For anyone who loves world music, Världens Band is something you’ve got to see. I have just been transported to seven different worlds in the space of an hour’s lunch break. These people take the noise out of your heart, turn it into human music and make you want to dance on with the rest of your day.
Världens Band say they are here for three reasons: to bring peace, make us dance and, now jokingly, to become world famous in the UK. Let’s help them along – they have brought warm love to a once cold-hearted Clothworker’s Centenary Concert Hall and the public clearly want to see a repeat of their tour. This is the kind of group who reach the end of their set and leave you so impacted that you immediately book tickets for tomorrow.
As an audience we are totally part of their jam. With 15 musicians from 7 different countries, every minute we are filled with exciting new sounds that fill up your senses and shake away the worries of work and uni life.
Charu Hariharan (India – vocals and mridangam) sends shivers down my spine with her voice of humble magnificence during Indian folk improvisations. Feisty Navah Elbaz (Tunisia – dancer and vocalist) takes us to the Mediterranean for enticing flamenco accompanied by Dave Foley (Scotland – flute), via some Klezmer tunes and insights into Jewish culture and later the group adds a touch of head banging Arabic punk. Swedish fiddle players Anna Möller and Thea Åslund help us sit back and breathe with their at-first-minimalistic, sensual duet, before they are surrounded by a mix of odd ball accompanists. In the words of Arvid Rask (Sweden – mandola), they got us all “dancing like crazy birds in the end”.
“Screw the system!” he calls, and people climb down over the balcony wall to go dance with the band.
Världens Band proposes a movement for world peace through musical unity and reminds us that, through travel, we can now learn from each other. Each exceptionally talented musician plays with individual expressionism, whilst fusing together as one colourful, global tribe; their message of racial equality is heard.
Caitlin Mayall
photo 1: varldensband.com
photo 2: thehindu.com