Live Review: WOMADelaide Festival 2016 Day Three

The first stage we stumbled upon found a sea of spellbound people on the grass practising and being guided through a yoga session with zero care in the world; how often do you see this? Continuing floating through the gardens, you pass by families, old folk, long-haired, paisley-wearing, zenned-out folk, every scent of food from nearly every culture wafting into your highly sensitive nose, realising its going to be a hard decision when it comes lunchtime. Market stalls; could be overpriced to some, guess these gypsies need to make some money somehow. Art deserves money. All sorts of fair trade, vintage clothing, kimonos, sunglasses, African drums, you know, the usual. Similar to earlier, a workshop on swing dancing was taken place in the small stage by the zoo. Young kids, teenage lovers, old hippies unite, dancing the triple-step and the shimmy to 1940s jazz-swing numbers. 

Wandering toward Stage Two, modernised Bueno Vista Social Club-inspired Latin rhythms began to massage your soul and gravitate you to the twin sisters born in Paris yet of Cuban descent, Ibeyi. Using traditional percussion instruments and piano, the duo amazingly structured in-sync harmonies and soulful melodies capturing a sound you could call electronic world music. 

The exoticness didn't stay only within the fashion, food and music, but also came rolling towards you, parting the foot-traffic, in the form of an artistic theatre piece stage within a giant wheel. Part mime, part dance, as the two performance artists of Acrojou navigated the wheel-in, at times, thrilling ways-the portable stage of The Wheel House rolling across the grass.The absurdity of it held equally the excitement of watching two stuntmen, and the grace of a ballet.

On the far end of the park, a group from Japan were jamming out. The closer you got, this kind of time warp bubble into another dimension of funked-up acid-jazz vacuumed you in. Mountain Mocha Kilimanjaro provided oozing bass lines, screeching brass, epic drum breaks and psychedelic guitar licks that forms one of the hippest, groove bands in the world. What made this already magical experience extra special was getting mind-flown to Spain with the pleasuring sounds of a flamenco gypsy band. Known as the 'Sinatra of flamenco', the sultry voice of Diego El Cigala got many Womadelaidians' hips shaking.

Marlon Williams & The Yarra Benders were like a melancholic folk and bluegrass band, fused with luscious 1950s rock'n'roll, breaking all the girls' hearts with his pure, Buckley-like vocals.

The coming of twilight sent jungle rhythms booming through Botanic Park. Taking influence from traditional sounds hailing from all across the world, Calexico produced  atmospheric trances that climaxed into up-beat sections with a strong yet alternative emphasis alternative on country music. 

Darkness comes around and the bats are out. Over at the main stage, a herd of French jazz musicians, smoothly executed down-tempo, hypnotic house music with incredibly classy musicianship. Four to the floor house trance beats, with nu jazz drumming, thick bass lines, while each improvising musician loops and layers their instrument creating a chaotic reverie of unique jazz freaks. You could say St Germain is classical meets jazz — woah. Jazz tonal motifs continue to progress into enthralling journeys through a cosmic paradise. If you're into dancing with some class, we highly recommend.

The Gyuto Monks Of Tibet closed the Sunday of Womad following an epic introduction — this group of Tibetan monks are the 'sounds of the universe'. Opening their set by blowing their traditional horn and lining up on the floor, legs crossed, back upright, chanting spiritual drones. The sound they produce sounds less like the human voice and more closely relatable to the didgeridoo. The meditative low rumbles of the six monks' vocal chords vibrated for the entire 45-minute set. If you're not into drifting from our social norms, experiencing and learning a captivatingly jaw-dropping special culture, then, there is something for everyone, as the opposite end of the Womad parklands hosts a DJ by the name of Marcellus Pittman pumping out party mixes. 

Womad is for the young, the old, the dancers, nature lovers, party people and the fascinated. An experience needed to be shared by one and all.