Womad New Zealand 2007 Brief Artist Biographies

Womad New Zealand 2007 January Release – Brief Artist Biographies

Bill Cobham (USA)

Only a few times in history has a musician been singled out as the world class master of his instrument – legendary drummer Bill Cobham is one of those few artists.

With matchless dazzling, ambidextrous skills as a drummer, Cobham has received international acclaim for more than 30 years.

At the forefront of the electronic music industry and its development through jazz, Bill Cobham made his stage debut aged eight years and went on to study under renowned talents including Thelonius Monk and Stan Getz.

He has performed on hundreds of records with his own groups and with luminary artists including Miles Davis, Michael Brecker and Peter Gabriel, including a collaboration on the soundtrack for Martin Scorsese’s controversial film The Last Temptation of Christ.

His trademark big, fast explosive drumming has energised international stages throughout the United States and Europe and is guaranteed to drum up more of the same at WOMAD 2007!

Bill Cobham’s appearances at WOMAD New Zealand 2007 will include performance, a masterclass and he is the musical director for the popular All Star Gala.

dDub (New Zealand)

Combining authentic roots styles with a contemporary approach to creating conscious music, dDub have developed a sound free from digital, and modern in production. Renowned for their 'cranking and skanking' live shows, the band never fails to connect with the crowd and they have become firm favourites at many nationwide outdoor festivals, sharing stages with other high profile acts including Fat Freddy’s Drop, Salmonella Dub, Cornerstone Roots, The Black Seeds, Katchafire and Kora.

dDub draws its musical influences from the heart of rock, roots, reggae, and dub, resulting in a fusion of flavours distinctly dDub in sound and style.

Their critically-acclaimed album Awake At Dawn is jam packed full of tunes that gets the body moving before you even realise you’ve left your seat, and there’s no doubt that their set at WOMAD 2007 will do the same!

Ensemble Shanbehzadeh (Iran)

Delighting audiences Iran, Europe and North America with its rhythms and subtle melodies, Ensemble Shanbahzadeh features traditional music from Bushehr, Iran and demonstrates that Iranian music is more than a mix of the mystical and the melancholic – it’s also an invitation to let go and celebrate.

The group is an astounding amalgam of the traditions of Persians, Arabs, Indians, and Africans who met centuries ago at cultural crossroads in the south of Iran. This diversity is the result of a richness of traditions, where music plays a vital part in all aspects of the life.

Appearing at WOMAD New Zealand 2007 is the ensemble’s director Saeid Shanbehzadeh and his son Naghib Shanbehzadeh. Saeid Shanbehzadeh is a showman par excellence, swirling across the stage as he falls into a state of trance. He and Naghib, who plays the traditional percussion of southern Iran, will perform the music of Bushehr, Iran, including wedding music, love songs and religious pieces with moods ranging from celebration to meditation and trance-inducing rhythms.

Fabio Robles and Ana Andre (Australia)

Fabio Robles and Ana Andre are recognised as the foremost exponents of Argentinian tango in Australasia.

Fabio arrived in Australia in 1981 having already attained the prestigious qualification of Maestro Superior de Danzas Folkloricas and was a registered dance teacher in Argentina – he was 14 years old.

Recognised internationally as a virtuoso dancer of Malambo, Fabio pioneered Latin American dance in Australia and has achieved recognition as an outstanding choreographer and director specialising in Latin American culture. Fabio is an original cast member of the international hit musical Dirty Dancing as a dancer, singer and choreographer.

Ana Andre studied calesthenics, modern dance, jazz, and martial arts, before combining her talents in Latin American dance. She began her training with Fabio Robles and now teaches and manages at his Back to Back Australia Latin American Performing Arts Studio. Fabio and Ana have been dancing tango together since 2002.

Fabio and Ana will conduct three workshops at WOMAD 2007 to have everyone up doing the tango.

Huun Huur Tu (Tuva – Russian Republic)

Best known for their traditional throat singing, Huun Huur Tu has emerged as the foremost international representative of Tuva's remarkable musical culture and have performed at concerts and festivals in nearly every country in Europe.

Their music is intimately tied to a sense of place and the Tuvan pastoralists' keen perception of natural landscapes and soundscapes shapes their music. The Tuvans, a south Siberian Turkic people who number some 150,000, preserve what are arguably some of the world's oldest forms of music-making.

