f32 Local Culture


Folk events often pay lip service to inclusivity while staying staunchly conservative in their artistic and audience cultural profiles. But there’s really no need in 21st century UK, as Sarah Coxson finds when she uncovers the diasporas on your doorstep.


which is a difficult and distressing thing to go through. I am grateful that someone wants to highlight the positive cultural contribution that immigrants and the sons and daughters of immigrants make to the UK and that we are included in festivals beyond those classified as ‘world music’. I have been in several situations where bookers tell me that they really like what I do but wouldn’t know where to place it, or how to sell it.” (Attab Haddad)


“M


No doubt you’ve read the many editori- als in these pages banging on about more diversity in folk festival programming: a plea to look beyond the somewhat limited gene pool of white British folk artists, often drawing on similar traditional roots. In this post-truth and (pre-Article 50) post-EU reali- ty, this seems more pressing than ever: a vital time to shine a positive light on a wide- range of cultural contributors to the UK music scene, highlighting just an iceberg-tip of some of those artists located throughout the British Isles.


Amaraterra


y relationship with the UK, my country, is fundamentally changing in light of this year’s events


FEU (Foreign Entertainer tax rules) and visa arrangements often rule out the finan- cial viability of bringing in artists from over- seas these days, but the UK is home to many immigrant communities, not only offering a rich tapestry of cultural experience but also some serious musical talent. These artists are just as easy and available to book as a folk club band from down the road.


What follows is an initial drive-by snap- shot of just some of the great diaspora acts on the doorstep, offering breadth and depth to any line-up, from solo virtuosi to dance-floor fillers; from community-based projects to full-time professionals; from workshop to masterclass leaders (always ask about workshop options!); from new faces to oft-forgotten mainstays of the UK music scene. [And you could do worse than revise the Looking For A New England 2: The Other Traditions CD which we gave you back in November 2010…Ed.]


Looking for an upbeat dancefloor experience?


Among the many benefits of multi- cultural Britain are the delicious possibilities in collaboration. Led by Giuliano Modarelli and Al McSween, Kefaya (meaning


‘enough’ in Arabic – referencing the grass- roots liberation movements which led to the ‘Arab Spring’ – are a distinctly 21st Century collective of immigrants, travellers and international artists. The “modular line-up” (anything from a nine-piece band to a scaled-down quartet, depending on the performance context) explore folk music from across the globe through collabora- tion, improvisation and live electronics. And the groove is immense. Infused with a strong sense of political consciousness, Kefaya’s eclectic range of influences leaps from electronic to Indian classical music, fla- menco, dub, Arabic music, jazz, Afghan folk and beyond, and they have already been dubbed as “one of the hottest acts on this summer’s festival circuit”.


Web site: kefaya.co.uk Booking: Sim Virdi mgmt@simvirdi.com Watch: youtu.be/wND8BhedGzQ


Previously featured in these pages,


Amaraterra are real mood-lifters. Serving up a joyful Dionysian mix of folk music and dance (“to be served preferably with liberal amounts of red wine!”), the massed ranks of the band draw on the musical traditions of the south of Italy, especially Salento. The band proved a great hit at last year’s WOMAD, including an energetic concert performance as well as a pizzica dance work- shop and a presentation on Puglian cuisine. Since their inception five years ago, Ama- raterra have grown into a multi-national ensemble, adapting to a vibrant, cosmopoli- tan city music scene without weakening the links to its exciting traditional musical roots.


Web site: amaraterra.co.uk Booking: info@amaraterra.co.uk Watch: youtu.be/Z44_yFy_2dk


Also capital-based, Don Kipper are equally adept at taking an intimate audi- ence on a musical journey through Europe as they are taking their feet on a frantic journey around the dance floor. The seven- piece ensemble plays a wide range of tradi- tional musical forms reflecting the cultural diversity of north east London, from Turkish and Greek folk music to Romani music and klezmer. “From childhood obsessions with klezmer, song collecting around the Mediterranean, wild Scottish ceilidhs, grooving Senegalese mbalax, the propulsive beat of the Samba bateria, and late night jazz jam sessions in Dalston, we bring our potted histories and inquisitive minds to the traditional music of Southern and Eastern Europe that we love, study and perform.”


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