Review: Go Lem System, The Empire Hall, Grafham. Saturday 31 March

'Roots Around the World' recognise Graffham as a special spot on the map. Luckily their devotion to the job of bringing sounds from around the world right to our doorsteps means that many interesting and talented musicians are also happy to venture into the wilds of West Sussex for a very good party.

On Saturday evening it was the turn of Argentinean-Spanish Go Lem System. The six-piece band, based in Barcelona, immediately splashed into a landscape of sounds and blasted a very receptive crowd with a good danceable mix of reggae, Iberian rock/ska, and dub grooves. With a drenching horn section cranking up the Catalan temperature they soon had us all bouncing on the balls of our feet. Go Lem's music has been described as 'Trip Songs in Dub'; whatever, their Caribbean rhythm version of Eleanor Rigby sung with a Spanish chorus confirms "Mestizo" or Iberian new wave as a fusion to move to. Father figure of the patchanka, or party sound Manu Chao played on and produced several of the tracks on the bands debut album 'Viaje' and has contributed to their latest 'Caceria' which was released last July.

Marilyn Pannett

Doug MacLeod - Havant Arts Centre, Friday 16 March 2007

Hello Mark,

I just wanted to take the opportunity to say thanks for a fantastically entertaining Friday evening. I was there to review Doug for Blues Matters magazine, at the request of a friend (the photographer Justin Parry) and I really enjoyed myself, not only was the music very good, but the opportunities I had to chat with Doug were great fun too. He really is a fascinating person!


Thanks again,
Matt Merritt

Review below

Doug MacLeod, 16th March 2007. Havant Arts Centre.
Review for Blues Matters

It starts off like an animal growl. A low, bassy Johnny Cash drawl, smooth as bourbon. It rises to a high, ringing, falsetto. But it never ceases to grip you.

Doug MacLeod's voice tells of a life that has experienced highs and lows and seen them all odd with a smile.

Opening with Ain't Gonna Take My Blues (There's only two things that you can't do. Can't walk where I walk, you ain't never gonna take my blues), and then upping the rhythm with I Want You.

Between numbers the audience get a little bit of insight into his songs and song writing, a story, or perhaps a pearl of wisdom gleamed from the trials and tribulations of Doug's own life from the man who is as much a raconteur as musician. But what a musician, when he gets into the groove of a song, his head tilted back and eyes shut as the music takes him on a personal journey. His left hand rushes up and down the fret board in impressive displays of slide guitar work while the right thrashes out furious rhythms and his feet ceaselessly tap out the beat.

Up next he launches into Big City Woman, a modern take on, as Doug puts it "One of those old, R.L. Burnside style, country Blues numbers". It's another example of one of the true joys of seeing this man live, he is in as much doubt as the audience as to which song will be next, sometimes even stopping himself in mid sentence to let you know which number he's decided to play and then tell you that "It's gonna sound exactly like this". He tells you of his life, stories ranging from his time as a young man in Virginia,
spending nights in the pine forests learning from aging blues men like Ernest Banks, and spending lazy days in LA on the porch of his good friend George 'Harmonica' Smith, swapping stories and drinking beer.

It was on one of those lazy days in California that he heard the story that would later become Horse With No Rider, an atmospheric number with some bottle neck slide that races faster than the horse itself. Telling the story of a village in rural Mississippi plagued by a riderless horse who would swoop into the4 village in the dark of night and bear some poor unfortunate off to be it's next rider, the song drags you into the heart of the story, conveying the anticipation, the fear and the grief of this illusionary
world in a way that too few musicians care to grip their audience.

The undoubted highlight of the set, for those members of the audience whose feet kept up an involuntary tapping was the excellent She Boogie, a paean to days when women wore their hair tall and their skirts short! The song
chugs along slapping a grin on the face and generally making people shake in a way eerily reminiscent of Louis Jordan at his best.

This is a man who truly lives the blues, breathes it out with every utterance and most of all, cherishes it. When you walk out of his show you can't help feeling just a little of that passion burning inside you too, and that, after all, is why you're there, isn't it?

Matt Merritt

'Celtic Footprint', Chichester Festival Theatre on Thursday 2 November.

Just to say that my parents my partner and I attended the show last
night and thoroughly enjoyed it. It was definitely the best thing we have
seen in a long time, superb performances from all the artists. We hope it will go on a national tour - we will definitely be there to see them if it does.
Our thanks to all the performers and the organisers. Next year on
August 14 it is my 50th birthday and it would be really good to go to such a gig then.

