A special focus this year on music from Africa. To visit the small but fine Festival “Le Guess Who?” in Utrecht.
a Small Festival in Utrecht: Le Guess Who? Photo: Juri Hiensch/Le Guess Who?
In the early years, the, established in 2007, the Festival Le Guess Who it was? in the Dutch city of Utrecht, a kind of indie rock event, with ambitionierterem than a lot of other events of this kind. In the course of time, the Team moved to the festival’s founder, Johan Gijsen and Bob van Heur the focus on an international orientation, with under-represented musicians from almost all corners of the planet.
“With over seven billion people in the world the music we hear is only a snippet of what exists out there. This is the instinct that allows us to continue to dig,“ tweeted the festival organisers after last year’s edition. This “One World”-Spirit was also in the program of Le Guess Who? 2019 again.
was A particular focus this year on music from Africa, which is due to the presence of African music in euro-American pop municipality, counting some for well over ten years – with a flood of re-releases and hybrids of Pop and club sounds – almost a step in the direction of the Mainstream.
So, Fatoumata Diawara, Grammy belonged-nominated world music Diva from Mali, are also more likely not to be the marginal vote, which the Le Guess Who? (the question mark in the title suggests already the idea of the surprising discovery) in the first line of attention to give. As almost a cathartic “Feel good”statements according to this year’s extensive program also Diawaras Show worked but in the Great hall of the Main venue Tivoli Vredenburg. Musically not offered here more as a solid Afropop, who lived but from the rousing Performance of the singer.
Among other things, with the appearance of the Ethio-Groove legend, Ayalew Mesfin, the Festival was up to its reputation as a platform for the West unknown music legends meet. The singer and founder of canlı bahis siteleri the Black Lion Band was during the Derg-regime in the prison, and had imposed a ban, let his music but continues in the subsurface to circulate. In his euphoric Show in the knack, full Ronda-room was of a good 70-Year-old will not take two Times the Betticket entire Auditorium including the balcony, to walk through. That he mistook up to the end of Utrecht with Amsterdam, took the audience with a sense of Humor.
In contrast, the concert of the Dur Dur Band International from Somalia in the Great hall, a completely unglamorous event. A master of ceremonies said the Songs of the nine-piece funk band that filled in the 70s in Mogadishu stadiums. Singer and singer competing almost to the stage presence, it seemed a bit of a wrong running of the family constellation.
music from Africa, and occurs also with a political claim, showed the FOKN Bois from Ghana in the Club area of fine dining restaurant LE:EN, one of the many satellite locations of the Le Guess Who?. The Trio calls its Sound “Gospel Porn Rap”, which could also stand for hiding Subversiveness. The Band criticized Ghana’s LGTB laws as coined from the English colonial period and turn in your charity to the skewer: Recently you have started to collect money for the poor and needy in the United States.
Similar to the FOKN Bois also Octavia Mendoza aka La Bruja de Texcoco Mexico plays in your Performance with sexual identities. Their music alternates between the folk of their homeland, and jazz approaches with the sacred singing. Mendoza, himself a transsexual, sings and commented on, while switches with a hand mirror on stage, the Costume of her massive body. A Performance between Baroque Oppulenz and rasselndem shamanism.
La Bruyas music was recognized in the program booklet as a “Hidden Music”, a fitting name for the festival motto “Representing the Underrepresented”, it’s supposed to go, by definition, not counter-culture, but an extension of one’s own perspective. Also the wonderful music presentation by the author Christopher C. King on the Folk Tradition in Epirus belonged to a border region between Greece and Albania. “I have never seen such a Packed Church, I feel like a priest,” joked King, after he had been placed in the Jakobi Church, the striking Similarity between the magical-sad drone music from Epirus, also in the 1920s, recorded American Blues classics open.
