W.O.M.A.D. 2008 Charlton Park Report

After a long journey,
Mrs. 555 & I got back home late on Tuesday evening from this year's W.O.M.A.D. festival.
We had a fine time; it's still a very friendly relaxed festival, & Charlton Park is a great site. No doubt staying in the Boutique Camping help make it an enjoyable relaxing experience.
The weather held out & there was an impressive line-up of music.
Here are my highlights ...

On Thursday evening proceedings began with an On U Sounds showcase.
Lee 'Scratch' Perry & Little Axe performed, with Adrian Sherwood on the desk.
A very very good show, & I highly recommend Sherwood's recent 'Becoming a Cliché' release.

On Friday 1st up was Hossam Ramzy & his Egyptian Orchestra.
Quite beguiling & perfect for a sunny afternoon.

Next Toumani Diabaté, which was a mix of T solo on Kora & playing with his band.
I've seen him many times live & he's never failed to delight me.
Never has the Kora sounded so beautiful.

There was an added bonus of Sidiki Diabaté (his son), who now also plays Kora in the band.



On Saturday the weather & music was hot!
Mista Savona are from Melbourne & combine heavy vintage roots reggae, hip-hop, dancehall and heavyweight dub, this is a sound with a healthy disrespect for apathy and rigid genre expectations. I thought they sounded really good.

Finley Quaye was next & he was on fine form. He has such a lovely voice, & his sound has veered from reggae through pop and soul to trip-hop grooves and now country.


Roni Size Reprazent got the biggest audience reaction I saw, so jungle is still massive!
Joking aside I've always liked RSR, & this was a very good show. Drum & bass at it's most articulate and passionate.

But for some RSR was too much!


Martha Wainwright was my surprise favorite performance; an individual voice of rare emotional power. Greats songs & musicianship, plus the funniest between songs talk I've heard in a long time. I will be going to see MW again ASAP.

End of the day was a Sufi night from 22:30 to 01:30.
I enjoyed it, but sadly Asif Ali Khan was a no show.

Sunday started with Cara Dillon, a pure-voiced delight.
She's the sweetest shade of the folk spectrum, underscored by a rare ethereal loveliness.

We had a quick peak at Squeeze, but they keep forgetting their lyrics,
& going out of key so we didn't stick around.

Next Transglobal Underground which were very tight,
& still provide the most exotic dance music around.

The final highlight was a blinder; Devon Sproule who turned out to be my star find of the festival. Devon plays a mix of country, folk & jazz, & she is an effortless performer.
Her delightful band included pedal steel legend BJ Cole.


My only gripes were ...

The the quality of the seven venues PAs were all mediocre, so very disappointing.
But they did improve through the four days,
& to be fair the quality of my home music system I'm used to doesn't help.

There were also problems with sound leakage between stages.

So despite my two grumbles a brilliant long weekend of music;
we've already booked for next year!