When: 14th – 17th August
Where: Wimborne St Giles, Dorset, England
Looking at the We Out Here line up is dizzying for me. It’s like a love letter to FOMO. Over 400 acts and not one I’d turned my nose up at. There’s legends and pioneers such as: the King of Latin Soul, Joe Bataan; soul and disco stalwart Leroy Burgess; distinguished roots reggae singer Horace Andy, visionary jazz percussionist Kahil El’Zabar and those long standing West African funk fusionists Orchestre Poly Rythmo De Cotonou. Not to mention ground breaking DJs like François K, Carl Craig, Dave Lee, Norman Jay, A Guy Called Gerald, Fabio & Grooverider and a whole host of Bristol’s finest from across the generations as they celebrate 40 years of the Bristol Sound with Smith & Mighty, Daddy G, DJ Nature (aka Milo), Queen B, Roni Size, DJ Die, Krust, Pinch, Peverelist, Addison Groove, Khan, Yushh, Om Unit, Sam Binga, Amy Kisnorbo… I could go on but you get the point. They’ve even got partnerships with Trinity Centre and Noods Radio this year.
If you’re still a little lost then musically the festival holds jazz as a base (or maybe bass) note as it moves through gospel, soul, funk, disco, sound system culture, and just about any form of dance music that hasn’t lost sight of its roots. In particular that includes house, techno, garage, dubstep, broken beat and jungle, with every (and I could get myself in trouble here) tasteful side of those spectrums explored and expanded. From top to bottom, the line up carries a spirit of experimentation and pushing boundaries, just enough to keep things exciting without forgetting to keep the body nourished. This is music to move you by every means necessary, though there are plenty of ambient sounds to unwind to also.
Production wise it tends to be a little no frills but musically there’s no expense spared and I get the impression that artists come and play because they really want to be there. It helps that the UK’s go to tastemaker for these adjacent scenes – Gilles Peterson, is the main man there. If you enjoy his BBC 6Music show then this is definitely the place for you. He also lives up to the name of his own Worldwide FM station with artists from across the Globe – Brazil (Hermeto Pascoal and Dora Morelenbaum), Congo (Fulu Miziki), Ghana (Florence Adooni), India (Delhi Sultanate) and Benin (OPRDC) are just the ones I’ve spotted. Plus dozens of different diasporic musicians and DJs.
I could carry on reeling off exciting names forever and in fact some of my favourite artists are in the bottom reaches of the line up, but current darlings of note include Kokoroko, Emma Jean Thackray, Jalen Ngonda, Nubiyan Twist and Polish producer and harpist Marysia Osu. The Tomorrow’s Warriors stage is particularly exciting as those trusted mentors offer what they’ve said on the tin for over three decades and have a tent packed full of the next generation’s brightest and best. I haven’t even mentioned the headliners yet who are Michael Kiwanuka and Rotary Connection 222, a band created by Junius Paul to honour the music of acclaimed producer and arranger Charles Stepney who worked with Earth, Wind & Fire, Marlena Shaw, Ramsey Lewis, The Dells and of course the original Rotary Connection as well as their singer Minnie Riperton after she went solo.
Even if you only recognise a handful of names I’ve mentioned, if your tastes are suitably leftfield enough then you’re guaranteed to discover plenty more that you will appreciate while there. My only small gripe is they’re woefully low on Welsh representation, but the Pamoja Disco Boys are holding the fort and we still claim Pinch.
Ultimately this is the place where music geeks get down and a lot of the audience undoubtedly still buy everything on vinyl and know every label, producer and percussionist in their collection (what other festival would book James Mason for starters?). But in my experience this gathering is more about connection than chin stroking and the crowd are a lovely bunch indeed. I highly recommend it.
