WOMAD

The Music Show Live

09:30 6th February on the Speakers Corner (6 - Dip)

Lepistö&Lehti Biography

The many sounds of accordion and bass
They might sound like a pair of Helsinki-based lawyers, but Lepistö&Lehti's profession is a far more noble, less slippery endeavour. Formerly members of Värttinä, that full-velocity, high-drama band of Finnish folkies, Markku Lepistö and Pekka Lehti have slimmed things right down. Indeed, at first glance, the notion of a vocal-less duo restricted to just accordion and upright bass might put the shivers up the less adventurous listener. But L&L's music isn't remotely stuffy - nor does it require a musicology qualification to decipher it. The common responses to it are emotional ones, whether their slow, cinematic wanderings prompt maudlin reflection or - far more frequently - their playfulness turns those frowns upside down. And the wide territory that just these two instruments cover is astonishing: one minute, they're recalling the concertina-squeezing folk traditions of Northumbria; the next, their circling basslines find them in the vanguard of Euro-jazz hipsters. One of the potential unlikely surprises of the festival? Guilty as charged.

(Biography written by Nige Tassell 2010)
Lepisto & Lehti official website

Ross Daly & Ensemble Biography

Embracing Eastern and Western influence in the music of Crete, Ross Daly (who has studied Cretan music for more than 30 years) blends ancient and contemporary elements in The Circle at the Crossroads. He performs this musical suite on the lyra with Kelly Thoma, singer and Cretian laouto player Giorgos Xylouris and Iranian percussionist Bijan Chemirani.
(Biography provided by WOMADelaide 2010 and image by Alexis Glavas)

Amal Murkus Biography

Pioneering a post-modern style of Mediterranean music, singer/composer Amal Murkas melds pop elements with Palestinian folklore and traditional Arabic heritage, railing against the marginalisation of Arab Palestinian culture. Boasting one of the most beautiful voices in the Middle East, Amal's three solo albums since 2000 are acclaimed for weaving Palestinian poetry with western instrumentation.
(Biography provided by WOMADelaide 2010, image by Eyal Landesman)

Mairtin O'Connor Trio Biography

Legendary accordion player Mairtin O'Connor, a primary musical force behind the Riverdance phenomenon, formed a formidable trio in 2001 with fiddle and banjo player Cathal Hayden (founding member of Four Men and A Dog) and guitarist/singer Seamie O'Dowd, with the sum of their instrumental powers launching traditional Irish music into full flight.
By arrangement with Seamus Finneren
(Provided by WOMADelaide 2010)