Dimi
Mint Abba .
Stage 1: Saturday 7th March 2009 -8pm
The
weird name of this Mauritanian Griot artist was mirrored by her music
, a quirky percussive mix that in strange way, reminded me of Captain
Beefheart , not that her voice remotely resembled Beefheart's basso profundo
but the novel blend of rhythm's generated by drums and plucked instruments
was reminiscent of the Magic Band's tumbling insistent beats . She has
a bluesy, repetitive sound that is echoed in other Womad stalwarts such
as Tinariwen . Her voice is strong and memorable and she can wail with
the best of them when she wants to !
I
don't recall that she was received with rapture by the
majority of the audience, her music tends to be similarly paced and is
not guaranteed to whip a crowd into a frenzy. The music is reflective
and meditative , ideal for inducing a trance like state. A number of people
left as the set progressed but those of us who remained throughout gave
her a good reception when she concluded the performance. You can listen
to an example of her music , recorded by the BBC , from Womad 2006 here
