Part of the WOMAD family

Some of the planet’s top musical names will be heading our way when this year’s WOMAD festival kicks off at its beautiful site near Malmesbury, including Senegalese vocal legend Cheikh Lo, the ageless Mahotella Queens from South Africa, Australian powerhouse outfit  Cat Empire, supercool Cuban sisters Ibeyi and the ancient Tibetan grace of the Tashi Lhunpo Monks, all firm favourites with the world music audience. But Bristol’s music scene will be well represented in the home side, too, with appearances scheduled from Spiro, Sheelanagig, The Will Gregory Moog Ensemble and Massive Attack’s Daddy G in DJ mode. For minimalist folk innovators Spiro this will be their third WOMAD appearance since signing to Peter Gabriel’s Real World recording label in 2008 and gives them the chance to unveil their latest album Welcome Joy and Welcome Sorrow.

Six years ago the relatively unknown Spiro made their WOMAD debut on a baking Saturday afternoon in the Big Red Tent, a venue usually known for full-on dance music. It was unclear how their complex acoustic minimalism (which lacks either drum or bass) would go down but the programmers had got it dead right and the pounding insistence of their rhythms quickly began to draw more and more people into a full-on moshing mob.

Violinist Jane Harbour recalls the occasion with a broad smile: “It was one of our first bigger gigs and there were loads of them – all packed in. It’s our ideal scenario: a lot of people in a tight space!”

Guitar player Jon Hunt agrees: “The great thing about WOMAD is that people are always up for it – we’ve played some folk festivals where 95% of the audience are reading their newspapers. So we’re really pleased to be going back for the third time. We know a lot of people there and we’ll camp with them – it does feel a bit like we’re family now.”

These days, of course, the band are no strangers to stadium stages and following a short tour of Canadian festivals they have more big outdoor dates across Europe after their WOMAD appearance. It’s all about promoting that new album, another critically acclaimed collection of fresh instrumental pieces in their unmistakeable and unique style that have each been carefully nurtured before recording.

“We all write stuff,” Jane explains, “But I guess everyone then contributes as they take shape.”

Jon concurs: “They grow and change, especially in the live set. They morph. The audience are part the writing process, too.”

It doesn’t end in the studio, either, as mandolinist Alex Vann points out: “Even on this first tour the new album has evolved as we play it. It’s a slow, intuitive process and you can’t hurry it.”

Given the complex structures of the music, with melodies and rhythms passing between the four players in a constant flux of musical textures and ideas, this flexibility is remarkable and a testament to their assurance and virtuosity. At times each player (including Jason Sparkes on accordion) is producing two musical parts – and there’s more, as Alex explains, because the interaction of those parts can often produce a third musical element. All of this accounts for the way four acoustic musicians can produce such a vast sound that it holds a big crowd’s attention, and how their music can sound like both Philip Glass and a trance anthem at the same time.

For all their world touring it’s clear that WOMAD, just down the road in Malmesbury, is still going to be the highlight for Spiro, but what are they looking forward to seeing? Alex has his eyes on eccentric Swiss ethno-jazzers Orchestre Tout Puissant Marcel Duchamp as well as stylish London rap lyricist Ghostpoet, while Jon hopes to catch ultra cool singer Laura Mvula. But, as he so rightly says, with a festival full of discoveries like this “often the best things are those you didn’t know you were going to love!”

WOMAD runs from Friday 24 to Sunday 26 July at Charlton Park, near Malmesbury, about 30 miles from Bristol. Spiro are appearing on the Ecotricity Stage on Saturday and day tickets are still available for Saturday and Sunday.

Welcome Joy and Welcome Sorrow is released on the Real World label