Dub in the evening
Left field artists tend to end up at Orange Court, and none at this year's fest is as left as Mark Stewart, the former leader of the Pop Group, probably the most politically engaged bands to emerge from the post-punk movement, which is saying a lot. On the heels of "Edit," a 70-minute monster album that's his first collection of new material in quite a few years, Stewart and his Maffia have embarked on a massive world tour. The Orange Court was merely one stop.
Stewart was in stellar company, with former Sugar Hill bassist Doug Wimbish and super dub producer Adrian Sherwood manning the boards (how many artists shout out to their sound man?). And the sound was pretty impeccable. The big field pulsed and reverberated with Stewart's music, which mostly stuck to dub and avoided the punkier material he's known for. But the politics weren't avoided at all. He dedicated an older song, "Pacification Program," to Tricky, who might have been backstage watching--or dancing.
photos (c) Izumi Kumazawa
Reported by Philip Brasor (2008.07.27 / 11:09)