Womad Earth Station @ BelairNational Park (21-23/10/11)

Tue 25th Oct, 2011 in Gig Reviews

“Gasp! A second WOMADelaide?” you may have exclaimed upon hearing news of Womad Earth Station. Yes, they do look alike, they smell similar, and they’re even populated by the same crowd – but Earth Station is no WOMADelaide.

For one, Earth Station is in an even better location than WOMADelaide. Belair National Park is a beautiful place for an environmental festival, particularly when strewn with fairy lights and flags and inundated with galahs and rainbow lorikeets. The teal and purple stage lights created a magical forested feel that Botanic Park could never rival. For two, Earth Station offers camping facilities where WOMADelaide eventually makes you go home.

But it is foolish to compare the two events, for WOMAD is a musical and gastronomical extravaganza with over 200 musical acts, while Earth Station is more of a sustainability conference with a few (19 to be precise) musical acts thrown in for light relief. The confused intent of the event was distracting, but both the performances and presentations were received well by the crowd and I heard nothing but positivity in response to this mixed-bag festival.

As I wandered into Earth Station (after a short shuttle bus ride to Long Gully at the top of the park) I was greeted by WOMAD founder, and offbeat musician, Peter Gabriel addressing an almost non-existent crowd via video conference. What a way to start the weekend! A small crowd was to be expected for a brand new event, and it grew bigger and happier day by day.

The first night was not exactly jam-packed full of performances, but lack of quantity does not mean lack of quality. Vika and Linda Bull delivered some powerful singing in their instantly recognisable voices. With only one musical act on at any time, it was not surprising they drew a large crowd but their funked up soul music kept the people enthralled and wanting more (which they got in an encore performance on Saturday due to kora player *Toumani Diabaté*’s last minute cancellation). The sisters’ shone brightest on the more Tongan-inspired tracks.

As this event was specifically not a music festival, but a festival of arts and ideas, I made sure to take in some talks. Professor Mike Sandiford introduced the idea of a new human-influenced geological time period in his talk titled Welcome to the ‘Anthropocene’: Humans as Geological Agents. Sandiford’s talk served as an introduction to the idea of humans changing the planet and startled the crowd with such predictions as humans using the energy equivalence of 31 Hiroshima bombs per year by the end of the century.

Luckily the Kronos Quartet followed this news with a calming and quiet performance titled Sun Rings. Commissioned by NASA and composed by Terry Riley, this minimalist work saw the San Franciscan quartet playing along to footage and sound recordings of space. As it turns out, a viola, two violins and a cello lend themselves well to spooky space-scapes. The music by itself would have been a little boring but as a whole the show was very captivating and moving, emphasising the loneliness of space and the power of nature. The Adelaide Chamber Singers joined in on some of the movements, mostly adding to the drama of the piece, but occasionally seeming out of place. The quartet sat amongst lights of various heights, which only added to the galactic feel. Perhaps this would have been better received by a classical music crowd, as silence would have made getting lost in the atmospherics a little easier.

DJ Rautie’s set was another that possibly suffered from an inappropriate location – he performed in a tent to rows upon rows of seated audience members. His stellar music choices included funk and cumbia styles, but the terrible projected visualiser and strange atmosphere made it hard to enjoy.

The second day of Earth Station was even more promising than the first, with *The Yearlings*’ driving acoustic rhythms being heard throughout the park. As they played, Parks SA put on a fashion parade of… t-shirts? Yes, that’s right. The winning designs of their Art of Nature t-shirt competition were paraded in the market section of the festival site, followed closely by a talk on ethical clothing production.

Despite the environmental subject matter, Earth Station was anything but one-note. Bands played as sustainability talks were presented, while kids learned about the wildlife at Cleland and others monitored bats. The only downside to the schedule was the lack of musical choice.

Another downside was the sparse crowd. Shanghai Chinese Orchestra and pipa player Wu Man performed to maybe 100 people early on Saturday afternoon, when their skill and musical grace deserved a much bigger audience. That said, the small crowd was rather apt for the subtlety and delicacy of their music. The six orchestra members and Wu Man opened our eyes to the world of classical Chinese music, ranging from ancient delicate ballads to lively energetic dances. The speed and volume control of the bamboo flutist was truly impressive, and the orchestra’s passion was evident in their energetic performances. Slight Middle Eastern influences were noticeable in the final song – possibly due to their Western Chinese origin.