Thanks again
Jane Jones

Review of Costo Rico (Spain) at Graffham's Empire Hall.

Travelling north-west from Littlehampton through a truly spectacular Sussex landscape on a July evening could almost be reward enough; but last Thursday evening we found ourselves appreciating the experience as a bonus on our way to Graffham's Empire Hall to see Costo Rico.
This young, energetic wonderfully playful group of 9 musicians had originally been programmed to play in February but they had suffered a road accident on their way to Sussex and had to cancel. But kicking off on their journey from Barcelona on Wednesday morning to play the gig as part of the Petworth Festival (in association with Roots Around the World) showed their wish honour their commitment to their audience. When Costo Rico arrive, they bring the party with them! Trying to define the Costo Rico sound is like trying to describe the colour of water. Their music has been described as a sound falling somewhere between Rumba and Reggae with Latin American roots. But that doesn't account for the wah-whapping guitars, the beefy brass, and the frenetic circus vibes, not to mention the didgeridoo accompaniment to the encore hand-clapping - what inspiration! Such are the high standard of world music bands offered by our own world music connoisseur, Mark Ringwood. Future concerts at The Empire Hall include Angolan superstar Bonga in October, and Senagelese band leader Nuru Kane and his band Bayefall Gnawa, in November.

Marilyn Pannett

Hi Mark, just wanted to send a quick email to say how brilliant Roots is. Me and my other half have just moved over to Littlehampton, and are tied up in DIY, but were really excited to hear about Ford and Yapton being host to some Irish music – with my other half being Irish this was really exciting, so we will try to be there for the 2nd Lunasa concert. And of course, a big thank you for all the help you give us too with promoting various things across the region.

So thank you!

Take care, Floor

Hello

Many thanks for all the work you do to bring Roots music to us. The Gathering and Debby McLatchy was outstanding - particularly Debby. I hope you can persuade her to return some time. And Aly Bain/Phil Cunningham was all I was told it would be. When I told my wife I was going to see a violin and accordian duo - she gave me one of those "there's no hope" looks. But brilliant - just brilliant.

many thanks

Geoff Farrell

Re: Aly Bain & Phil Cunningham at Walberton Village Hall, Nr Arundel

Mark/Sue
Great evening last night, and our friends thoroughly enjoyed it. As
Aly said..a really good venue with good acoustics...this will be a
contender for live gig of the year if Charlie Gillett requests listeners to nominate at Christmas.

Frank Griffin

Samba Mapangala & Orchestra Virunga at Graffham on 23rd March

'How many people in their right minds will ever travel out to the middle of a forest like this to see us!' was what the members of the nine-piece Samba Mapangala band thought as they journeyed deep into the Sussex countryside towards Graffham. 'Plenty' was the answer thanks to the efforts of the Roots around the World team; in fact a full house awaited them. Tables and chairs were cleared to allow space for serious celebration to take place in what has become a surprisingly important venue on the world music circuit.

Samba Mapangala & Orchestra Virunga (named after the Virunga volcanoes) who offer an irresistible mix of rumba and soukous from Congo are touring UK for the first time in 7 years. The collaboration of such quality musicians is rich and exciting. They create a full sound woven with ringing guitars, charged with exuberant saxophone wrapped with sweet voice harmonies and driven with the irrepressible rhythm of East Africa.

Whether we live amongst urban jungle or rustic forest we all need a good party to shake away the debris of a long, cold winter.

Phil Cunningham & Aly Bain at Walberton Village Hall on 25th March

Now, as a complete contrast Roots around the World brought Phil Cunningham (Accordion) and Aly Bain (Fiddle) two of Scotland's most loved and best known traditional musicians to Walberton Village Hall. With an atmosphere of warmth and humour they beguiled a packed house with their extraordinary combined musical talents and wit. Their playing is unique, driving, impassioned and pure and their attitude is irreverent and captivating.

Both Aly and Phil are recipients of the MBE for services to music. The calibre and breadth of the musicians that are brought to Sussex by the Roots programme are a constant source of amazement and joy.

Marilyn Pannett

Just a note of thanks to you for such a wonderful evening with Dochas on Sunday. It was so enjoyable! Hope you can manage to book them again some time in the future.

Now looking forward to Ali Bain and Phil Cunningham.

Best regards

David

REVIEW

Yo Yo Mundi played the University of Chichester

Roots Around the World really must again be applauded; not for a commercially successful event because on this occasion the entertainers' entourage numbered higher than those sitting in the audience. But when it comes to offering the public something profoundly different they, metaphorically, are scooping the awards.

