Sinéad O'Connor to sing at WOMADelaide
Arts
Irish singer Sinéad O’Connor – famous not just for her music, but also for courting controversy – is one of the latest acts announced for the 2015 WOMADelaide.
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Best-known for her 1990 version of “Nothing Compares to You”, the 47-year-old is currently promoting a new album, I’m Not Bossy, I’m the Boss.
The release is said to “signal a new confidence in songwriting” for O’Connor after a turbulent few years in which she has battled depression, suffered a breakdown, married for the fourth time, and became embroiled in a row with pop singer Miley Cyrus. That controversy had its latest instalment only this week when O'Connor posted a photo of Cyrus on her no-holds-barred, “strictly not for minors” blog with scathing comments about the music industry’s sexualising of “artists who look like minors and whose audience are minors”.
Ironically, the Irish star has also been reported as saying that the spat with Cyrus helped inspire her own sexed-up, slicked-back, latex look on the I'm Not Bossy, I'm the Boss cover, although she has still been sporting her trademark shaved head, priest's collar and large crucifix at recent shows.
O'Connor certainly represents a very different style of artist and music to today’s other key announcement for the March 6-9 music festival in Botanic Park: Mali musician Toumani Diabate, a virtuoso of the 21-string West African harp the kora, and his kora-playing hip-hop producer son, Sidiki.
“What makes WOMADelaide a truly unique festival is the extraordinary diversity of musical experiences for audiences who will get the opportunity to experience not only one of contemporary music’s biggest stars in Sinéad O’Connor, but also her non-Western contemporaries, including the talents of a complete maestro like Toumani Diabate,” says festival director Ian Scobie.
SidikiDiabate
Other acts in the latest line-up announcement include contemporary Indigenous and Torres Strait Islander group The Painted Ladies; Sydney string quartet FourPlay; Kiwi drumming band Myele Manzanza and The Eclectic; Icelandic multi-instrumentalist Soley; “desert reggae” artists Tjintu Desert Band; Spanish folk, flamenco, afro-beat, rock and blues band Depedro; British psych-folk veteran Robyn Hitchcock and Americana singer Emma Swift; and Singaporean toy piano player Margaret Leng Tan.
They join previously announced artists such as Ireland’s The Gloaming, Swedish singer-rapper Neneh Cherry, and Sengalese musician Youssou N’Dour.
This story first appeared on InDaily. Click here to read InDaily’s article about the 25 acts announced earlier this month for WOMADelaide, and visit the official website for information on the full line-up so far.
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