in celebration of its 40^th year. Over the past four decades the world music legacy has seen over three hundred festivals around the world, with over ten thousand artists performing across six continents and to an audience of millions.

 

The long weekend of musical discovery and celebration at Charlton Park 28 – 31 July will embrace the joys of community, friendship, diversity, and tolerance at a time when the world needs it more than ever.

 

No stranger to gracing the WOMAD stage Gilberto Gil & Family, a godfather figure within Brazilian music during the last half-century returns. From cultural outcast to culture minister, he has been in the vanguard of the country’s numerous musical movements, most notably in the 1960’s with MPB, tropicália and samba - and now he is back again to celebrate the festival’s 40^th anniversary. This year, the wonderful British singer-songwriter Lianne La Havas will make her WOMAD debut. In the past decade she has forged a boundary-free musical identity, one that delivers an easy dialogue between soul, pop, folk, and jazz. And that theme continues; most recently, Lianne has collaborated with none other than fellow WOMAD 2022 artist Kae Tempest on their single No Prizes.

 

WOMAD is especially fortunate to be able to welcome Folknery, the Ukrainian folk band who will also be making their debut at the festival.  A free-folk band, founded by Volodymyr Mulyar (on percussion and mouth organ) and Yaryna Kvitka (on vocals and wheel lyre), who are renowned for travelling around Ukraine and the world on bicycles, collecting authentic songs and reinventing them with a fresh new modern vision and intriguing sound. One to watch out for.

 

Comorian will, for the first time at WOMAD, bring with them the acoustic sounds from the Indian Ocean archipelago of Comoros, one of the smallest nations in the world. Comprised of band members M’madi and Soubi, who feature a homemade double-sided guitar, Comorian’s debut album, We Are an Island, But We’re Not Alone was named one of the best of the year by Folk Radio UK and given a 4-star review in The Times. It was recorded live by Grammy-winning producer and author Ian Brennan (Tinariwen, Ustad Saami, Malawi Mouse Boys).

 

Kanda Bongo Man will bring back to WOMAD the invigorating sound of Congolese rumba, heard ubiquitously in Zairean soukous during the 1980s. Decades later, he still knows how to set a dancefloor ablaze. Osibisa will add to the mix their self-authored sub-genre of Ghanese Afro-rock which put a pep in the step of the 1970’s rock scene. Integrating the sound and flavour of both Africa and the Caribbean, these adopted Londoners scored big with the likes of Sunshine Day, providing the soundtrack of those long hot summers.

 

Rizwan-Muazzam Qawwals, the world’s foremost qawwali group, makes a welcome return to the WOMAD stage. With four albums for WOMAD’s sister label Real World Records under their belts, the honey-voiced brothers Rizwan and Muazzam Mujahid Ali Khan have proved themselves to be worthy torchbearers of the tradition, taking on the flame following the death of their uncle Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.Jasdeep Singh Degun is a new signing to Real World Records - the Leeds-born-and-raised virtuosic sitar player will bring his own take on the northern Indian classical tradition. His new album Anomaly will be released on 06 May with much anticipation, and he has previously collaborated with artists such as Guy Chambers, Cerys Matthews, Melanie C and fellow WOMAD 2022 artist Nitin Sawhney.

 

Further artists joining the line-up include:

 

Abel Selaocoe, a South African genre-bending cellist who is on a mission to take his instrument to places it’s never travelled before through collaborating with jazzers, beatboxers and world musicians.

 

Ásgeir, who will play songs from his highly successful debut album, of which one in ten Icelanders own a copy, with the former Javelin-throwing champion today making beautifully wistful neo-folk instead.

 

DJ Kobayashi will bring his unique style which he curates from all four corners of world music, which varies from global funk to Middle Eastern grooves incorporated with electronic beats.

 

Cheng Yu & Silk Breeze will bring the delicate and timeless sound of rural China from Cheng Yu and her quartet. She plays both the pipa (a four-stringed lute) and the gugin (a seven-stringed zither) with poise, grace, and virtuosity.

 

Gonne Choi is a South Korean singer-songwriter, with singing and writing in English, who has a strong grasp of what makes an engaging troubadour – primarily a bell-clear voice, beautiful guitar, and uncomplicated tunes. File somewhere between Joni Mitchell and Norah Jones.

 

Gypsy Hill, a band whose music is an intoxicating mix of balkan brass, mediterranean surf rock, ska & swing. Featuring guitars, horns, tuba, a scratch DJ, and a mix of live and electronic beats, they effortlessly mix the traditional with a uniquely modern sound.