On this occasion an audacious multi-media performance was brought to the Showroom at the University of Chichester on Thursday evening, 9th February. Yo Yo Mundi, a six-piece band from Northern Italy were commissioned in 1994 by the International Silent Cinema Festival in Rome to compose and record a new score to Strike, one of the first major films made in 1925 by Sergey Mikhaylovich Eisenstein. Eisenstein, a Soviet motion-picture director and theorist who experimented with editing the visual image to create a new form of cinema or montage, which cuts apparently unrelated images to create dynamic shifts in rhythm.

Yo Yo Mundi's soundtrack is alive with a sense of passion and resistance, true political pop. The sound is somewhere in between folk and rock and ranges from subtle acoustic sounds to sudden electric bursts which escalates into an almost Madness tempo.

Since the band debuted Sciopero in London in 2004 they have continued their commitment to the format of silent cinema interacting with live performance music to over 1000 gigs in Europe and as far afield as Malaysia………and Chichester!

Marilyn Pannett

REVIEW

RIchard Thompson at Chichester Festival Theatre

Richard Thompson, a true icon of English contemporary music opened his 2006 tour last week at Chichester Festival Theatre to a particularly enthusiastic audience.

Raconteur and rock-folk grand-daddy Richard Thompson plays his own music with energy and aplomb. Half artist and half hell-raiser, Thompson toe-tapped the pick-up controls on the guitar and we lurched into a locomotive sound of virtuoso acoustic melody with a back-beat rhythm of such richness and complexity that it was hard to believe that all that sound came from one musician.

There had been some speculation that the legendary bass player Danny Thompson (no relation) would not have recovered from his recent serious illness in order to play the tour. But doctors gave him the all-clear and the charismatic sideman known for his witty asides and poignant comments was there in full power.

Former Fairport Convention member, Richard explored past favourites, Crazy Man Michael was as beautiful as ever. He also gave us such gems as Miss Patsy and For Who's Sake from his new CD Front Parlour Ballads . His first solo acoustic record in twenty-five years has been universally greeted as a triumph.

Support artist American singer-songwriter Jeb Loy Nichols played the first set. He delivered a diverse set of sounds from restrained funk blues to sweet and mellow tunes in a minor key. His honey-rich voice delighted the senses with such lyrics as: If you ever feel like leaving, take me with you.

Richard Thompson will receive a Lifetime Achievement Award and be one of the performers at the 2006 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards.

Marilyn Pannett

Thanks again , Chris & Micky Janman.

REVIEW - Chichester Observer

Kissmet, Fittleworth Village Hall

Roots Around the World pulled off a coup when they managed to book Kissmet for their Christmas party at Fittleworth and closed the 2005 programme with a bang - or should we say bhangra!

A full house of willing Sussex folk braved the fog and the cold to share a special experience with six talented musicains.

Kissmet is fronted by Ron and his younger brother Buz Singh, two Sikh brothers from Peterborough who have succeeded in mixing and fusing this traditional sound with rock reggae and funk.

The resulting sound just will not let you stand still.

Bhangra is traditional folk music from humble beginnings in the North Indian Punjab regions.

There the music, driven by the exciting rhythm of the dhol drum, was used to encourage everyone to work together to bring the harvest home.

The Singh brothers create a most exciting irreverent and heady cocktail by taking the best of their own roots and mixing the sound with diverse inspiration as Led Zeppelin's 'A whole Lotta Love' or the theme tune to 'Starsky and Hutch'.

These radical guys really enjoy themselves and their sense of fun and celebration is utterly contagious.

REVIEW

Bollywood Brass Band at Minerva Theatre

A lot of us want to enjoy World travel that doesn't cost the earth and doesn't wreck us with symptoms of jet lag. Luckily the Roots around the World team are devoted to giving us just what we want. We get the chance to step into another culture, broaden our musical horizons and feast our minds on the treasures and experiences of foreign shores. These come right to our doorsteps, with no need to arrive at the departures desk three hours before take-off.

The latest destination in the programme was Bombay, via Minerva Theatre, Chichester. The Bollywood Brass Band, Europe's first Indian wedding brass band played last Friday to an audience that were unable to stay in their seats. The prestigious nine-piece London-based group of Asian and English musicians base their sound on the Bollywood film epics. The sound is bold and energetic and tight enough to reflect the diversity of moods of this immensely popular genre. In brass section we heard saxes, trumpets, trombones and sousaphone, all whipped into an exciting tempo by the Indian dhol drum, snare and bass drums. The party mood was enhanced by Simmy Gupta, Bollywood dancer, who gave us some enchanting interpretations of film moves. Slices of video projections of major historical Bollywood films also really helped build an atmosphere of celebration and fun.

