A Little of Their Soul

By Simon Broughton, "Dancing to a different beat" - The Guardian - London, UK
Saturday, May 17, 2008

Europe's burgeoning pop festivals offer a sunny alternative to Glasto, but for a true flavour of local culture nothing beats these world music events

Against the magnificent backdrop of the keyhole gate to the royal palace in Fes, Youssou N'Dour gave the live premiere of Egypt, his most groundbreaking album in years.

With Egyptian strings and Senegalese percussion, his incantatory voice soared into the warm night sky.

The album is about Islam, the Mouride brotherhoods of his native Senegal and their message of peace. The occasion was the Fes Festival of World Sacred Music in Morocco (this year's event runs June 6-15), and the shrine of one of the saints he was singing about was just a few minutes away in the labyrinth of lanes that form the medina.

Music festivals have mushroomed. There are those, like Exit in Serbia or Benicassim in Spain, that give you pop and rock stars, indie bands and DJs - the Glastonbury experience without the mud - but the ones I prefer are those that spring from their location and give you a window on the culture.

Fes is the artistic and spiritual capital of Morocco. It's a glorious city in its own right, with a mosque and university dating back to the 9th century.

All roads lead to the Kairaouine mosque and shrine of Moulay Idriss II in the heart of the medina, and en route you can enjoy getting lost in the best-preserved medieval Arabic city in the world.

There are leather-workers, tailors, carpenters, donkeys laden with mint and piles of olives and fruit. You are bombarded with colours, smells and, during the festival, a glorious variety of music.

The festival was started as a reaction against the polarisation of the Arabic world and the west and the idea is simple, to juxtapose sacred music of all cultures and religions.

These take place in atmospheric venues like the huge Bab Makina (where Youssou performed), the intimate garden of the Batha Museum, free concerts in the city and late-night Sufi groups in a tiled garden pavilion.

(...)

Often the combination of a great location, spectacular performance spaces and the right music that makes a festival work. For that it's hard to beat the new Jodhpur International Folk Festival (JIFF) in Rajasthan which had its first edition in October last year (jodhpurfolkfestival.org, October 10-14 2008).

It's held in the halls, courtyards and ramparts of the Maharaja's Mehrangarh Fort, magnificently situated on a rocky outcrop overlooking the city.

The opening is timed to coincide with the full moon and involves vivid costumes, dancing, processions, camels, flaming torches and some of the wildest and most exciting music on the planet.

Mick Jagger, who's presumably got a few rock festivals under his belt, was there - not as a performer, but a punter. "I listen to a lot of Indian music," he said, "and a festival like this gives a great platform to folk artists."

More than that, it is helping to sustain local musicians in Rajasthan, bringing an income and respect to highly skilled performers who are often marginalised in India's economic boom.

Festivals like these enable you to experience great music where it belongs - alongside the food and the people. If you listen and share people's music, it's like sharing a little of their soul.

[Visit the Fes Festival Web site (in French) http://www.fesfestival.com/2008/index.php]

[Picture: Opening doors ... Youssou N'Dour performing at the Keyhole Gate in Fes. Photo: The Guardian].