First of all, before I forget to say it: PERFORMING SONGWRITERS (UNITED WORLDWIDE) is now exploding on Facebook with almost 500 members per month currently adding themselves. Go here to see what the fuss is about:
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Now, a brief note, post world music expo and festival WOMEX 2009, held in the fabulous city Copenhagen. Wow. Loved the people, the architecture, the cafe bars (very very UNlike the dark and heavy UK pubs I have been frequenting these past two years)...and I loved the music, of course. Where to begin?
I'm going to keep this brief and simply share a few photos. How about that? A quick read as there's much to do in the follow up after this massive conference, and many of you follow my FBook updates anyway. Apologies to those on my 'music page' only...I was unable to update that in Denmark. I'm not sure why.
So...here we go:
It was grey, but the beauty of the architecture was not lost on me.
A city of bicycles and BICYCLE LANES between pedestrians and cars.
I had a home to stay in, and I am grateful to my friend Poul and his mother Yette for providing it in Kastrup, CPH, near the airport and the conference centre!
The morning before Womex got underway, on the way to registration, I met up with a charming and highly educated Italian musician and independent label proprietor named Rosario from Naples who proceeded to give me an education in 'taranta' music - its origins in ancient Greek music, its binary and triplet rhythms and its healing properties. Intriguing and something to investigate. He also left me with a couple of quotes to think about:
"Music is linked with language."
"Fusion is the looking glass of the modern times; it's the only thing that will allow music to survive."
Then the crowds came, amiable, tentative.
The night before the conference got underway, I met the delightful Mette Lethan - a bright and highly energized trans-Atlantic artist (CPH/Chicago) from my Facebook group PERFORMING SONGWRITERS (UNITED WORLDWIDE). Thanks to her, I was connected with Benjamin A. Woll -
http://www.myspace.com/agg..erbaek - who graciously had me perform five songs at the incredibly warm and 'cool' Blagards Apotek, apparently on a very rough edge of the city...though I saw nothing amiss. ;) Except for perhaps Benjamin's lovely hat!
I love a chic cafe. So hard to find in Manchester. They're few and far between in this combination of class and welcome.
I'm sorry to not have pictures of the Korean drumming group that performed on the second night of Womex...the KoncertHaus is an absolutely spectacular place, and it was for this group. But here's a shot of everyone enjoying the music. VJ'ed performances were used in several cases, but not all.
Oddly, I ran into a writer for Green Linnet magazine, a mag I'm familiar with, and she actually criticized the Korean band for being too 'showbiz' in style because two of the men did a competitive dance and hair slinging match while drumming downstage near the audience. I thought it was brilliant and remembered something learned at Berklee College of Music: musical performance is visual. Just watch Gloria Estefan in action.
It wasn't the first time I'd met with arrogance that trip. Even at Womex, there's a dirty underbelly to the business. I was fortunate to meet many, however, who delighted me including this Finnish radio DJ who wants both of my discs, because he's a fan of 'the first album'. We talked about how he plays Joan Armatrading's first album, even though she doesn't love it. It was Ole's t-shirt that caught my eye! And thank goodness for purists like him - a champion of the artist's evolution. He is waiting for both Endless Contradictions and Bakhoor. :)
There were a handful of awards given out at Womex, one for the establishment of a musical organization in Mali where there is no educational facility. It was heartwarming, to say the least. The other was to this 'artist' (band) of the year, Staff Benda Bilili - who have a terrific documentary coming out about their story, from the African gutter to World Music Stars, in a matter of three months. Five of the eight 'staff' performers (they bring in young artists and train them to join in the music, and there's a whole other mentoring aspect to their work) are disabled, but as they journalist who introduced them said, "They do not feel sorry for themselves." Indeed, no. They were beautiful artists, pure in their joyous energy, and a spectacular example of overcoming the odds. I am a fan. Do check out their music:
Staff Benda Balili on YouTube (short documentary film):
http://www.youtube.com/wat..ch?v=nZUk7qy_sbAA song about disabilities being a state of mind, only:
http://www.youtube.com/wat..ch?v=NAtUb72euHs&feature=r..elated
Amazing!
After the conference, I performed at PH Cafeen, a lovely little spot in yet another strange part of the city that looked perfectly normal to me. A little history of human trafficking and prostitution, which prompted a passionate discussion with one of Mette's friends who has become informed about this issue. In the end, one addict high out of his mind wandered in, but without event, and a good time was had by all.
Finally, a quiet reprieve and long, loving conversation about music, art, the life of a songwriter and musician with the wonderful Mette Lethan and her boyfriend Sebastian Trolle. Mette has three cover bands of different styles aside from her own original project:
http://www.myspace.com/met..telethan . Sebastian is a drummer extraordinaire who performs as part of the wonderful Claes Cem band:
http://www.myspace.com/cla..escem . And he has his own website, of course:
http://www.myspace.com/seb..astiantrolle Mette and Sebastian opened their hearts and home to me (and fed me a fantastic traditional Danish meal), and for that and everything else they did to welcome me to Denmark and ease this occasionally weary traveling songwriter's mind...I am MOST grateful. It was a wonderful trip, intense and inspiring, as it should have been.
And now it is home and back into the swing of things in Manchester with coming gig dates!
• Wed, Nov 11th - Acoustic Eclectic Showcase with Debbie Busby, Molly Mary and another TBA - 9 PM @ Q Inn in Stalybridge.
• Fri, Nov 27 - MochaAcoustic with Debbie Busby, again, and three other songwriters showcasing - 8 PM @ The Mocha Lounge in Liverpool.