WOMAD

Land of My Mothers

From United Kingdom

The track opens with a gently lilting female Welsh voice: "Coming to you from Wales, one of the four countries that make up the United Kingdom." Vrrrrooooommmbooffff-f-f-f-f bass drum fallout and into a classy dub track entitled, 'The Disunited Kingdom Of The Not So Very Great Britain'. What a gobsmacking intro, I chortled with glee when I first heard this track. Land of My Mothers is a DIY culture collective operating out of Wales. It's the work of two former members of Anhrefn, a Welsh language punk outfit championed by John Peel, and an assortment of other cast members. There's a close link-up with the Afro Celt Sound System (a couple of members are shared between both outfits), and they also work with the ubiquitous Jamie Reid. Some of the lyrics are in Welsh, some in English and some in Punjabi - anyone would think there's a cultural revolution going on, which, of course, there is. Land of My Mothers is an embodiment of this, successfully fusing Welsh culture with global dance grooves. It's a celebration of cultures that puts English imperialism firmly in its place without resorting to bigoted nationalism. A fine example of post-folk, post-rave Celtic ambience for those firmly intent on leaving the twentieth century and getting on with building a better future. If this sounds interesting, you can find the track, 'In This Disunited Kingdom', on the WOMAD '96 compilation CDand they've donated a track featuring samples of the Welsh hymn, 'Myfanwy', over drum and bass backdrop, for the forthcoming Big Chill CD. If you want to catch them live, check the line-up of Big Chill events and WOMAD.