 

Los Wembler’s de Iquito, a band of brothers who reign from the Peruvian side of the Amazonian jungle who, back in the ’60s, fused the local sound of cumbia with psychedelia to create a swampy, Dick-Dale-in-the-tropics sound.

 

Lova Lova, the stage name of unmissable Wilfried Luzele in his trademark cyber-punk specs and distinctive scarlet tunic, who mashes together punk, dub, dancehall, rock, and deliciously wiry Congolese guitar lines. His songs rage against the ills faced on the streets of his hometown Kinshasa, in particular the spectres of pollution and corruption. This is a man reinventing the music of Kinshasa, one rebel yell at a time.

 

Taxi Kebab, a duo consisting of Leïla Jiqqir and Romain Henry who provide dark, heavy electronica, “disorientated and disoriential” as they self-describe, with a North African accent. Imagine a darker-sounding Hot Chip soundtracking a night-time drive through Moroccan streets.

 

Trash Kit are a post-punk three-piece who induce comparisons with The Slits and The Au Pairs, but who also slip discernible African influences into both guitar and drums.

 

Tantz’s music promises pedal-to-the-metal klezmer and Balkan beats which are the name of this six-piece’s game – a riotous assembly of wild clarinet, anarchic fiddles and shirts-off punk energy.

 

The Alostmen, winners of the Best Newcomers category at the Songlines Music Awards, a band of Ghanaians who combine the traditional sound of the two-stringed kologo with a more contemporary sensibility that places groove at the heart of their music.

 

The Spirituals, as their name suggests, are a choir of young black Londoners who take centuries-old spirituals and reinterpret and rejuvenate them for the 21st century. Both soul deep and sky high.

 

Last but certainly not least, The Soulprofessor returns to WOMAD’s decks, having been spinning seven-inch vinyl for the delectation of others’ for more than half a century, to play his collection of the rarest and funkiest tunes.

 

And that is far from all. The true joy of a WOMAD festival is that endless journey of discovery and with new and known thrills around every corner, and from four corners of the world there are so many others offering musical enlightenment and diversity in abundance.

 

In the World of Art, located in the Secret Forest, revellers will be able to experience Luke Jerram’s stunning touring artwork “The Museum of the Moon;” a 7m diameter internally lit sphere that has perfect images of the surface taken by a NASA satellite. This will be accompanied by an immersive sonic experience by British-Bahraini musician and composer Yazz Ahmed who has created ‘The Moon Has Become,’ a sound work inspired by the ethos behind WOMAD which will transport the listener to space. Yazz’s work seeks to blur the lines between jazz and electronic sound design, bringing together the sounds of her mixed heritage in what has been described as ‘psychedelic Arabic jazz, intoxicating and compelling.’

 

Aside from all the musical delights there are plenty of other activities, sights, sounds and smells across this lush Wiltshire country park. Some of the weekend’s performers will get the chance to show off their culinary credentials in the ever-popular Taste the World stage. There is the tranquility of the World of Wellbeing and luxury of the WOMAD Spa, an oasis of calm with wood-fired hot-tubs, all-day yoga, and bar serving delicious alcohol-free cocktails and tonics. Festivalgoers have the unique opportunity to get involved and learn from the experts the incredible skills on show at Charlton Park with a whole array of workshops; from taking dance lessons to picking up a musical instrument from the other side of the globe. Celebrate the spoken word at the World of Words with author talks, debates, and discussions. And there are more child-friendly activities and workshops than any other festival, at the World of Children where the theme for this year is celebration, the culmination of which is the now-legendary Sunday afternoon parade across the Charlton Park site.

There are more secrets to reveal, and plenty more reasons to feel cheerful about a certain weekend in July. Watch this space. 

//Ends

 

Images here

 

 

WOMAD

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#WOMAD2022

Listings Information

WOMAD FESTIVAL UK

28-31 JULY 2022

Charlton Park, Malmesbury, Wiltshire, UK, SN16 9DG

ONLINE: www.womad.co.uk

TICKET PRICES

Full Price 3 days: £205

Full Price 4 days:  £255

Teen Price 3 days: £105

Teen Price 4 Days: £145

SN16 resident 3 days: £140

SN16 resident 4 days: £160

SW16 4 day (no camping):£105

Camp WOMAD x 2-man tent: £165

Camp WOMAD x 4-man tent: £250

Spa Weekend: £155

La Di Da Loo: £45

 

Children 13 and under FREE (but still need ticket)

 

 

Other Artists WOMAD 2022

 

ADG7 (South Korea)

Highly admired nine-piece – six instrumentalists and three striking singers – who supercharge Korean traditional folk music with rock and pop dynamite.

 

Alban Claudin (France)

French composer and pianist whose work – an engaging and sprightly blend of classical and jazz – has graced numerous film scores. Eight million streams and counting.

