It’s like a tradition really. I have to take pictures of the flags at WOMAD every year. I just gravitate towards them. But they are lovely, and this really is a great picture of them too.
Tag: WOMAD
A great world music festival
Inside the Tiny Tea Tent
The Tiny Tea tent is a favourite place during WOMAD. Their Apple and Cinamon drink thing is fantastic and it is always a great place to hang out.
I didn’t get to spend much time there on Saturday, but it was good to visit anyhow.
The Steam Fair at WOMAD last night
I liked this shot, just as the light was starting to fade.
WOMAD: A Musical Buffet
My last post was about going to WOMAD, and since then I’ve been thinking about why I like festivals so much, especially ones like WOMAD, in fact, especially WOMAD.
A lot of UK festivals are just too big for me. I like smaller festivals like WOMAD where I can wander around easily and go from one stage to another quite quickly. That’s one of the things I love about festivals I can check out lots of different acts during the course of a day and stay for 5 minutes or watch the whole show.
It is like a kind of musical buffet where I sample some things and don’t get on with them, and others I have to eat the lot. If you know what I mean.
In some ways this goes against what I’d said before about listening and consuming music. I guess that this buffet approach to must is further along the consumer path then the dedicated listen. However, in many ways it is different from that argument.
I always enjoy coming away from WOMAD with a few new things to listen to, and this year they were.
I really enjoyed these three for very different reasons. They were the best bits of my buffet!
WOMAD memories 3: The Portico Quartet
The first time I saw The Portico Quartet was at WOMAD a few years ago. They were amazing and made a really big impression. Of course, now they’re no longer the Portico Quartet, and they’re just Portico, which is fine. Their music is quite different now, but I still like it. However, for me I…
WOMAD memories 2: Nouvelle Vague
Another great memory from WOMAD days was of Nouvelle Vague. I went to see them in the Big Red Tent and thought they were amazingly good fun. I subsequently bought quite a lot of their tracks. I say their tracks, of course for the most part they are covers, but what excellent covers they are.…
WOMAD memories 1: Mitsoura
As I was thinking about WOMAD I started remembering some of the high points over the years and I thought I’d share them. One such high point was when WOMAD was back in Reading, before it moved to Charlton Park in Wiltshire. I remember seeing Mitsoura for the very first time there. They were amazing.…
A day at WOMAD
I wasn’t able to spend the whole weekend at WOMAD this year, I was only able to go for the day this year. Which was ok. The weather was pretty awful on the Friday, so the Saturday was a good option in the end. So as always here’s the obligatory photo of the flags. I…
Considering going to WOMAD this year
I think I’ve been going for about 10 years now, so in some ways it would be a shame not to go, but the line up isn’t inspiring me this year, which is a shame. I’m thinking about it, but not convinced as yet. I may just go for the day. I’ve done that a…
I miss Mitsoura
They only released two albums and the last was a long time ago. Dura Dura Dura (their last album) was excellent as was their first album but it’s been years since they did anything. It’s a shame. I wish they’d done more. I’ve checked their site occasionally and there’s never anything new. I suppose it’s…
The Radiophonic Workshop at the Bowers and Wilkins Society of Sound stage at WOMAD
I was really pleased to get to see the Radiophonic Workshop at WOMAD this year. They did a talk and also a performance as well. Both were really enjoyable.
Martyn Ware at the Bowers and Wilkins Society of Sound stage at WOMAD
This was a great talk from Mr Ware from Heaven 17. I really enjoyed it, he had some great insights into the development of synths since the 1970s. Of course it wasn’t for everyone, but I thought it was awesome, especially as synth 20 was an OP-1!
Real World 25
I felt compelled to get this nice little box set at WOMAD this year. I’ve got quite a lot of the tracks already, but it’s really well put together and it came with a load of bits and pieces like postcards and stuff, most of which have actually survived the weekend and trip home. I…
Something went wrong. Please refresh the page and/or try again.
WOMAD 2010
I spent last weekend at the WOMAD festival in Charlton Park, and what an amazing weekend it was. I’ve been going to WOMAD for several years now, but this year’s festival was one of the best so far.
The music was great, I saw some amazing performances from some great artists, and of course, as with all festivals there was a load of stuff I missed too.
If I had to say what was the most enjoyable experiences of the whole festival though, here’s what I would choose:
- Nouvelle Vague – I didn’t know them before this year’s WOMAD and I’m off to buy some very soon.
- Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain – They were very funny and very talented, but I think that this is something to enjoy live rather than recorded.
- Syrianan – I really enjoyed their performance and so I bought their EP CD and was disappointed. I might get their album when it arrives later in the year, but live they were great.
- Lastly, Rango. Who were the last act I saw and were fantastic!
I thoroughly enjoyed WOMAD this year. The weather was good, I got to meet up and spend time with lots of friends and the music was awesome.
If that wasn’t enough though I actually got to play on the Roots Architecture Stage too! But that’s more in Palm Sounds territory, so I’ll write about that later.
I am Ashley Elsdon 