New Zealand-based act Pacific Curls bridged the gap between Scotland and the Pacific with their very Celtic music. The combination of Maori and English vocals with Scottish fiddle was an interestingly pleasant one, but the fiddle ended up being the star. Iwantja was another surprising band, having an overwhelmingly 80s sound but from an Aboriginal perspective. Despite their origins as a school band in the APY lands in central Australia, Iwantja sound an awful lot like The Police. This band’s performance also brought out the dance-happy crowd you would expect at a WOMAD event. Jeremy Whiskey was impressive on guitar, and *Steven Brumby*’s slap bass on party song We’re Gonna Party was a particularly funky highlight. Amazingly, vocalist Stuart Gaykamangu managed to sing about the white influence on his land in a pleasing and soothing way. At times, however, the delicate subject matter didn’t seem coherent with the simplistic rock style.

For a completely different sound, I caught Wu Man’s solo act in the evening. Wu Man is obviously a master of her craft – the pipa – a four-stringed lute-like Chinese instrument. Unlike most classical musicians, she played without sheet music, instead feeling the music and moving along with it. She easily combined rapid fire strumming with frail plucking, all while keeping a look of calm on her face. The “meditation style” traditional music was awe-inspiring but the real delight was watching Wu Man’s passion for her art.

The final day was even warmer and hosted a bigger crowd than the previous two days – a sign that the next Earth Station can only be bigger and better perhaps? Or maybe people just wanted a squiz at Cate Blanchett.

The day began with another Kronos Quartet performance, this time accompanied by ‘friends’, i.e. pipa pro Wu Man. This dramatic pairing created a whirlwind of strings, which was enthusiastically received by the crowd. The quintet created interesting soundscapes with the addition of a bass drum, and even sounded like a spaghetti Western score at one point (or noodle Western to be more precise). Having seen Wu Man and the Kronos Quartet play in other performances over the weekend, I have to say that this was my favourite combination.

Next up was The Catholics – a 7-piece group of Australian musicians with a jazz background. Their jazzy origins were obvious, even amongst the other funky beats and Afrobeat-like grooves. The danceable, contemporary tunes really suited the setting and even inspired a few people to get up and start moving to the music (not a familiar sight at this particular festival). Some songs lacked a little structure, but overall the punchy horn section and double percussion ensured a delightfully strong and experimental sound.

Other highlights of the day included the Emma Donovan Band, who charmed the crowd with her blend of reggae and gospel music. She was a very endearing performer, and it was hard to not be impressed by her powerful soul voice and her songs about family and the stolen generation. Paris Wells was another performer with a rich voice and soul styling. Looking like Janelle Monae in a bouffant and suit, she sassily sang her way through her set as her band thrashed their instruments. The music was full of energy, but the voice didn’t quite match the quality of the band at times.

The best act of the weekend by far was the Congo sextet Konono No. 1. If success is measured by dancers in the audience, then they were definitely the most successful band at Earth Station. Amazing the crowd with the otherworldly synth sounds made by their amped up likembes (traditional thumb pianos) they created a wall of sound that permeated the dancing throngs. Despite all of their songs sounding pretty much the same, their set flew by in a mix of relentless driving rhythms and call-and-response vocals.

Swedish soloist The Tallest Man on Earth and self proclaimed “hillbilly hipster” Rickie Lee Jones both delivered heartfelt intimate performances to their respective audiences. The former played muted folk music to a packed crowd, while the latter let her emotion show in her raw and sparse set.

I ended Sunday with a final round of talks – a comedic look at climate change (yes it is possible) with Rod Quantock in Bugger the Polar Bears; This is Serious, and a last look at solutions to a warming planet in ‘What is to be Done?’, hosted by ABC Radio National science man Robyn Williams. Comedian Quantock presented some pertinent facts in a humorous way, which was more than welcome after three days of scientists revealing the depressing reality of our planet’s current situation. Williams led a panel of climate change experts including Roy Neel who was chief of staff for Al Gore, and former Head of the Australian Conservation Foundation Phillip Toyne. It was good to hear a mixed Australian and American perspective on the future of the planet.

After loading my head with environmental information and beautiful music for three days straight it was time to shuttle it out of there. Earth Station year one was definitely more of a success than failure, although there’s always room to improve. Hopefully WOMAD decide to keep it going and make it bigger and better as it, and the planet, progress into the unknown future.