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Vintage Festival

Jez Smadja — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 13:00:34 +0000

It was the great anthropologist Claude Levi-Strauss who wrote, in the first line of his travel book ‘Tristes Tropiques’: “There’s nothing I hate more than travelers.” Well, for me it’s festivals – just to think of a sea of tents makes me reach for my Beta Blockers. But this summer, if there’s one festival that might make me change my mind, it’s the Vintage At Goodwood.

Held between 13-15 August on the verdant Goodwood Estate in West Sussex, overlooking the sea, Vintage celebrates British design and creativity over five decades from the 1940s to the 1980s. Even if it has got Sandie Shaw and Lily Allen topping the bill (Allen, thankfully, is not signing but promoting her new line of vintage wear), there’s also The Noisettes, Kid Creole, The Faces and Earth Wind & Fire all gracing the main stage. But what makes the Vintage festival so unique is an absurdly long list of DJs and performers who have been invited to recreate key scenes from the annals of British musical history. Ranging from the ‘Punky Reggae Party’ with the Buzzcocks, Aswad and Don Letts to the ‘Soul Casino’ with Leroy Hutson, Ann Sexton and Joe Bataan, ‘the Warehouse’ with Andy Weatherhall, Norman Jay and Graeme Park or the 40s Torch Club with old swinger Ray Gelato, we haven’t even mentioned the Roller Disco or the Rockabilly sets. With fashion shows, vintage cars and an exhibition of iconic British design, this sounds like the perfect festival for all you festival haters out there.

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WF09 Day 3 birds of a feather Mocky, Jimi Tenor live + Laurent Garnier

Jonathan — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 08:49:54 +0000

It’s Day 3 already at WF09 in Sete and it’s well warmed up – will it be able to top the past 2 days of spectacular live and DJ sets here in Sete ? Biensur ! with the lineup at Theatre de la Mer a sublime one kicking off with the man Mocky who dropped one of our favorite albums of the year ‘Saskamodie’ and we’re wondering how he’s gonna do it live. Waow from the intro we knew ! what a chilled out but phenomenal set with Mocky on drums plus stand up bass, congas, keys, flutes and viola ah and let’s not forget the deliteful whistling on ‘Birds of a Feather’ (in jukebox) which GP asked for again in the encore and was delivered remixed and full audience participation. Imagine Mocky’s many years of improvising with the likes of Gonzalez, Jamie Lidell, his electro roots mixed with Bob James, Michael Franks and last years WF gem Pascal Comelade and you have a sense of how it all came off. (small taste in Lefto’s video below)

Jimi Tenor meets Fela Kuti at Theatre de la Mer. Photo by Alex Stevenson

Next up rolling through strong and deep is the Sun Ra of modern dance music Jimi Tenor with his Kabu Kabu band jumping straight in with a Fela Kuti / Tony Allen back beat and the dance area fills up immediately all the way through a scorching afro journey until Jimi comes back round and encores out with his classics ‘ Can’t Stay With you Baby’ and cosmic ‘Beyond the Stars’. Totally nailed it and once again showing the magnificence of the magical ancient venue overlooking the ocean.

Laurent Garnier live band set at the Lighthouse/ Photo by Alex Stevenson

Wanting more, we head down to the lighthouse which served us seriously well last night for a highly anticipated live set by Laurent Garnier and DJ set by Alex Barck of Jazzanova. To a capacity crowd on this full moon Saturday night, Alex takes to the decks for a deep, soulful and seductive set continuing the evening’s foreplay and onwards towards hopeful climax by French techno house master whom the crowd have not really seen perform his live set. Tense build up back stage with some tech issues but Gilles keeps the flow on the mic preparing his WF crowd for it all and Laurent dives in as if deep in his favorite video game and car chases through his history from F.Comm jazzier days to his present full on sound that the crowd adore !

It’s been a fantastic night and in saving a little energy for the last days friends and family beach party marathon we head on up the hill to savor it all – 3 for 3 so far !

Day 3 Video by Lefto

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WF09 – Day 2 rain could not stop mighty PIMPS, Dorian, Carl, Martyn

Jonathan — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 11:05:20 +0000

Lefto is unbeatable in timely blogs and naturally his Day 1 & 2 reports were up on the Brownswood blog before he went to sleep at 6am – major props to him cause this normally includes editing a vid clip and in last night’s case also helping out with covering up the sound system up during a short downpour – - but i’ll get back to that.

Rain cannot stop this ! Dorian Concept bounces undercover

First off last night was the start of the live events at the truly magnificent Theatre de la Mer where Soil & “PIMP” Sessions once again absolutely destroyed it ! they just get better and better and instantly convert any audience to their Death Jazz musical assault rightfuly so with glowing kicks & outfits to match. Add to that Elan Mehler’s sublime gem of a set with vocalist and new collaborator Adam McBride-Smith and guests Midorin & Akita of the PIMPS + Paris’s Sebastien Schuller lived up to my prediction with his Radiohead inspired sound satisfying his fans and new converts alike !