 

B. Dance (Taiwan)

Led by the celebrated choreographer Po-Cheng Tsai, this ensemble is known for its striking performances that combining contemporary dance, traditional Asian dance, and the movements of martial arts.

 

Bab l’Bluz (France/Morocco)

The guembri is the traditional three-stringed bass lute of the Gnawa people of North Africa’s Maghreb. No-one ever played it like this bunch, though, unleashing the instrument on some fiery psychedelic blues.

 

The Barmer Boys (India)

This fascinating trio see themselves as the guardians of Rajasthani folk and Sufi music. And they are treating the traditions carefully, their gravity-free sound elevated by harmonium, dholak drum and, according to Songlines, “incandescent Sufi voices that incite ecstasy.”

 

Bess Atwell (UK)
Shimmering acoustic delights – and plenty of sage reflections on life – from the lauded singer-songwriter. As The Guardian noted, Bess possesses “a voice like slow, cool water.” Remarkable things surely beckon.

 

Cimafunk (Cuba)

Here’s a man who seriously packs a punch as he attempts to redefine the sound of his Caribbean homeland, thanks to his potent yet butter-smooth Afro-Cuban funk. He is unlike any other, describing himself as “a UFO in the island’s music scene.”

 

Dizraeli (UK)

Hip-hop, spoken word and folk combine in the body of the man known as Dizraeli, a socially conscious wordsmith whose gaze is forever fixed on a better world.

 

Dudu Tassa and the Kuwaitis (Israel)

Having toured with Radiohead and collaborated with their guitarist Jonny Greenwood, Dudu Tassa is an outward-looking musician who is keen to update the Iraqi songs of his famous grandfather Douad Al-Kuwaiti.

 

Electric Jalaba (Morocco/UK)

The clue’s in the name. Electric Jalaba plug into the mains for a heady, heavily amplified take on Moroccan gnawa music. The result is an intoxicating, psychedelic experience.

 

The Fontanas (UK)

Set your dials for Brazil. Sultry samba-soul and Afro-Latin funk are the commodities dealt in by this band comprised of musical collaborators of Alice Russell and Mr Scruff. Craig Charles is a huge fan.

 

Fulu Miziki (Democratic Republic of the Congo)

The latest stars out of Kinshasa, Fulu Miziki are an energetic voice-and-percussion ensemble who follow the city’s musical traditions by fashioning their instruments out of rubbish.

 

Grupo Lokito (Democratic Republic of the Congo/UK)

The heat of Kinshasa meets the passion of Havana as the lithe Grupo Lokito reveal how Cuban music shaped Congolese rumba. The guitar alone is a dizzying delight.

 

Gwenifer Raymond (UK)

Whether on guitar or banjo, Gwenifer’s instrumental compositions draw from early-20th-century Mississippi and Appalachia, investigating the spookier, more gothic edges of American roots traditions.

 

Hatis Noit (Japan)

Experimental vocal artist whose work includes – but is far from limited to – Japanese classical traditions, Gregorian chants, Bulgarian harmonies, and avant-garde departures. In the words of The Guardian, “a one-woman choir trying to tap into some primeval, mystical energy.”

 

The Hempolics (UK)

Self-proclaimed purveyors of “mash-up music outta London,” The Hempolics squeeze together reggae, rocksteady, soul, funk, and electronica. Clash magazine described them as “Funkadelic playing reggae in a Brixton basement.”

 

Hollie Cook (UK)

Sunshine vocals and bass-rumbling reggae from the former Slits member and daughter of a Sex Pistol. Hollie calls it “tropical pop.” We call it the sound of summer.

 

Jali Bakary Konteh & the Minyanta Band (The Gambia)

Forward-facing project that shoots a current of electricity through the kora and balafon sounds that resonate along the banks of the Gambia River.

 

Joe Armon-Jones (UK)

One of the lynchpins of London’s extraordinarily productive jazz scene, pianist Joe’s musical vision knows few boundaries. Championed by tastemaker supreme Gilles Peterson, he has also earned comparisons with the mighty Herbie Hancock.

 

Joji Hirota and the London Taiko Drummers (Japan/UK)

Joji’s links with WOMAD and Real World go back to the early ’90s when this master of Japanese taiko drumming showed his instrument’s versatility during the Real World Recording Week. His ensemble makes a thundering – and thunderingly joyful – sound.

 

Johanna Juhola (Finland)

A lively, open-eared accordion player who joins her instrument’s dots between her native Scandinavia, Ireland, and Argentina.

