[FA Worldmusic] terrible sound at WOMEX

[Marco Werman]

On the subject of bad sound:  it struck me that the two pabellon stages
could be easily fixed.  First a temporary drop ceiling about 20-30 feet
down could be installed.  That would help contain some of the sound.
Second, and more importantly, the only loudspeakers were on the left
side of the left stage and the right side of the right stage.  There was
no central column of speakers in the middle.  That meant that if you
were watching a show on the left stage and you were standing dead
center, you were getting a ton of sound on the left, but all the sound
coming from the right was coming out of speakers a good 80 feet away
that were filling up a virtually empty volume, creating a really boomy
sound.  A drop ceiling and a central column of loudspeakers that could
be panned left or right depending on what stage was being used would be
a huge improvement.
Good to great shows:
X Alfonso (finally got to see him with the whole video thang...awesome)
Afel Bocoum (maybe it's Ali's passing, but he's got a whole new level of
confidence...he's his own man now)
Toto la Momposina's little awards routine...just lovely
La Etruria Criminale Banda:  Polyphonic Spree meets the Sun Ra Arkestra
of Lazio...i felt like I met a tarantella gang.  Very powerful.

Marco Werman

-----Original Message-----
From: fa-worldmusic-bounces+marco.werman=bbc.co.uk at folk.org
[mailto:fa-worldmusic-bounces+marco.werman=bbc.co.uk at folk.org] On Behalf
Of Phil Ballman
Sent: 01 November 2006 13:39
To: fa-worldmusic at folk.org
Subject: Re: [FA Worldmusic] terrible sound at WOMEX


I have to strongly agree with the comments regarding the poor sound at
WOMEX. At an international music conference, the priority should be on
getting the music to sound good- or at the very least, acceptable. The
sound in the 'airplane hangers' (as they were called by many people) was
not acceptable.

Whoever made the comment about 'bands getting used to working under
challenging conditions' must never have been a gigging, touring, working
musician since if you've ever spent even one week on a tour you'll have
run into 'challenging conditions'- when it comes to WOMEX you are
talking about travelling for many hours, and spending a sizable chunk of
$$ to get in front of buyers. If your showcase sounds like crap, and you
have little buyer interest as a result, it's a disaster for small groups
who struggle to afford the cost of showing at WOMEX.

While we're bitching- I really hope FIBES / Womex gets their act
together regarding the internet / wireless situation. I had a
conversation w/the guys at the Virtual Womex stand who explained to me
that to get wifi on the convention floor you had to pay 100 euros and
apparently only 50 did. What's happening is FIBES doesn't have the
bandwidth or infrastructure to support 2500 potential wifi users.

However- if even 5 euros is added to the conference fee of every
womexican, there would be a budget for an infrastructure upgrade and
'free' wifi for everyone. Anyone on the WOMEX board listening...?

bests
Phil Ballman

www.mondomundo.biz _______________________________________________
FA-Worldmusic mailing list
FA-Worldmusic at folk.org
http://www.folkserv.net/mailman/listinfo/fa-worldmusic

http://www.bbc.co.uk/
This e-mail (and any attachments) is confidential and may contain personal views which are not the views of the BBC unless specifically stated.
If you have received it in error, please delete it from your system.
Do not use, copy or disclose the information in any way nor act in reliance on it and notify the sender immediately.
Please note that the BBC monitors e-mails sent or received.
Further communication will signify your consent to this.