They not only transform the sounds of the natural world into music through imitation; they also make sonic "maps" of physical landscapes which may be expressed through throat-singing, whistling, or other types of vocal production.

The Jonathan Crayford Project (New Zealand)

Playing piano in a bar in Manhattan, touring with an acid jazz band, arranging, composing and improvising – Jonathan Crayford’s music defies boundaries and definitions. For him performing is ‘a celebration of being alive’!

For WOMAD 2007, Jonathan presents new music with an emphasis on improvisation, melody and groove, bringing together a stellar line-up including Grammy nominees Jay Rodriguez and Chris Theberge, from New York's Groove Collective, former Trinity Roots engine room Riki Gooch and Rio Hemopo and singers Emma Paki and Lisa Tomlin.

Mr Scruff (United Kingdom)

British DJ, acid jazz musician and artist Mr Scruff has been DJing since 1994 and is know for his marathon sets (often exceeding six hours), his eclectic musical taste and his love of “a nice cup of tea”.

Mr Scruff’s love of music kicked off in the early 80’s whilst playing around with his father’s records and his first encounter with mixing came at the tender age of 12! Being exposed to a wide range of dance music at such an early age allowed him to hone his skills early on and he soon had success, playing alongside such artists as Roots Manuva and Tom Simba from Groove Armada.

Mr Scruff’s sound is a melting-pot of music genres, using elements of everything from blues, jazz, funk, and 60's R ‘n’ B, to disco, boogie, house, reggae, ska and rock-steady, to dancehall, electronica, hip hop, African, Latin, and drum & bass. With a toe-tapping rhythm that just won’t quit, there is sure to be something for everyone in his late night performances at WOMAD 2007!

La Compagnie des Quidams: Herbert’s Dream (France)

Draped in white clothes, Quidams’ long white willowy figures advance from the shadows. Seeming to materialise as if out of nowhere, they speak in the language of silences and slow gestures. They tentatively approach, then as quickly retreat until finally inviting you to follow them. Step by step the five characters are transformed into voluminous illuminations, four metres in height. Half-human and half-celestial they are deformed yet at the same time majestic, clumsy and ethereal as if hailing from another planet…

Since La Compagnie des Quidams’ creation in 1997, the hugely acclaimed outdoor performance company and its show Herbert’s Dream has appeared more than 400 times in Europe and all over the world. They performed at the World Cup in France in 1998 and at festivals in Edinburgh, New Caledonia, Spain, Switzerland and Holland.

Capital E: Spinning Mountain (New Zealand)

Produced by Wellington’s renowned children’s theatre company, Capital E through collaboration with leading Balinese artists, Spinning Mountain transports its audiences into the magic world of traditional Balinese creation myth.

This outstanding mystical theatre draws on the Balinese theatrical tradition of juxtaposing the sacred and the profane, the traditional and the contemporary. Enter the magical world of Mt Mandara, a fiery volcano whose sides glow with red embers and whose crater top is a dazzling source of brilliant light reaching all corners of the sky. It is an ancient world where dragons fly, giant turtles carry mountains on their backs, demons battle immortals and beautiful goddesses rise from the sea.

An exciting journey into traditional Balinese mythology will enthral children and take adults on a journey back to the good old days when make-believe adventures were a daily ritual!

Spinning Mountain is directed by Peter Wilson, with music composed by leading New Zealand composer Gareth Farr and Balinese composer I Wayan Gde Yudane, libretto by distinguished Balinese poet and author Ketut Yuliarsa and puppetry directed by Balinese puppeteer Kadek Budi Setiawan.

Spinning Mountain has its world premiere performance at WOMAD New Zealand 2007.

WETR (Lifou Islands)

Lifou Islands’ group WETR uses traditional Kanak dance to link past and present, bringing a living expression of culture with pride in its roots and melding the visible and hidden worlds.

Since its creation in 1992, WETR has studied traditional dances and little by little the elders of each tribe from the Wetr district have revived the legends and dances from the past. These dances celebrate everyday life or tell past stories and myths.

WETR dances are much more than a picture sequence and incorporate all elements of choreography - light show, costumes and direction. New steps and ancient gestures are performed together.

The magical movement and sound of the Lifou men and women result has been appreciated by audiences throughout the South Pacific, Europe, Singapore and the United States.

ENDS

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