Marilyn Pannett

Re: Joana Amendoeira (Portugal) at Minerva Theatre 23.11.05

Went to the concert tonight in Chichester.
It was absolutely stunning!
Superb singer and musicians.
Thank you
Richard and Veronica Tildesley
Chichester,

In response to our email regarding the cancellation of The Angel Brothers and Bonga:

Gosh.,.. what a shame. I have been to two of your performances so far and must congratulate you on all this. I think the programme you put on is tremendous. Well worth the trip from Esher, Surrey.

Congrats


John

Dear Roots,
Thanks again for putting on the wonderful Eliza Gilkyson. Hope she keeps her word and comes over again next year. Jeff Plankenhorn's guitar playing even better than last year and perfect for her music. Perfect venue also. Thanks again.

Graham Bowman, Bournemouth.

REVIEW:

Olah Roma! GYPSY FESTIVAL at The Gridshell, The Weald & Downland Open Air Museum. Performances by Romano Drom and Vera Bila & Kale

Last weekend the Weald & Downland Museum near Chichester staged the first ever Olah-Roma ! Gypsy Festival. The idea came from Roots Around the World director Sue Ringwood who felt a need to celebrate the true Gypsy culture. Launching 'The Traveller Project' funded by the European Union & South East Museum Library & Archive Council the event offered a unique programme of talks, exhibitions and demonstrations. Olah Roma! will in time prove to be a significant date in the local, national and international diary.

Gypsy music has evolved into a wide range of styles encompassing such diverse sounds as flamenco and hot-jazz. On Friday evening inside the organic cathedral-like space of the museum's Gridshell Building we witnessed a very special performance by Romano Drom ('gypsy road' in Romany) from Budapest. Their music reflects the sounds of an ever-changing world. It combines the power of their traditional music sung in the Romany language with vocal percussion games and the sophistication of well-produced, sweet harmonies. The music of this four-piece band of guitars, accordion/fiddle and percussion was such an unexpected pleasure. They transported the audience with the quiet drama of the stick dance and then had them whooping and raising the dust on the dance floor!

On Saturday evening we enjoyed a concert of urbane rhythms and tight harmonies by Vera Bila & Kale from the Czech Republic. Against an historical backdrop of racism in her home-country this remarkable singer and her band performed with the power and ferocity of survivors. They offer sounds that bridge musical sensibilities and geographical frontiers.

Marilyn Pannett

REVIEW:

EDUARDO NIEBLA, THYAGI DE SOUZA & CAROLINA HERRERA

23 April at The Showroom, University College Chichester

We feel privileged to have the opportunity to taste such variety of quality musical dishes; right here on our 'own patch'. 'Roots Around the World' programme East-West Guitar Fest last Saturday brought musicians who are at the very top of their profession to University College Chichester.

This well-produced event took place in the centre for visual arts, the Showroom, and opened with Columbian guitarist and singer Carolina Herrera. She's fresh, she's beautiful and she's a very talented musician with a rich and soulful voice and a stage presence that exudes warmth, and a confidence that is well-deserved. From Spanish flamenco background she has absorbed the rhythms and the musical means of expression from many parts of the Latin world. Herrera breaks down the frontiers and takes us beyond the salsas, sambas and rhumbitas. She introduces us to the syncopated rhythms of the 'Horopa' from Venezuela, the 'Wapango' from Mexico the 'Zamba' sung by the Argentinean gauchos and the 'Bambouqua' from her home in the mountainous regions of Bogotá. Look out for Herrera at events in the area, you will not be disappointed.

Next, Spanish jazz flamenco guitarist Eduardo Niebla was joined by top Brazilian guitarist Thyagi de Souza for a most astonishingly accomplished set. Niebla's biog. makes impressive reading, having worked worldwide with so many prestigious and diverse names. The Chichester audience was bowled over by these two maestros of strings. They played pyrotechnic jazz with such passion and free expression yet with such synchronised mastery, it really was pure joy.

Marilyn Pannett

Sorry I can't make this weekend's events - but I have
just booked tickets for the return of Eliza Gylkyson
(and Jeff Plankenhorn) at Havant - which I am very
much looking forward to.

