AFRICAN ROOTS FUSION
BAND
A British formed band with a collaboration of African
British Caribbean & Irish players, singers, songwriters and producers. The
group has been performing together for 5 years on the Real World label,
bandleader & Rita player Juldeh Camara
is the 2008 BBC Radio Award winner for ‘World Music Culture-Crossing’ category.
A wonderfully talented group of musicians, a treat for the ears.
CALAITA
‘Calaita - flamenco son’ are a 5-piece flamenco group based
in Manchester, UK. Calaita are Chico Pere – voice
and guitar, Diana Castro – voice, Glenn Sharp – guitar, Leo Paredes – Cajón and
Matt Nickson – flute and saxophone. They offer authentic flamenco and their
live concerts include traditional styles such as bulerias, alegrias, seguiriyas
as well as more comtemporary flamenco rumbas. Calaita display passion and
flamenco spirit, energy and spontaneity.
CELTARABIA
Legendary high-energy dance fusion band Celtarabia are veterans
of Musicport having headlined the very first night back in 2000 and we are delighted to have them back this
year for our return to Whitby.
Be prepared for a mash-up of styles including ; Arabic, Andalucian, Celtic, Medieval music and
contemporary beats designed toyou’re your body moving. Some of this country’s
finest world dance musicians play the wildest cross-over music being made in England today.
Featuring Hurdy-Gurdy, Hammered Dulcimer, Vocals, Cittern, African and Arabic
Percussion, Drum ki,t Didjeridu and Bass Guitar.
CHANGING HORSES
Changing Horses are British Indie-Folk duo Richard Birtill
(vocals and guitar) and Francesca Cullen (vocals, violin, mandolin and
melodeon). Stylistically taking influence from the psychedelic likes of The
Incredible String Band, and the experimental art-punk of The Fall, theirs is a
patchwork of off-kilter folk that has drawn in the plaudits from numerous
sources.
CIRCLE OF SOUND
'One of the biggest new music talents in Britain'
(Vogue), Soumik Datta collides with Austrian drummer Bernhard Schimpelsberger. Taking
you on a breath taking audio-visual journey through India
and Europe, 'Circle of Sound' is the story of
how two men leap cultural borders to find a unified language in music.
DARKENING GREEN
Darkening Green are Sam Dunkley (Vocals), Rebecca
Gross(Vocals), Emily Crossland(Violin) and Ben Wall (Guitar). These four Yorkshire based musicians explore traditional song and
contemporary folk. Powerful voices, rich harmony, organic instrumentals combine
to create a compelling, vibrant sound.
DUB COLOSSUS DUB BAND
This project is the vision of Dub Colossus –‘ Dubulah’ – aka
Nick Page. Composer, guitarist, bass player and programmer Nick has worked with
a long list of notable artists and eccentrics. In 1990 he formed Trans-Global
Underground with Tim Whelan and Hammid Man-Tu, produced-wrote-played six albums
before leaving in 1997 to form Temple
of Sound with Neil
Sparkes. Dub Colossus Dub Band are one of the most exciting fusion bands of
recent years, thanks to their inventive blend of Ethiopian jazz and traditional
styles, dub reggae and atmospheric instrumentals.
EDWARD II
Hailed as one of the best folk/reggae bands on the planet, splicing
dance tunes of old England with the sunny grooves of reggae and lovers’ rock,
Edward II transcended superficial notions of “crossover” to forge a truly
original synthesis from their far-flung musical roots. By finding the shared dancing pulse in the
diverse beats they bring together, EII deliver both a genuinely innovative
fusion and a brilliant sound.
FORMER MEMBERS OF
COUNTRY JOE & THE FISH
Country Joe and the Fish was a rock band most widely known
for musical protests against the Vietnam War, from 1966 to 1971, and also regarded
as a seminal influence on psychedelic rock. THE FORMER MEMBERS compriseof core members of three bands - BRUCE BARTHOL
and DAVID BENNET COHEN (Country Joe & The Fish), ROY BLUMENFELD (The Blues
Project) and GREG DOUGLASS (Steve Miller Band). A true psychedelic blues super
group!
"This ain’t just music - this is history!"
