The world comes to Webster Hall this weekend.
America’s most influential showcase for pan-cultural music, globalFEST, takes over the East Village venue Sunday.
For the last 12 years, globalFEST has served as the ultimate tip sheet for those far-flung acts most likely to become known here. The show doubles as a confab for arts professionals, who comb the venue’s three stages to pick acts to book for the coming year. The latest line-up spans Europe, the U.K., Africa, the Middle East, the Asian subcontinent and even America.
Here’s the lowdown:
Emel Mathlouthi: One of the prime protest singers of the Arab Spring, Emel Mathlouthi sings in a voice of haunted outrage. The singer was born in Tunis, Tunisia — ground zero for the movement. That’s where she wrote such rallying cries as “Ya Tounes Ya Meskina” (Poor Tunisia) and “Kelmti Horra” (My World Is Free). While taking Joan Baez as an influence and singing her songs, Mathlouthi’s sound also features North African strings and progressive synthesizers.
Bixiga 70: Brazil has an even deeper connection to Africa than the U.S. does — due, sadly, to an even larger slave trade. The upside is the music. Bixiga 70, from Brazil’s most populous and international city, Sao Paulo, underscores the connection. They mix the influence of African icons like Nigeria’s Fela Kuti and Ethiopia’s Mulatu Astatke with classic stars of their own country, like Gilberto Gil and Chico Science. The result creates a propulsive mash of Afro-beat, Brazilian tropicalia and Ethiopian jazz.
Emil Zrihan: There’s no finer voice than Emil Zrihan’s to bridge the depressing gap between the Arab countries and Israel. (The Moroccan-born singer has lived in Israel since age 9). In his resounding countertenor, Zrihan delivers Moroccan, Sephardic and Syrian songs. But when his octave-skipping quaver kicks into the high wail, during his improvisational “mawwals,” he seems to come from another world.
Kahulanui: For a dash of whimsy, the festival features the nine-piece Hawaiian band Kahulanui. The name means “the big dance.” True to form, Kahulanui plays a brand of Hawaiian swing, propelled by horns that draw on American jazz of the 1920s and ’30s. The punch of the horns contrasts with vocals that mimic the wavering ease of the island’s winds.
Kevin Johansen: Though born to an American father (in Alaska), Johansen on his mother’s side hails from Argentina. The family moved there when the singer was just 12. Growing up in Buenos Aires, Johansen learned the rhythms of the tango, which he enlivened with international pop and rock. Along with his longtime group The Nada, Johansen shows how the tango can be transformed.
The Nile Project: Rivers, from the Mississippi to the Nile, have inspired some of the world’s greatest music. Fresh proof can be found in the Nile Project. Though the group formed in San Francisco (with players of East African heritage), the group comprises musicians from 11 countries snaking along the Nile. Their music elaborates on the rhythms and melodies of the region, highlighted by local stringed instruments, from the lyre to the begena.
Puerto Candelaria: Medellin used to be the murder capital of the world. Now it’s gaining renown for something more positive: music drawn from the indigenous Andean culture. Puerto Candelaria melds those folk strains with the loping rhythms of the cumbia.
Riyaaz Qawwali: The young musicians of Riyaaz Qawwali all live in the U.S. (in hip Austin). But their collective heritage combs the Asian subcontinent. The hypnotic sound channels devotional qawwali music, while, for lyrics, they draw on the verse of established Eastern poets.
The Jones Family Singers: Comprised of five sisters, two brothers and their dad, the Texas-based Jones Family has for more than two decades made the connection between gospel and pop-soul. It’s like a slicker take on the Staples Singers.
Just A Band : Kenya’s Just A Band makes dance music with enough retro-disco tics to thrill Pharrell. The song “Huff and Puff” could be a house music smash.
Sam Lee: The melancholy of Celtic folk has found the right voice of longing in Sam Lee. The singer culls lost songs of Ireland, Scotland and England, voicing odes of the perpetually dispossessed.
Zap Mama: The grand dame of global music, Belgium’as Zap Mama has been exploring a wide range of African vocal techniques for nearly 25 years. The woman, born Marie Dolan in the Congo, blends Flare-up with soul, jazz and hip hop. But it’as her singing that steals the show, showing the widest possibilities of the human voice.
deferable@nydailynews.com
GlobalFEST is 7 p.m. Sunday at Webster Hall.
