Uncut UK – October 2019

OCTOBER 2019 • UNCUT• 101

Butthepost-worldchampions
mustsurelybeUkrainianquartet
DakhaBrakha,whosethreefemale
vocalistsyodeltheirululating
quarter-toneharmoniesovera
thunderoustumultofpsychedelic
punk-blues.Bornfroma stageshow,
thegroup’sperformanceis highly
theatrical,fromtheirstylisedpeasant
hatstotheirBorat-thickaccents.And
yettheirmusicis farfromkitsch,
hintingathowTheWhiteStripes
mightsoundif theyhademerged
fromOdessaratherthanDetroit.They
calltheirprimal,lustyracket“ethno
chaos”,butthereis clearlyfocus
anddisciplinebehindthetumult.
AnarchyintheUkraine.
Withitsunstarryethosand
egalitarianarrayofstages,WOMAD
is lessdependentonheavyweight
headlinersthanmostfestivals.That
said,thisyear’sbillstillfeaturesa
fewlivinglegendsandreveredelder
statesmen,includingPakistan’s
Ustad Saami, whose drone-heavy

warbleexploresthefullbandwidth

ofa 49-notemicrotonalscale.The

75-yearoldSaami’selectrifying

vocalstylemayberootedinthe13th

century,butit soundsasfreshand

experimentalasthelatesthotly

tippedavant-rockact.

AnotherWOMADveteran

returningtoCharltonParkthisyear,

possiblyforthelasttime,isSalif

Keita. On the cusp of turning 70,

theroyal-bloodedMaliansingeris

rumouredtobemullingretirement.

Butthisseemsunlikelygiventhe

effortlesslysunnyupliftofthis

show,withthatwarm,burnished-

goldvoicesweptalongbya brassy,

punchy,super-tightteamof

seasonedsidemen.Endinghisset

throngedbydancers,Keitais inhis

element,a beamingoldmasteron

peakautumnalform.Potteringinhis

gardencanwaita fewmoreyears.

RobertPlanthasalsoplayed

WOMADnumeroustimeswith

variouspost-Zeppelinprojects.His

latestrootsyvehicle,SavingGrace,

is probablyhismosthumbletodate,

a back-porch-busker-styleoutletfor

scholarlyexplorationsofantiquefolk,

bluesandcountryballads.Sharing

intertwinedharmonieswithSuzi

Dian,Plantprovesquitethestand-up

comedian,mockinghisownageand

legend:“Thisis a songfrombackin

themid1920s,aroundthetime Led

Zeppelin was formed...”

PlantandDian’sblendedvocals

reachsublimeheightsona spine-

tinglingversionofMobyGrape’s

“It’sA BeautifulDayToday”andthe

ensemble-sungencore,“AndWe

BidYouGoodnight”,whichgathers

thewholebandarounda single

microphone.Thesesepia-tinted

strumsandvintageboneshakersare

lovinglypresented,albeittoosedate

fora festivalmarqueestagewith

pan-globalsoundsleakinginfrom

allsides.Inanintimateconcerthall,

theirsubtlemagicwouldshinemore.

WOMADendsona sci-fihigh

withresurgentelectrotitans

Orbitalblastingtheheavenswith

theirintergalacticlasershowand

cheerfullybleakwarningsabout

imminentplanetaryeco-cide.Still

partyingfortheirrighttofight,

theHartnollbrothersprovide

a suitablyrapturousfinaletoa

joyousweekend.Notsomuchworld

musicasout-of-this-world music.

STEPHEN DALTON

L I V E

C BRANDON/REDFERNS; GARRY JONES

Amazing

grace:

RobertPlant

andhis

latestfoil,

Suzi Dian

Lightrelief:

festival

closers

Orbital

DakhaBrakha:

Ukraine’sWhite

Stripes?

WOMADends

ona sci fi

highwith

Orbital’s

intergalactic

laser show