LAU, Fiona Hunter, Ross Ainslie & Jarlath Henderson will perform at the influential WOMEX 13 World Music Expo, in Cardiff Wales from 24 – 26 October.
The annual five-day event comprises the Showcase Festival, a bustling trade fair, conferences and a film programme, and is described by UNESCO as the most important international professional market of world music of every kind.
The WOMEX 13 Showcase Festival consists of WOMEX 13 Official Selection, WOMEX 13 DJ Summit, Horizons Stage and offWOMEX 13.
Artists will perform over three nights across five stages within Wales Millennium Centre and the Oval Basin.
Traditional singer, Fiona Hunter, and pipe duo, Ross Ainslie and Jarlath Henderson, will perform on the Horizons Stage. Horizons is a new partnership that has been developed ahead of WOMEX 2013, to bring together England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales to celebrate our wealth of music traditions and cultures within a world music market. The artists selected represent the very best emerging world music from each nation of UK and Ireland.
Experimental folk trio Lau will also perform as part of the WOMEX 13 Official Selection. Other acts performing in the showcase slots include Ghazalaw, a collaboration between Welsh singer-songwriter Gwyneth Glyn and Indian Ghazal singer, Tauseef Aktar, the Emily Portman Trio from England.
Competition to perform is fierce with over 850 acts from all around the world applying to perform in front of over 2,500 international delegates.
Caroline Parkinson, director of Creative Development, Creative Scotland, said:
“WOMEX is one of the most important international professional markets of world music, attracting international delegates, leading music managers, festival and venue programmers and recording company executives from across the globe.
“We are delighted to be part of this exciting new partnership and to present some of the very best music emerging from Scotland, alongside the UK and Ireland artists, on the Horizons stage. It is also fantastic to see Lau chosen to perform in the WOMEX 13 Official Selection.
“These showcases will provide an opportunity for Lau, Fiona Hunter, Ross Ainslie and Jarlath Henderson to develop contacts, secure deals, leading to International tours, recording deals and potential management contracts.”
Scottish folk band, Lau, are regarded as the epicentre of the new folk boom. On being one of the first round of acts announced to perform as part of the Official WOMEX 2013 Showcase, they said:
“Lau are delighted to have this opportunity to play at Womex. Not only will we have the chance to perform for international promoters, we are looking forward to watching some amazing bands ourselves”
Performing a vibrant mix of new and original compositions along with traditional tunes in a fusion of pipes and flutes, Ross Ainslie & Jarlath Henderson are not only vastly talented but have created a sound that is bursting with energy. Ahead of performing on the Horizons Stage, Ross Ainslie and Jarlath Henderson, said:
“Womex is kind of a dream festival for us. It’s got a diverse and varied line up of musicians from all parts of the world playing amazing styles of music. We can’t think of a more enjoyable gig and weekend than this one and we’re delighted to have been selected to play on the new Horizons stage.”
Fiona Hunter is one of Scotland’s foremost traditional singers and is fast garnering a reputation as a highly-gifted song interpreter. She said: “I’m pure excited and delighted to be given this chance to perform at such an internationally renowned event. I’m very lucky to have been able to put together such a talented band and this is a fantastic opportunity for us to show off Scots songs to the world (as well as pick up a few ideas from all the other diverse musicians ourselves!).”
These WOMEX Showcase Festival evenings are public events where music fans from across the UK and further afield will join top world music executives to enjoy the very best emerging world music from across the planet and spot the next stars to grace the global stages of such festivals as WOMAD, Musicport, Rainforest World Music Festival, and Sunfest. For further information about tickets please call 029 2063 6464 or visit www.womex.com
Artist Biographies
Lau
Scottish folk band, Lau, are regarded as the epicentre of the new folk boom. Kris Drever (guitar, vocals), Martin Green (accordion, piano) and Aidan O’Rourke (fiddle) come together to form Lau, named after an Orcadian word, meaning ‘natural light’. Lau’s burgeoning CV now encompasses EPs with the exceptional singer songwriter Karine Polwart and electronica innovator Adem; concerts with everyone from Cream rock legend Jack Bruce to Northern Sinfonia; and an open-minded approach to recording that ranges from their own complex but eminently accessible tune-making to the startling re-working of Dear Prudence included on an all-star re-make of The Beatles’ classic White Album (and the De-Luxe edition of Arc Light).
