Gilles Peterson in a spin
Few festivals manage to nail the ideal blend of ingredients needed to create the perfect week-long party. Securing the right line-up, attracting the right crowd and choosing the best setting are all hard to align to equal perfection, however Gilles Peterson’s Worldwide festival in sunny Sète did just that.
Curator Gilles Peterson, best known for owning Brownswood Recordings and DJing on BBC Radio 6, is up there with the likes of Jools Holland and John Peel when it comes to endorsing new music you just know you’ll love. If you have a fetish for sounds with an edge of jazz, melodic soul, electronic synth with an old-school funk, 'GP' has just the tunes.
With each set he plays you can expect to hear something you’ve never heard but will want to hear again and again. It’s no wonder Worldwide festival, now in its 8th year, once more, sold out its 15,000 ticket capacity.
Omar performs tracks from his new album The Man
When speaking to Gilles he simply said he wanted the crowd to "just trust him" on the acts chosen to pepper the 2013 schedule. The lineup read like a musical Benetton ad. In the classic corner, acts ranged from legendary UK soul singer Omar, original US hip-hop turntablists J Rocc and world-renowned Brazilian musician Marcos Valle who collaborated with composer and singer Lucas Santtana.
As for the newbies, up-and-coming UK producer Romare, Norwegian DJ, Cashmere Cat, and Australian neo-soul band Hiatus Kaiyote all delivered performances that will have secured them a hefty new fan base.
One of the unique things about Worldwide is the variation of venues. By day it’s all about dancing on the beach stopping only to cool off in the sea and sip on a sangria. As the week progresses the one main stage switches location providing a refreshing variation to week of professional partying.
Théâtre De La Mer
Early attendees (Mon-Wed) were treated to performances at the elegant Théâtre De La Mer - a historic alfresco venue overlooking the sea serving freshly-cooked mussels and rosé wine as the sun sets and the percussionists play. It’s the perfect way to ease your way into a heavy night of thumping DJ sets. From mid-week onwards the dance floor is Saint Christ - home to a lighthouse, a chill out area and a lot of hardcore dancing until 6am. What with the main event only happening in one area per night, there’s little chance of losing your mates, but if you do you’re bound to meet a festival family to cosy up to as friendly faces are never far away.
The crowd are refreshingly diverse in age and nationality but united by friendly, chilled-out vibes. Almost half are Brits with French ravers coming a close second - a good sign of the French endorsing this UK import.
Getting on up at St Christ
Not even a tense Wimbledon final could deter the crowd from the beach party on the final day yet the crowd still erupted with jubilation when Gilles announced Andy Murray's win, giving us Brits one more thing to celebrate.
Gilles remained bicep deep in mucking-in on all the action throughout. Festival-goers will have seen the superstar DJ either on the wings of the stage humbly revelling in the performances, or delivering another marvellous set to a congregation of music lovers on the beach. He’s clearly as much of a fan as he is the man running the show and if it’s good enough for Gilles, it’s good enough for us.
Worldwide festival in Sète is on during the beginning of each July. Worldwide also takes place in Leysin during March. Check out www.worldwidefestival.comfor details.
More on this post from the original source: http://blogs.virginmedia.com/music/blogs/review-worldwide-music-festival-sete
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