The official compilation for WOMAD 2010, which takes place 12-14 MARCH 2010 at BROOKLANDS PARK in NEW PLYMOUTH, TARANAKI.

Through 18 dynamic years, audiences have come to expect that the WOMAD festival will continue sourcing magnificent new delights from all parts of the world, honoring pure ethnic traditions but also conjuring daring hybrids that span racial, national and stylistic divides.

Providing a snapshot of WOMAD 2010, the 14 artists featured on this compilation CD take listeners through a bold cross-section of genres, cultures, nationalities and generations - from the soulful strains of Ethiopian singer Mahmoud Ahmed to the pristine classical folk of Finland’s Lepistö & Lehti; from the outrageous chanson ska punk of Babylon Circus to the plaintive oud virtuosity of Algeria’s Kamel El Harrachi.

The thrill of the new is especially arresting: the hot and feisty new Gypsy fusion of Ojos de Brujo, where flamenco meets hip hop; Mariem Hassan’s emotive refugee cry from the Western Sahara; the haunting prairie rock of Calexico that billows from the hot Arizona winds; remodelled 1970s Afrobeat lovingly produced by Australia’s Public Opinion Afro Orchestra, a spirited revival connecting with the wider world of music that inspired it.