JAIPUR KAWA BRASS
BAND
Hailing from a long family
lineage of musicians and sharing his life between Jaipur and Paris, Hameed Khan
Kawa, a tabla maestro and artistic director of Musafir, has known the sound of
the brass band since his birth. In its native place, Rajasthan, the brass band
is a feature of life itself. Exposed to different musical styles – jazz,
Western traditional music, Indian music – Hameed developed the idea of creating
a brass band of his own to present the fantastic sound of the Indian Brass
Band. With elaborate rhythms and
virtuoso improvisations this spectacular group of authentic Rajastanhi gypsies
present a wild repertoire, from traditional Indian classics to popular
Bollywood movies hits.
JULIE MURPHY
Julie Murphy has a beautiful and unique voice, singing in Welsh and English, she performs in
the Welsh band Fernhill, as well as performing and recording as a solo
artist.She has also collaborated musically with John Cale (performing with him
in the film ‘Beautiful Mistake’), and Afro Celt Sound System (in a duet with
Robert Plant). Moving and plaintive, what a talent.
LIGHTGARDEN
From many inspirations, times and traditions: Russian,
Finnish, Mongolian overtone chanting, Greek, Bulgarian, Persian and Western
European. Visiting, revisiting, and discovering new treasures. A unique
acoustic music ensemble, LightGarden are David Moss: singing/overtone chanting,
bouzouki, fiddle, Masha Kastner: harmonium, singing/overtone chanting, piano,
Rob Colquhoun: guitar, singing, mandolin.
MAGGIE BOYLE &
PAUL DOWNES
Maggie Boyle is a traditional singer. Through her ballads,
old and new, she continues the tradition of music and storytelling passed on by
her Irish family. Now living in Yorkshire, she was born in London where she sang and played from an
early age. Brought up in the musically
vibrant London-Irish community of the 60s and 70s, she and her brothers got the
music from their father. Accompanied today by Paul Downes on guitar.
MAIA
Maia are a 4 piece alternative, acoustic band from Huddersfield playing all sorts of disco sci-fi folk pop (not
really sure what that is!) on the Ukulele, Cajon, Trumpet, Banjo, Mandolin and
whatever else is lying around! They have supported Anais Mitchell on tour and
played numerous festivals since their invention in 2010, they released their
first album in a wooden sleeve! Check them out…
MODESTE
Modeste is an award winning Malagasy singer songwriter and
guitarist whose music is rooted in his hometown of Betroka in the Central
Southern region of Madagascar.
His music is a unique blend of traditional Malagasy sounds influenced by softer
South African dance rhythms, creating beautiful melodies & rhythms with
hypnotic guitar playing and vocals.
MOLLY JONES & LEE
SOUTHALL
A match made in heaven: The younger daughter of the
Tilston-Boyle music dynasty and the guitarist from Merseyside rock band The
Coral. Molly Jones and Lee Southall produce thought-provoking, melodic and
unbelievably catchy songs linking acoustic folk, blues and beyond. They met in
Liverpool and set up home near Hebden
Bridge and have been
playing gigs together since 2012.
MOULETTES
Frontrunners of the new British acoustic scene, their charismatic,
idiosyncratic brand of modern folk music – which incorporates elements of
prog-rock, indie, classical, jazz and blues has enthralled festival crowds. Members
of the band have recently performed and/or recorded with Mumford & Sons,
Seasick Steve, John Paul Jones, Paloma Faith, Bonobo and Paul Heaton of The
Beautiful South. Ex-Moulette Ted Dwane, now of Mumford & Sons returned to
the fold in summer 2011 to help record the band’s second album, The Bear’s
Revenge, out now and garnering excellent reviews from the likes of The Guardian,
FT and Q, Songlines and R2 magazines amongst others. Their entrancing combination of strings and the
celestial; wind and weirdness; rhythm and murder has lead to comparisons with The
Unthanks, Tom Waits and Shostakovitch. But, they have a sound and presence all
of their own.
O’HOOLEY & TIDOW
Blessed with a sense of humour, sensibility and proclaimed
as the best act at Cambridge Folk Festival 2012 by The Guardian (oh yes!) these
two gentlewomen of Golcar (Huddersfield) are
stealing the limelight after many years of hard work. Belinda has played with
Rachel Unthank and the Winterset, Jackie Oates, Nic Jones, Chumbawamba and Lucy Ward. Expect cheeky northern banter,
haunting melodies, dark folk tales, dapper waistcoats, observant lyrics and
some Abba tunes (only joking!). Their debut album ‘Silent June’ was voted in
the top 10 best Folk Albums of 2010 in Mojo magazine. Their latest album ‘The Fragile’ was released
in February this year to rave reviews.
