Luna Kafé record review |
Mare Smythii - Full Moon 153 - 03/11/09
Womadelaide While I can't profess to be a world music enthusiast, I took a great opportunity to work at some friends' Mexican food stall for a free ticket to Womadelaide. It was wonderful to wander in the sun between the half-dozen stages and sample some of the eclectic music. It made me realise what a reductive and idiot label 'world music' can be. And in the process I caught a couple of stunning sets.
The other pleasant surprise came from festival closer Rokia Traore. I doubt the music would have entranced me had I heard it on the radio, but live, the rapid-fire funk attack and happy-go-lucky vibes swept me up into one of the all-too-rare times that I dance to live music. I'm shy, but this music carried me away completely with every slap-bass solo and rhythmic crescendo. It's a cliché, but damn those Africans have got rhythm... Copyright © 2009 Tim Clarke
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| © 2011 Luna Kafé |
The first came from New Yorker Kaki King. While I'd read her name around the web several times in reference to her dizzying talent on the acoustic
guitar, I was pleasantly surprised to find her armed with an electric guitar, a drummer, and a guy on laptop and what looked like an electronic bong. (It turned
out to a device called an Evi, which is basically a digital wind controller that sounds like a juicy synth.) The band switched sounds and tempos incessantly,
mustering some achingly beautiful music. Occasionally the riffing became a bit leaden, especially in the closing number, but overall I was left with the impression
that the hype is justified - Kaki King is a ludicrously talented musician with awesome melodic sensibility and songwriting nous.