womad singapore 2002 was very good... caught it last nite at fort canning for the fifth year running - i think..... it helped that the weather was really cool from the midday drizzle, the crowd was enthusiastic (almost like last year's) and we had a nice big poncho to sit on.... :)... notable number of acts from Africa (the absolutely divine Rokia Traore from Mali, Chartwell Dutiro from Zimbabwe - who performed with our own Sri Warisan Performing Arts - creating a dikir barat meets african drum sort of thing, and a bit of a let-down from Sally Nyolo from Cameroon - who was supposedly a member of one of my favourite funky african acapella groups - the Zap Mama - who didn't quite manage to get the crowd moving ). also from Latin America (especially Trio Mocoto from Brazil -who really got everyone on their feet with their very samba music - very cool.. despite their middle-age paunches, their rather ragged look in their plain tshirts and their wrinkles crinkling up when they smile- haha.. sorry, so shallow.. and the slightly subdued but still applaudable Inti-Illimani from Chile.. conjuring images of high-mountains and llama goats with their wind instruments..

very strange to see almost no acts from the indian subcontinent (other than something from pakistan I missed on Friday and the dance music duo Badmarsh and Shri (UK)- which isn't really pure indian music though we saw quite a bit of fantastic tabla and north india flute playing in between dj badmarsh's electronic drumbeats and breakbeat music and this uk apache guy's rapping on "peace, love and UNIFICATION!!!" and pleas for all of us to "LIVE RIGHT!!".. almost hypnotic with his repeating it over and over again and asking everyone to jump up and down.. very dizzying...

funny how world music events can never seem to get away from artists trying to promote love and world peace ..... are we all supposed to feel all fuzzy inside after this..? :p