I should also thank you and the team for the fantastic
Martins4 concert in Chichester. Martin Simpson in
particular is just fantastic.

Good luck with all future ratw ventures.

Guy

REVIEW: LA BOUM! at the Empire Hall, Graffham - 8th April 2005

Chichester based Roots Around the World have once again presented us with a gem of an evening. Up to now Graffham Village which lies on the back-roads between Midhurst and Pulborough has been a very well kept secret, but no longer, with such high calibre bands as La Boum! on the bill, the secret's out Graffham, is now well and truly on the World Music map.

La Boum! is a 10 piece Scottish band with a unique and instantly recognisable sound. Drawing inspiration from all over the world, the music is essentially song driven and highly danceable but delicate. Tom Salter's guitar and vocals brings echoes of the music and musicians he has worked with in Africa and a feel for poetic expression not dissimilar to David Byrne. Doug Duncan and Gregory Ivitsky on brass make a big but tight sound, as unexpected a route as Madness carved, but a generation on. The 'Wee Free' three piece female vocal-section give a driving force of such sweet and sassy siren energy.

Presenting tracks from their just released album 'Marionette' the evening was one of carnival intensity and as the words of the title track advise: 'Life is a game that you cannot win so live for the fire that burns within'. So stepping out into the welcome chill of the April Graffham night the stars seemed to twinkle with a special bright intensity after an evening of such satisfying celebration!

Marilyn Pannett

Martins4 at The Venue, Chichester - 7 March 2005

Monday nights aren't generally the first option for a celebration, but this week was an exception.

'East-West Guitar Fest' presented by the 'Roots Around the World' team brought four very diverse world-class musicians collectively known as Martins4 to Chichester for the first date in the group's UK tour. It proved to be a real feast for the spirit.

Martin Carthy MBE, opened the programme with virtuoso versions of classic folk and Morris songs of John Barleycorn and the Cuckoo's Nest. Carthy is considered Godfather of English folk music and is 2005 winner of the prestigious BBC Radio 2 Folk Singer of the Year.

Scottish jazz supremo Martin Taylor cranked the mood up a gear with his hit-the-spot jazz. Inspired initially by Django Reinhardt, Taylor first came to prominence through his collaborations with violin legend Stephane Grappelli. In 1995 his band reached No.1 in the UK Jazz Charts, was nominated 'Best Album of The Year' and the British Jazz Awards voted Martin BEST GUITARIST - not without reason. How did he make one guitar sound like a 10 piece steel band?

Flamenco guitarist Juan Martin whose music, steeped in the tradition of his homeland, with Fandangos and Moorish laments brought an exotic passion to the overall sound.

Contemporary guitarist Martin Simpson winner of the BBC Folk Musician of the Year award in 2004 completes the quartet beguiled us with his mellow New Orleans blues and folk slide guitar.

Diverse yet complementary; when musicians of such talent in their own fields collaborate the resulting concert leaves one with a feeling of having witnessed a very special event in time.

Marilyn Pannett

Mose Fan Fan at The Empire Hall, Graffham - 26 February 2005

Congratulations on another successful gig. Thought that you might like to have a copy of the review that I have sent to the Worthing/Littlehampton papers. We really enjoyed ourselves, as did the lovely people of Graffham/Chi.

Mose Fan Fan at Graffham 26th February 05

Saturday night was as cold as a February night can be and scraping the ice of the windscreen and venturing into the dark rural landscape north of Chichester for entertainment didn’t feel like the best decision of the day. We should have had more faith because we were not disappointed; gigs organized by ‘Roots Around The World’ are always well worth the effort.

One of Africa's most famous guitarists Mose Fan Fan, from The Congo, brought his ten piece band, which included another famous guitarist Papa Noel, to the Empire Hall in Graffham. Stepping from the frozen, winding lanes of rural West Sussex into this intimate venue is like stepping into another world; one which has now become synonymous with concerts involving the crème of world music artists. Small tables with lights were set out cabaret-style behind the dance area and folks were sitting chatting with drinks but from the moment the band came on stage we were on our feet. Mose Fan Fan played a delicious blend of rumba and soukous which has an irresistible, soulful rhythm and filled venue with the warmth of the Congo. Fellow countrymen Kekele told him about the wonderful atmosphere of Graffham and likened it to Mose's favourite venue in Kinshasa!

Look out for future East-West Guitar Fest events organised by ‘Roots around the World’ – hot music – without the mosquitoes!

Marilyn Pannett