The music, arts and dance festival, WOMAD is streaming a series of performances from amazing international artists. The performances are available on the WOMAD at Home webpage, where you’ll also find a more information about each of the artists scheduled to perform.
The annual UK WOMAD festival, traditionally held towards the end of July, has yet to be officially cancelled, and while some summer festivals appear to have dubiously committed going ahead, WOMAD with it’s higher number of older white vaccinated patrons would seem the one most likely to… But as yet no final decision has been made. WOMAD’s woe would be bringing international artists into the UK - as if that wasn’t already so fraught as has been documented elsewhere, and not been helped in any way by the UK.gov general mendacity over rights of passage for performing artists.
In the meanwhile, WOMAD at Home is a beautiful gift to the world from Malmesbury. Those scheduled to perform include: Erland Cooper and Jasdeep Singh Degun. There will be eleven performance in all.
Things get underway this week on March 11th, with the uniquely distinctive Orkney Islander, the composer and multi-instrumentalist, Erland Cooper. Binaural sounds for sure.
Erland’s records meld environmentally informed music, sounds and traditional instruments. Oh man the strings... His minimal piano pieces are mesmerising. His triptych of critically acclaimed albums, Solan Goose, Skule Skerry and latterly Hether Blether explores Orkney’s land, sea and air. Mary Anne Hobbs has described his work as ‘Masterful audio art.’
If you’re in the middle of a concrete jungle or working from a sprawling suburb, the sounds of Erland Cooper mellifluously wafting around your home or garden is simply going to blow in a perfectly gentle fashion, that denatured facet of yo’self away.