By Graham Reid
As an indicator of how much the parameters of popular music have shifted you need look only at the line-up for Womad, the multi-ethnic music, dance and arts festival which takes over central Auckland for three days late next month.
Where previously guitarist Phil Manzanera came to this country
as a member of Roxy Music and played Sweetwaters, now he's back under another guise, as part of the African Gypsies, an ensemble of South African and British performers.
In recent years what has been called "world music" - music from outside the London-Los Angeles axis - has been assimilated and accepted into stereos and concert halls across the Western world.
Eddie Vedder from Pearl Jam sang with the late Pakistani singer Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Beck's latest album includes a sitar and tabla player, Ry Cooder has brought Cuban music to the fore with his Buena Vista Social Club ...
And, as it did two years ago, the world of music is coming back to Auckland in the form of Womad, featuring musicians from places as diverse as Senegal (Baaba Maal), Argentina (bandoneon player Cesar Stroscio), Cuba (Las Perlas del Son) and India (Shiv Kumar Sharma, who plays the 100-string santoor).
Womad boasts many other international acts plus a huge New Zealand contingent which includes Dave Dobbyn, Mahinaarangi Tocker, Te Vaka and the Topp Twins.
The three-day festival, opening on Friday, February 26, has been shifted from the 1996 Western Springs Park site into the central city, both as a cost-cutting measure and to make the events more accessible to the public.
In the Aotea Centre, the Auckland Town Hall and Aotea Square will be concerts, a village of multicultural food, crafts, arts and displays and an area for children's activities.
Recently confirmed to appear are Jamaican guitarist Ernest Ranglin, whose marriage of reggae and jazz and, more recently, his exploration of the ground between reggae and African music, has seen him bridge the generation gap between lovers of the ska sound of the 60s (which he helped to forge) and the more club-oriented reggae sound of the 90s.
Also billed are the famous Drummers of Burundi making their debut appearance in New Zealand; the group Muzsikas, from Hungary, which features Marta Sebestyen who sang the theme to The English Patient; the Israeli violinist and oud player Yair Dalal with the Al Ol Ensemble; and Tibetan singer Yungchen Lhamo, who impressed with her distinctive style at the last Womad.
Coming, too, are Australian Aboriginal artists Archie Roach and Ruby Hunter; Scottish singer Jackie Leven; Irish band Kila, who bring together traditional and contemporary sounds; French group Lo'jo, who incorporate Arabic melodies with Bohemian violin and African rhythms; acclaimed tabla player Trilok Gurtu (who has played with guitarist John McLaughlin's jazz groups and crosses the borders between traditional Indian drumming and jazz-rock); and Finland's acoustic band Gjallarhorn.
Next month's Womad also offers a Global Dance Zone from midnight to dawn in the Town Hall with DJ Monkey Pilot from Britain and performances by local dub, electronica and dance acts Salmonella Dub, Pitch Black, the Nomad and the International Observer Sound System.
Tickets for Womad are on sale and come in a range of options: from gold and silver passes, which allow admission into all venues, to an outdoor pass which provides access to events in Aotea Square.
What: Womad
Where: Central Auckland
When: February 26-28
Pictured: Muzsikas, with Marta Sebestyen, singer of The English Patient theme.
By Graham Reid
As an indicator of how much the parameters of popular music have shifted you need look only at the line-up for Womad, the multi-ethnic music, dance and arts festival which takes over central Auckland for three days late next month.
Where previously guitarist Phil Manzanera came to this country
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