W: www.lau-music.co.uk
T: www.twitter.com/LAUmusic
Fiona Hunter
Fiona has been singing as part of renowned folk song group Malinky for the best part of a decade. Her time with the group has seen them win many accolades including the prestigious Folk Band of the year award at the 2010 MG Alba Scots Trad Music Awards. Fiona has also been twice nominated in the Scots Singer of the Year category at the awards. 2013 will see the release of Fiona’s highly-anticipated debut solo album, featuring songs from her native Glasgow and beyond. The recording will also feature a cast of some of the finest instrumentalists currently gracing the traditional music scene, including Mike Vass, Matheu Watson, Euan Burton, Gillian Frame and some special guest vocalists.
W: www.fionahunter.co.uk
T: www.twitter.com/fionahscotssong
Ross Ainslie and Jarlath Henderson
Ross and Jarlath have fast become one of the most enigmatic duo’s to emerge from Scotland. The duo push the boundaries of what the instruments can achieve in a performance which is a vibrant mix of new and original compositions along with traditional tunes. Two of the fieriest talents in contemporary Celtic piping, Scotland’s Ross Ainslie and Tyrone-born Jarlath Henderson first met back in 2003 at the William Kennedy Piping Festival in Armagh After taking their time to hone and perfect their unique partnership of Scottish and Irish bagpipes, each also playing a variety of whistles, the pair exploded onto the scene with 2009’s stunning debut album, Partners in Crime. Taking a couple of years off, Radio 2 Musician of the Year Award nominee Ross performed with Salsa Celtica, The Treacherous Orchestra and Dougie Maclean whilst Jarlath became a doctor. Now back recording and performing, a new album is due for release late summer 2013.
W: www.rossainslie.com
W: www.jarlathhenderson.com
NOTES TO EDITORS
- WOMEX 13 Cardiff is hosted by Cerdd Cymru: Music Wales. This is a partnership between Arts Council of Wales/ Wales Arts International and Welsh Music Foundation. WOMEX 13 Cardiff project partners are Cardiff Council, Motorpoint Arena and Wales Millennium Centre. WOMEX 13 Cardiff is supported by Welsh Government. www.womex.com
- Horizons is a new partnership that has been developed ahead of WOMEX 13, Cardiff to bring together England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales to celebrate our wealth of music traditions and cultures within a world music market. Horizons will lend its name to a variety of development and promotional activities aimed at raising the excellence and profile of home artists, and linking them to opportunities to develop international markets for their work. Horizons members are Arts Council England, Arts Council Northern Ireland, Arts Council Ireland, Cerdd Cymru: Music Wales, Creative Scotland and Culture Ireland and the partnership is supported by British Council. Scotland, Ireland and England each have two Showcase slots on the Horizons stage, whilst Wales, as host nation for this year’s WOMEX has three Showcase slots to fill. Biographies of all the artists can be found at www.horizonsatwomex.com
- Artists selected for to perform 45-minute sets at the Horizons showcase include:
- Fiona Hunter, Ross Ainslie and Jarlath Henderson, performing on behalf of Scotland.
- Lokkhi Terra and Family Atlantica, performing on behalf of England.
- WeBanjo3 and Kan, performing on behalf of Ireland.
- Catrin Finch and Seckou Keita; 9Bach and Georgia Ruth, performing on behalf of Wales:
- Creative Scotland is the national organisation that supports the arts, screen and creative industries. www.creativescotland.com
Media contact
Sophie Bambrough
Media Relations & PR Officer, Creative Scotland
E: sophie.bambrough@creativescotland.com
T: 07747606146
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Contact: Sophie Bambrough
Phone: 07747606146
Email: sophie.bambrough@creativescotland.com
Website: http://www.creativescotland.com