Sebastien Schuller at Theatre de la Mer. Pic by Alex Stevenson

A full house of us then moved down waterside to the Lighthouse dancefloor where Dorian Concept brought forth his sexy, deep and ever so bouncy live beats – lightning zigzagged across the Sete skies and down it came in big fat drops ! Nothing could stop this now energized and well up for it lot of course, filled with a huge Brit crew this year, and Dorian valiantly boomed his beats through it to a soaked but ecstatic crowd. Slight electrical soaking stops play for a few and Rotterdam via DC’s Martyn jumps on to a full on hands in the air set laying a deep foundation for Detroit’s master Carl Craig to drop a solid, soulful, sexy, house tinged stomper for 3 hours

Carl Craig slide in from Martyn. Pic by Alex Stevenson

- a night of legend indeed ! Rain had no chance of stoppin’ play – everyone delivered and then some and mad respect to Gilles and the Freshly Cut crew for taking this year to a whole new level !

Tonight’s runnings look set to go tete a tete against last night’s winner with live sets from Mocky, Jimi Tenor, Laurent Garnier and DJ sets by the bPM (stage dancer of the year) and Alex of Jazzanova – you know there’s more so stay well tuned in here

Elan Mehler w/Adam McBride-Smith & PIMPS

Lefto’s Day 2 video roundup

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WF 09 – Diplo blows up the lighthouse in Sete

Jonathan — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 11:22:19 +0000

The wonderful part of a boutique festival is how up close and personal it all is ! this could include having an intimate dinner with Diplo, Gilles and the organizers of the Worldwide Festival at the beachside venue the night before it all kicks off. This also includes then getting to know the plane load of Gilles Peterson listeners and fans of WF that flew in with you from Gatwick to the magical coastal town of Sete for the many imminent coastal shenanigans !
and so it begins to go off !! hearing 5 years of insider stories from DIPLO on his journey upwards to the DJ, production dynamo he is fast becoming is one thing but later experiencing him Mad Decent-ly blow up the sea surrounded lighthouse spot is way another ! He drops his sh*z hard and you know it’s gonna be 3 hours of twisted boomin’ jump up – from kuduro to booty bass to baile funk to major major lazer bizniss and back out to ‘Jacko’ tribute funk ! he’s deep in it and all of us journey with him non-stop till he eases out with Animal Collective and lets Vienna’s Stereotyp in on the decks.

Diplo opens up - photo by Alex Stevenson

Yeah it may have been the wantin’ the full-on bass after following Theo Parrish’s deep soulful, classic filled Detroit set which sadly suffered from a defecto mixer problem BUT i predict it’s just cause it was Diplo living up to his deserved rep ! and killin’ it to give Day 1 a proper proper Worldwide send-off

London girls loving Theo Parrish - photo by ALex Stevenson

Other highlights you ask ? well GP shouting out the multi-countried crowd and the ocean population was one – the stars still shining bright just before sun-up – Diplo being asked what’s next in onstage interview and he answers breakfast – the adoring and adorable London girls up front for Theo’s set – the fresh tuna straight out the Sete waters and onto the grill – and um the hillside villa we’re staying in

Photo by Alex Stevenson

Well looking forward to Day 2’s live sets at the sublime Theater de la Mer (you guessed it overlooking the ocean) from Elan Mehler, newbie (to me at least) Sebastien Shuller and the mighty Soil & “PIMP” Sessions plus dancefloor sets from wunderkind Dorian Concept, Martyn and Carl Craig – zut alors it’s only day 2 !

Worldwide traveller and stellar documentar Lefto was up all night giving us his Day 1 vid – check it and check Lefto DJ’ing on the beach this Sunday

Click here to view the embedded video.

More WF blogs at Brownswood site

Worldwide Festival kicks off Thursday

Jonathan — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 21:34:07 +0000

Just picked up the beach supplies and heading down a day early to Sete southern France to settle in before the Worldwide Festival begins this Thursday through Sunday 5th of July. Even if i never loved a cozy, fun and sexy boutique Festival beachside and have experienced WF for the past 2 years, I would still no doubt be recommending this gem. The lineup is top, the locations sublime, the girls um yeah you guessed it, the sound systems booming, the organizers ever so gracious and on it ! – all in all glorious and with that state of mind i’ll happily gonna be the roving reporter on and offsite so stay tuned.

With all the artists performing in intimate settings, i’m particularly looking forward to Diplo, Laurent Garnier with his new live band, the mighty Soil & “PIMP” Sessions in the Theater overlooking the ocean, Todd Terje, Theo Parrish, Carl Craig, Mocky live, Dorian Concept, Stereotyp’s Ku-bo project, Gilles with cohort Earl Zinger, Shuya Okino, Sebastien Schuller (heard loads of good things) and many more. Full lineup is on the WF site and the rest you’ll surely hear about over the next week.