 

Joseph Tawadros (Egypt/Australia)
Charismatic – and exotically bearded – oud player whose performances are extremely emotive affairs. Often found in the company of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra.

 

Kampire (Uganda)

The turntable hotshot of East Africa whose DJ sets draw from all manner of African and Afro-centric sounds from all over the globe. A truly outernational mix.

 

 

Khiyo (UK/Bangladesh)

This London trio revisit and reimagine the songs that form Bengali musical history – whether folk songs or music from films – often hardening them up in the process.

 

King Pleasure and the Biscuit Boys (UK)

A long-established draw across the pubs, clubs, and festivals of our islands, KP and his boys set their time machine for the 1950s for a red-hot set of jump-blues and R&B.

 

Lazy Habits (UK)

Sharp-tongued, living-on-their-wits six-piece from Hackney who draw on jazz, funk, soul and hip-hop.

 

Malmesbury Schools Project with Amaraterra (UK/Italy)

The regular festival opener this year finds the local teenage melody-makers sharing a stage with the fiery and spirited Amaraterra, purveyors of Italian pizzica folk traditions.

 

Malphino (UK)

The sound of Colombian cumbia instantly transports you to tropical climes and so it is with these Londoners who playfully introduce sizzling psychedelic organ and touches of electronica to that indestructible, irresistible beat.

 

The Mauskovic Dance Band (Netherlands)

This outfit describes its wares as ‘space-disco’ – interstellar, psychedelic Afro-Latin funk that hits Planet Earth somewhere between Colombia and New York City.

 

Mazaher (Egypt)

Six-strong practitioners of the zap tradition, which effortlessly combines ensemble singing, dancing and polyrhythmic drumming to an out-of-body effect.

 

Minyo Crusaders (Japan)

The min’yo music of Japan is presented quite formally, despite its roots being that of a folk tradition. In the hands of this rousing band, though, it gets acquainted – in often delightfully rowdy fashion – with jazz, ska, and cumbia.

 

Mr Bruce (UK)

Best known to WOMAD fans as the vocal half of hip-hop/swing duo The Correspondents, Mr Bruce’s solo work now finds him bringing all his charisma to electro-house, garage, jungle, and dancehall.

 

Nabihah Iqbal – DJ set (UK)

As a musician and producer, Nabihah has a reputation for mixing and matching synth-pop and post-punk. Expect her turntable selections to be equally without boundary.

 

Nihiloxica (Uganda)

An intriguingly dark-edged take on traditional Bugandan drumming, with added kit drum and analogue synths enhancing its hypnotic and looping effect.

 

Olcay Bayir (Turkey)

Enchanting London-based singer who adds jazzy touches and other influences on her interpretations of traditional Anatolian folk music.

 

Project Smok (UK)

Spectacularly virtuosic trio who take the stricture of Scottish traditional music and loosen it up at the edges, producing a defiantly contemporary take on that old-as-the-hills sound.

 

Ramy Essan (Egypt)

A true protest singer whose songs have become anthems for the disillusioned and disenfranchised, in particular Irhal, which soundtracked the Egyptian revolution of 2011.

 

Sam Amidon (US)

Distinctive singer-songwriter whose fascination with the American folk music of the early 20th century finds him reimagining it through contemporary eyes. His collaborators include Bon Iver, Tune-Yards and his wife, Beth Orton.

 

Sarathy Korwar (India)

Percussionist Sarathy is redefining Indo-jazz, that ’60s hybrid of east and west. He has now put it on more than speaking terms with electronica, in the process turning it into some of the most vital music today.

 

Son Rompe Pera (Mexico)

The name of this combo’s game is to imbue the sound of Afro-Latin cumbia with a garage/punk intensity. And they manage it too, taking tunes from Mexico, Peru and Colombia and swapping the horns for some energetic marimba playing.

 

Stornoway (UK)

More than ten years on since first gracing our stages, this will be the last time Stornoway tread our boards. The Oxford indie-folk outfit are going their separate ways, and this will be their final-ever show.

 

Taraf de Caliu (Romania)

A spin-off from the mighty Taraf de Haïdouks, it is more of that freewheeling, head-spinning traditional gypsy sound from their quarter of the Balkans.

 

Too Many T’s (UK)

Lyrically destrous hip-hop duo from London who’ve previously shared stages and bills with De La Soul and Public Enemy.

 

Voka Gentle (UK)

This trio’s folk-flecked electro-pop is a slippery beast to define. As The Skinny said, their music is “a kaleidoscopic adventure in sound, without a dull moment in sight.”

 

Zed Bias (UK)

One of the true touchstones of British underground dance music, boasting a proud DJing and production heritage that is taken in drum & bass, garage, dubstep, grime and much more.

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