A bluesman at heart, Brozman has augmented his songs with sounds picked up on journeys around the world. Ancient roots music from Hawaii to Papua New Guinea are melded into the impressively full sound he ekes out of his steel-stringed guitars.
That passion for learning has earned him a place as an adjunct ethnomusicology professor at Macquarie University in Sydney. But it hasn't killed his sense of humour. Brozman takes delight in ripping into his homeland. His take on Sarah Palin: "I don't wish harm on anyone - I just wish she'd take a nap one afternoon and only wake up after I'm dead."
Mongolian/Chinese punk rockers Hanggai didn't talk any politics. They were there to rock. Born from the Chinese punk scene, the band have spliced the throat singing drone of Mongolian traditional music with heavy distorted electric guitar and even heavier beats. Their unhinged enthusiasm was refreshing in a festival notable for its artists' restraint. It must have rubbed off on me. Not long after hearing them, I was convinced to buy an exceptionally technicolour jacket by stall owner Lucita San Pedro, who told my partner she'd better stay with me while I was wearing it lest I instantly transform into a gigolo. Before I could work out whether to be flattered or annoyed, she'd made the sale.
It wasn't just the markets upping their game in the festival's final hours. As Hawaii's Mana Maoli Collective brilliantly put it, the vibes were vibing. Patea Maori Club took us all the way back to 1983 with a rendition of their chart topper Poi E.
Inuit throat singer Tanya Tagaq again entranced with 50 full minutes of rhythmic drones, barks and strangely haunting sing-song melodies. Coloured lights hung in the trees as we took a walk beside the still lakeside in the adjacent Pukekura Park. Blind Malian duo Amadou and Mariam closed the festival the way it started for us, with an hour of danceable anthems.
But the last word of this truly international event has to go to a couple of New Zealand icons, the Topp Twins. We managed to catch up with their alter egos Ken and Ken as they showed a huge crowd how to cook game meat at a 'Taste The World' seminar hosted by Peta Mathias. It was a hilarious hour as the Kens alternated between explaining their marinade, ribbing Peta and giving passionate views on how to treat the Kiwi environment.
Their two-word admonishment to DOC for its take on 1080 was brief and to the point. Their defence of duck shooting (if we don't kill some ducks then the other ducks won't have enough food) was just as funny: Ken:
"What is that disease they die of, Ken?" Other Ken: "Starvation". I see now why the pair are widely considered a treasure, a taonga, and a walking celebration of who we are as Kiwis. As our coffee guy said after: "I wish I was a girl, and I wish I was gay - I love them." Indeed. And as for the WOMAD festival as a whole, I think Ken put it best when he said: "Just bloody beautiful, mate".
