One of the real hits at WOMEX was the band Kenge Kenge. They rocked the hall with traditional Kenyan party music based on the Benga beat. With the exception of the electric bass, it was entirely acoustic, with sweet harmonies and two hot dancers. Hang in till the end of this clip-- it just gets better and better, and you'll be grooving in your chair before you know it!

Yours truly had been requested by management to videotape the whole performance, and I had a perilous perch: just on the apron of the stage, straddling a five foot drop, with one foot on a walkway with rotating spotlights on it, and the other on an inclined plane. Taking a step backwards or forwards meant taking my eye off the band, hence the charming ceiling shot...

Link TV viewers may already be aware of the band Deolinda from their video "Fado Toninho." I was impressed with their CD "Canção ao lado," so I made it a point to video part of their showcase at WOMEX. Although it is tempting to say that the group comes solely out of Fado, as I reviewed my footage I was also reminded of Madredeus, the Portuguese super group -- even though front woman Ana Bacalhau sings in a deeper register than Teresa Salgueiro. (Still, there is something quite bel canto about the sound of each of these songbirds.) The band performed the songs from their CD with precision and sensitivity, and Bacalhau had the audience in thrall. I actually like this rendition better than the one on the CD, perhaps due to the exquisite sound at the venue (provided by the Roskilde festival) which enhanced Bacalhau's rich low resonances.

And of course, my usual apologies for the shaky camera work...it's tough to hold your hand up steady for long periods -- especially when you are getting jostled by the audience!

Just as you can never see every single showcase at WOMEX, it is almost equally hard to take in every booth at the trade fair. Each one has something special to offer: new music to discover, friends to greet, connections to be made, and (yes) parties to attend, because there are lots of little celebrations going on throughout the day. This is the first time I tried to blog the fair, and I have to admit it is only a small sampling of what was going on. But hopefully it does give some feel for the event. It's lively, it's fun and you never know quite what to expect. I decided to give a "most cool booth" award only AFTER I encountered the winners (Country & Eastern)! I thought they were such interesting folks, and their offerings were heartfelt, diverse and original. I think you'll agree.

A symphony of crickets. Now THAT'S world music!

The World Music Expo, or WOMEX, is simply put, a great convention. Besides getting to hear some amazing acts from just about everywhere, it's also a very convivial gathering. And although there are numerous great musicians booked into the formal venues, sometimes the freshest experiences come from spontaneous performances at the stands in the trade fair.

So to kick off my WOMEX blog series, here's one such occurrence.

To set the scene: it was almost time for the trade fair to close. There I was, talking to someone in my booth, and suddenly I realized that a young man had sat down on the floor and started playing an instrument that looked like a cross between a steel drum and a flying saucer. I grabbed my Flip camera and caught the moment.

It turns out that the Hang was invented in Switzerland in 2000. So it's just a baby in the world of instruments. And that also means there's plenty of room for the instrument -- and ways of playing it -- to grow. Rafael has a group called The Art of Fusion, (their CD is called "Rhizomism") and I've put his contact info at the end of the vid.