f36 Power Of Babel


This March’s annual Babel Med world music trade fair and showcases in Marseille filled the Dock des Suds with vibrant multi-cultural music and marketing frenzy. Judith Burrows took her camera and notepad.


T


his year’s 9th Babel Med Music Festival took place in Marseille over three days and nights dur- ing March. This significant world music event is held in


Marseille’s Dock des Suds – a low-lying post-industrial warehouse in the midst of a stark, modern commercial wasteland. It nestles incongruously under dramatic but oppressive motorway flyovers that divide the landscape horizontally, and by high- rise office blocks which divide it vertically. Dock des Suds stands like a point of resis- tance against ultra-modernity and progress and poses questions about the nearby dispossessed communities.


The Babel Med Festival has a rich and colourful cultural identity attracting 2500 professionals from across the globe. The world music market of 164 stands ran alongside presentations and discussions in nearby conference rooms, and screenings of documentary film.


In the evenings Dock des Suds was transformed into a vibrant music venue, with 36 concerts over four stages featuring a wealth of talent. These were representa- tive of the diversity of world music as well as local ethnicity, and were open to the public, attracting over 16,000.


Le Dock des Suds, the Babel Med venue


On the first night, Coetus – a Spanish percussion band of eighteen musicians led by Eliseo Parra – opened in the Salle des Sucres playing a variety of regional percus- sion instruments, overlaid with vocal har- monies. They created a unique and excit- ing modern interpretation of traditional melodies. In the Cabaret Concert Hall, accordeonist Joaquin Diaz from the Dominican Republic explored the synco- pated rhythms of merengue, joyful Afro- Cuban dance music: dancing was de rigeur.


I was captivated by the theatrical


Vinicio Capossela who took us on an eclectic dramatic, musical journey through storytelling and a variety of musical genres. I glimpsed colourful Mounira Mitchala on the way to a talent- ed folk trio from Quebec, De Temps Antan, who play violin, bouzouki, guitar, accordeons; traditional with a modern take. It was an inspiring first night.


The second day started with Söndör- go, whom I already had the pleasure of seeing in Budapest last year (fR350/351). This is Hungarian folk music played with passion by young talented musicians mix- ing tambura harmonies with a virtuoso ensemble of percussion and wind instru- ments, creating a contemporary twist.


A unique combination of kora and trumpet, a mix of free jazz and Manding music played by Senegalese Ablaye Cis- soko and New York-based Volker Goetze began in the Salle des Sucres – visually arresting and a beautiful combination of instruments.


Mashrou’ Leila are contemporary Lebanese storytellers. Dynamic young musi- cians with a female presence, they focus on issues of everyday life in Beirut singing in local dialect. Accompanied by violin and distorted guitar sounds, they mix blues and jazz, funk and farab. Mohammad Motame- di was a more tranquil Iranian musician exploring radif, a learned traditional Per- sian music with subtle innovation.


A crowd gathered for a concert on the outside stage that promised to be a spec- tacle – sound systems directly inspired from the streets of India. Dozens of loud- speakers create a dynamic backdrop for Mazalda – Turbo Clap. It was popular and very loud! Grèn Sémé from La Réunion played more subtle musical melodies with maloya sounds, and poetic lyrics written in Creole, which attracted the community from La Réunion living in Marseille.


Day three saw another exciting roster of musicians. Cie Rassegna explored a rich heritage of traditional Mediterranean song accompanied by electrical sounds and eight powerful voices. La Réunion’s Tiloun fol- lows. He has a fragile voice, drawing from his roots with a poignancy found in his committed and emotional lyrics. Elena Duni is a passionate Swiss Albanian singer, reclaiming a repertoire of songs from Alba- nian folklore which were used as propa- ganda by the communist regime. With her quartet she incorporated jazz and improvi- sation and made them her own.


Rosapaeda embraced traditional music from Puglia, southern Italy. Passion- ate and powerful, her performance was mesmerising. A dancer joined her on stage, adding to the visual drama.


Kan’nida, from Guadeloupe, interest- ing visually and musically, sang ancestral songs that have been passed down from generation to generation through percus- sion and Creole chant. Wanlov and the Afro Gypsy Band have roots in Ghana and Romania, Paris, and USA: African percus- sion mixed with Transylvanian violins. It was apt that they won an award. Music without borders, traditional and modern crossover, marks this festival, Marseille, and Babel Med Festival’s rich tapestry.


www.dock-des-suds.org F


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