- Now in its eighth edition, Worldwide Festival is the coming together of Gilles Peterson's musical friends and cohorts. Spread over six days in the city of Sete in Southern France, it offers a blend of acoustic performance and club-focused beats. From relatively new names in Peterson's stable (Romare, Cashmere Cat) to more seasoned associates, the lineup highlights artists with a sense for joining genres together.
The venue for the opening night was Théatre de la Mer, a stunning amphitheatre facing the sea. Upon arrival we caught Rocketnumbernine, who expertly brushed together jazz and metal with an electronic sensibility, and closed their set with a hypnotising drone. Once they finished, Peterson announced that the stage would now become a dance floor, so that Four Tet and Floating Points could play back-to-back at the top of the amphitheatre, facing the sea in an elaborately constructed booth. For the next few hours, Floating Points dipped into soulful nuggets while Hebden moved from dub to electronic to funk. The most memorable moment came when he slowly rolled back the drum intro of a dub track, beat by beat, before finally releasing the record to a huge reaction.
Heliocentrics kicked off the final lineup at the Théatre with free-flowing psych-funk, while Chris Dave and The Drumheadz delivered a mind-blowing display of drumming prowess and tenacious rhythms. Kutmah and J Rocc turned up the temperature as well, with Kutmah nailing it in particular, dropping everything from Busta Rhymes to the Curb Your Enthusiasm theme.
Photo credit: Tom Morgan
It was a local affair at the C.R.A.C. venue, with French jock Night Drugs pumping out bouncy afro-house as young people danced in the heat. It was nice to see the crowd include locals as well as visiting revellers, something that's likely due to discounted festival tickets and free entry to the beach parties. Speaking of the beach parties, these were an endurance test on top of the evening shows. Francois K was on form by the sea, excitedly blending dub, disco, house and even a bit of jungle along the way. Lefto and Alex Patchwork nimbly worked their way through modern bass and classic hip-hop. The beach party standout, though, was someone not so many knew before: Sassy J, a Swiss DJ who ensnared the crowd in a frenzy of on-point house from the likes Moodymann, Mike Grant and Omar-S.
From Thursday the evening schedule ramped up to include more acts, longer hours and a new setting. St.Christ was a more typical festival setup: temporary stage, mobile loos and watery beer. The views were still good, though, and the sound was excellent. The first night had strong shows from Omar, Lefto and Mount Kimbie. Homeboy Sandman was a disappointment, shouting into the mic instead of delivering his smooth and pensive lyricism. Mala In Cuba, a project Peterson had a significant role in, mesmerised the crowd with a deep and rhythmical pulse of percussion and seductive female vocals.
Photo credit: Tom Morgan
Saturday saw the BPMs rise even more with JETS, Romare and Ben UFO. The main show, though, was birthday boy Kenny Dope, who received an impressive recital of "Happy Birthday" from the crowd. His set smoothly moved through golden era hip-hop, teasing out hooks here and there, before landing into Latin-touched house.
Energy levels were sapped by Sunday, and Hiatus Kaiyote did their best to keep it that way with a sleep-inducing performance of future soul. Nôze delivered a repetitive medley of swinging house, before Bonobo reengaged the crowd with a lush selection of tracks from his recent LP. Running overtime, Cashmere Cat took to the stage for the closing set. Just as he built up to "Mirror Maru" with a selection of his own productions, the police cut the sound—a shame as the crowd was just getting reenergised.
An electric atmosphere dissipated as the masses trudged away to reflect on an all encompassing week. Sure there were some logistical issues, but there aren't many festivals that combine spectacular settings with consistently good sound and a diverse lineup.