For those not able to make it this year, some of the acts will be appearing in London shortly after including Theo Parrish at our good friends Need2Soul ’s event July 18th plus you can download a killer set from Theo at Djoon in Paris earlier this year. Our favorite death jazzers Soil & “PIMP” Sessions will be at Koko on July 9 as part of the ongoing WW10 celebration of GP’s Worldwide radio show – so there you have it and now i’m off to the airport …..

carl graig and jimi tenor join wf lineup

Eric — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 11:40:27 +0000

The curating team of the Gilles Peterson Worldwide Festival just keep on pulling out the gems – latest editions to the already fantastic 4 days of festivities in Sete include an exclusive performance by Jimi Tenor and his band plus heavyweight don Carl Craig. In the next couple of days the full line-up will be out in the open for the last few of you who need even more convincing to finally purchase those passes. The stellar WF lineup includes Diplo, Laurent Garnier, Mocky, Soil & “Pimp” Sessions, Todd Terje, Gilles Peterson plus plus plus.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Meanwhile, let’s get in the mood with this piece by the Detroit master Craig above and check out the epic At Les track live in Paris (featuring amongst others Underground Resistance head honcho Mad Mike Banks) in our Jukebox and right here below

Laurent Garnier live @ Worldwide Festival ‘09

Jonathan — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 14:18:58 +0000

Behind the scenes Gilles Peterson is cooking up an amazing line-up for his Worldwide Festival bit by bit. Latest editions to this classic feast include Diplo, Mocky, and our man from France, Mr Laurent Garnier. Although Garnier is one of dance music’s most influential people ever, he hasn’t been producing much. His Back to My Roots single was a huge clubhit in 2008, but that’s about it. With his new album coming out soon, the Frenchman is about to return with a vengeance. The Gnamankoudji single was first tested on an enthusiastic Worldwide crowd in Sete (with Garnier junior lookin’ on) and no doubt this Afro free jazz jam will be performed by Garnier, with his full live his band, and his sidekick Scan X once again. If you’re based in Amsterdam Garnier is playing live in Paradiso on April 2nd and in a city close to you.

Laurent Garnier – Gnamankoudji original broken afro mix

mocky the chameleon at wf

Eric — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 20:00:32 +0000

Click here to view the embedded video.

Is he a one-man Motown rhythm section? Is he a former crooner? A troubadour activist maybe? Is he even from our time or is his musical genius a natural phenomenon that will continue to mutate throughout musical history? A musical chameleon, so to speak? The Mockumentary above raises more questions than it answers, but you might be able to tie some loose ends at Gilles Peterson’s Worldwide Festival, 2-5 July in Sete where the man described above will perform live one of his unique shows. Get a taste in our jukebox of his latest future retro classic Saskamodie just out on Crammed.

Mocky – Birds of a Feather

diplo plays twitter requests

Jonathan — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 21:12:19 +0000

Requesting songs standing by the dj booth is absolutely not on ! -or is it? In this age of social networking and democratization of IT, it seems that people want to be more involved in the selection of the music that is being played on their night out. Florida based dj/producer/label don DIPLO does not seem to have a problem with that at all. He even takes it to the next level by taking requests on his Blackberry via the latest online hype Twitter. So let’s say, you’re at the Worldwide Festival in Sete France (2-5 July) and see Diplo rocking the grooves, just take out your phone and let him know which track is on your wishlist for the night. You don’t even need to leave your comfy spot at the bar . Check out some Diplo rhythm in the jukebox stage right …..

worldwide festival 09 sete 2-5 july

Jonathan — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 21:31:38 +0000

Festivals in the Summer can be amazing but also overwhelming so it’s always a treat to have a more intimate beachside Worldwide Festival in Sete hosted/co-curated by Gilles Peterson for example ! Now in it’s 4th year, WF is adding an extra day this year to allow for all the music and beach fun possible and this includes a global lineup of Diplo, Todd Terje, Soil & “PIMP” Sessions, Stereotyp’s Ku Bo Project, Sebastien Schuller and artwork curated by Fefe Talavera (see Omega Bridge reference) with some heavyweights still to be announced. Having been there the last 2 years, I personally vouch for the quality and delite that WF is so check into it and go deh !and stayed tuned for some exclusive downloads, mixes and chance to win tickets to WF09.

SETE ALORS ! WORLDWIDE FESTIVAL SENSATION

Peggy — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 13:51:10 +0000

I no longer believe Paris is the capital of lights. That honorary title belongs to Sete, a tiny fishing village and proud host to GP Worldwide Festival. I’ve come down to the South of France in search of a bit of rest, relaxation and of course a few captivating chansons. I knew what to anticipate with the style of music that GP so lovingly curates, but what came as an unexpected surprise was the setting in which it was to presented in. To be able to witness the sickness of Roots Manuva on opening night accompanied by the impromptu backing vocals of the Mediterranean sea, created such a rhythmic sound garden. Talk about swagger! I adored catching Little Dragon at the Theatre de la mer and watching the multi-level hues of the sunset wink back to the quaint ville for its approval of this gathering. The touchstone thus far has got to be the luminescent spotlight from the city into the heavens to signal to all musical lovers worldwide that music and magic co-exist sweetly over here. There is a new befitting beacon in my heart and Sete has now become my new lighthouse in France. est alors, hit us back here with your own brief report of the Gilles Peterson Worldwide Festival and you could win a Brownswood CD of your choice.