Issue 81 / September 2017

ROUND UP
A selection of the best of the
rest from another busy month of
live action on Merseyside.
Liverpool Arabic Arts Festival
Various Venues – 15/07-16/07
The 16th LIVERPOOL ARABIC ARTS FESTIVAL once again
brings to the city a week-long multimedia extravaganza of
cultural diversity. Contemporary dance, storytelling, food trails,
live artworks, photography and much music are just some of the
delights on offer.
I catch up with the festival at the World Museum where,
on Saturday afternoon, the LONDON SYRIAN ENSEMBLE
is assembled in the foyer for one of several performances.
Identifiable instruments (violin, viola, double bass) sit with an
exotic mixture of woodwind (a ney, wooden flute), string (qanun
and oud) and percussion. An initially small crowd is bolstered by
those entering and exiting the museum, drawn by the rhythmic,
vibrant percussion and bass, airy, spiralling ney and the delicate
rills of the strings. They are joined by singer OSAMA KIWAN
(Damon Albarn collaborator and one of many Syrian musicians
currently based in UK exile), the clarity and richness of his
singing drawing the crowd closer. It would be easy to fall into
cliché, to evoke the minarets, shifting sands, caravanserai, oases
and other mirages of popular culture – but Kiwan’s voice hints at
a more universal expression of love and loss, togetherness and
separation that the songs of his native Damascus must evoke
for him.
Up in the Egyptology section of the museum, a troupe of
dancers begin to move slowly amongst the shadows, their
movements considered, cautious, meditative. The five dancers
are part of the JOON DANCE collective, an ongoing project
which is the brainchild of choreographer Zosia Jo who regularly
flits between Pembrokeshire and Cairo to breathe life into
developmental community dance projects. The dancers are
all Egyptian, the piece Ancient Modernity exploring the links
between ancient and modern Egypt, and before long the dancers
have exploded into life, breaking down the barriers imposed by
identity, nation, sexuality, extremism and coming together in
eddies of whirling motion or statuesque beauty. The dancers, and
a continually growing crowd, move through the gallery utilising
Liverpool Arabic Arts Festival (Glyn Akroyd)
a variety of settings to startling effect. A tender and moving duet
evokes the Goddess Isis before a gymnastic mix of martial arts
and break dancing brings the piece to a vibrant conclusion. Paul
White’s Shaker Notes soundtrack provides both impetus and
space for the dancers’ interpretation, the perfect mix of beats and
the traditional for this superbly realised piece. The applause is
rightly sustained.
Sunday in the Palm House, and the previous day’s crowds
of inquisitive passers-by are replaced by a vibrant, here-tocelebrate
group of aficionados. A small child in a vivid red dress
whirls around to the music in a world of her own and, throughout
the afternoon, it is striking and refreshing to see how captivated
children of a very young age are, clapping and moving to the
sounds, mimicking without reserve the dance steps of their
elders. The Palm House is packed, the heat intense, orchids and
other exotica in full bloom, the air heady with their scent, the
crowd alternately fanning themselves, lulled by the honeyed
tones of singer REHAM AL HAKIMI, or clapping along to the
boisterous Yemeni folk of the AL WADHEL BAND.
Outside, the craft and food stalls are doing good business
as people circle the Palm House in the sunshine. REEM KELANI
whips the crowd up with a stirring Palestinian anthem before
headliner ALSARAH AND THE NUBATONES hit the stage. A
fairly minimalist line-up (oud, bass, percussion) backs Alsarah
and support vocalist Nahid to potent effect, and in no time the
dancefloor is once again populated with swirling, dazzlinglyattired
revellers of all ages. The Nubatones’ brand of east African
retro-pop marries modern beats and grooves to traditional
arrangements, and Alsarah and Nahid’s soulful, rich delivery
connects instantly with the audience. A skanky oud intro and
dubby bassline has the elderly gentleman sitting next to me,
previously outwardly unmoved, tapping his cane on the tiles
– a gentle seal of approval, an all-inclusive counterpoint to the
generally boisterous atmosphere.
Alsarah’s set ends with a lovely vocal fading slowly away
leaving just the handclaps of the crowd, a fitting end to an
afternoon and a festival that has highlighted variety, virtuosity
and community.
Glyn Akroyd / @GlynAkroyd
The Caledonia is quietly busy as Kieran Donnachie steps
inside, American state flags draped across the walls and
bunting framing the pub inside and out. August is the month
of Americana over at The Cale, and they throw themselves
into it. Scottish-American relations are in a rocky place, Trump
leaving an even sourer taste than usual due to his unfortunate
familial links and golf courses. But tonight it’s all brushed
under the carpet, as we’ve got some music to open the annual
Americana Festival.
Headliner HANNAH ALDRIDGE pushes off from the bar
and heads to the stage, launching into the kind of catchy
pop country music that I’d imagine pervades the air of her
home state of Alabama. Drawing from her records Razor
Wire and Gold Rush, Aldridge’s songs evoke the personal,
almost spoken word lyrics of Sun Kil Moon and Mount Eerie,
through a prism of that borderline corporate country music
that’s produced en masse in the US. It’s the dark underbelly of
America that glistens though, as the audience is transfixed.
Down at the Capstone Theatre, Glyn Akroyd is witnessing
a new genre of Indian music that defies labels, expectations
and traditions. Last year, Milapfest’s Indika Festival of Indian
Music and Dance saw the inaugural performance of TARANG,
a musical project forged from traditional fires and seeking
to take Indian music into more contemporary territory. They
must have enjoyed the challenge as, one year down the line
from that inaugural set, Tarang return to the ever-welcoming
surrounds of the Capstone to premiere their first album,
Undone.
Enjoying a challenge and rising to it are two different
things but it doesn’t take long to realise that Tarang have
embraced the concept wholeheartedly. The multiple
percussion instruments give such a variety of sounds, from the
deepest bass notes of the mridangam to the snappy chime
of the finger cymbals, and you are left with the feeling that
the four percussionists (Gobi Varatha, Janarthan Sivarupan,
Mithushan Sivagurunathar and Sanjuran Keerthikumar) could
turn the dullest base metal into polyrhythmic gold.
There’s a strong turnout in the cramped brick basement
of The Shipping Forecast as Michael Sutton is present
for the launch of PSYCHO COMEDY’s new dual singles,
The Hangman and Michigan State. There’s a celebratory
atmosphere inside The Hold, for what seems like an important
moment in the brief history of this emerging band. Rangy
frontman Shaun Powell commands the stage throughout,
embodying the clear chemistry of the group, all five
instruments blending together perfectly amid the occasional
shriek from Powell. Sometimes it feels like bands are just
playing through the songs as if rehearsing, but not so with
Psycho Comedy – they are vigour personified.
Full reviews of all these shows can be found now at
bidolito.co.uk.
Tarang (Glyn Akroyd)
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