RAFIKI JAZZ
Three continents, one groove that’s Rafiki. Sure, there
might be huge geographical distances between their many places of origin, but
this is a collective that's dispensed with both map and rulebook, in the
process finding sizeable musical common ground and shared traditions. While
region-specific instruments are to the fore - a ripple of kora here, a rumble
of steelpan there - it all makes sense; the kind of unforced, effortlessly
natural cultural collaboration to strike fear into the nearest BNP supporter. Rafiki
Jazz are; Rosie brown (UK): vocals, Catherine Carr (UK): steel pans,
guitar, vocals, Kadialy Kouyate (Senegal):
Kora, vocals, Surahata Susso (Gambia):
kora, percussion, vocals, Guery Tibirica (Brazil): berimbau, percussions,
capoeira, Tony Bowring (UK): bass guitar, arrangements, John Ball (UK): tabla,
derbuka.
REEM KELANI
Born in Manchester (UK) and brought up in Kuwait,
Palestinian singer, teacher and broadcaster Reem Kelani has worked with some of
the best British Jazz musicians introducing them to and training them in Arabic
music. She has a very impressive CV including work on many prestigious
international music projects, commissions and nominations. She is a wonderful
communicator and expressive singer. She is currently working on her next album,
a tribute to the great Egyptian composer Sayyid Darwish (1892 – 1923), which
she hopes to release in 2012, it’s been eight years in the making and countless
field trips to Egypt, Syria and Turkey as part of her research, it
will be well worth the wait.
SONA JOBARTEH BAND
Sona Jobarteh is the first female Kora virtuoso from a
prestigious West African Griot family, coming from a long line of hereditary
musicians. She is the granddaughter of the master Griot Amadu Bansang Jobarteh
and cousin to the celebrated Kora maestro Toumani Diabaté. As a
multi-instrumentalist, singer, composer and producer Sona works with many musicians
from around the world. Beautiful to watch and such a wonderfully soothing
sound. She is joined by an extremely talented band.
SOUMIK DATTA
It may not be as well known as the sitar, but the Indian Sarod
is one of the most versatile and exhilarating instruments in the world. British-based
Bengali player Soumik Datta (Circle of Sound) shows how it can be used to
create varied contemporary styles.
SURA SUSSO
Sura (Surahata) Susso was born in a griot family in Bakoteh,
Western Gambia. He started his lifelong study
of the Kora (African harp) and a range of other percussion instruments at an
early age. The family household (his brother is Seikou Keita) was constantly
filled with music - his musical immersion in such a natural environment growing
up as a child provided the solid foundations for his musical development - the
invaluable knowledge learned organically, as well as the freedom to express
himself musically.
THE HUT PEOPLE
Gary Hammond (Percussion) & Sam Pirt (Accordion) are
firm Musicport favourites and are constantly gaining a reputation as one of the
most entertaining acts to appear on the folk scene in a long while. In their
surprisingly engaging and often hilarious show, they perform a truly unique
high-octane blend of folk music from around the world - perfectly formed &
embellished with a foot stomping accordion and mind-boggling array of exotic
percussion (with some Quebecois foot percussion & dancing thrown in for
good measure too!). A hugely
entertaining duo getting unbelievable feedback from audiences, festival
organizers and music press alike.
THE LANI SINGERS
Maria and Benny have a remarkable personal story, and a
little-reported struggle out in the south-west Pacific. Benny is from West
Papua, on the island of New Guinea, a territory that was annexed by Indonesia after
a bitterly disputed referendum in 1969. He is the former leader of a tribal
assembly of the Lani people, and was jailed for 25 years for supporting the
independence movement. But he managed to escape across the jungle to
neighbouring Papua New Guinea,
where he was reunited with Maria; they were granted asylum in the UK, where they
recorded their latest album. Benny has recently been in the news after Interpol issued a warrant for his arrest (now withdrawn). Benny plays the acoustic guitar while Maria plays
ukulele. Their gentle, mournful harmony vocals are matched by melodies that
echo western folk and gospel.
TWO MAN TING
Two Man Ting was formed in 2004, when Jon Lewis and Jah-man
Aggrey were working together in world/dance band Le Cod Afrique, performing at
the likes of WOMAD, Montreux Jazz Festival and Glastonbury. Since then, the duo has been
performing regularly throughout the UK, and particularly on the
Festival circuit. Recent arts centre shows have included support slots for Mali desert-blues
legends, Tinariwen and one of our
favourites Muntu Valdo.
