Marzoug, WOMAD festival, Charlton Park, near Malmesbury in Wiltshire, 27-29 July

[Al-khiyal]

Ben Taylor, Daara J, El Tanbura and Marzoug have been added to the lineup for this year's WOMAD festival in Wiltshire...

The four acts, from America, Senegal, Egypt and Algeria respectively, will help celebrate the festival's first year at its new home.

WOMAD 2007 takes place at Charlton Park, near Malmesbury in Wiltshire, from 27-29 July.

Until last year, the world music festival was held in Reading, however it was forced to move to a bigger site due to its increasing popularity.

Other acts already confirmed include Baaba Maal, Bill Cobham, Sam Tshabalala, Steel Pulse and Dhol Foundation.

Tickets are on sale now HERE priced £110 for an adult weekend pass. That price rises to £120 on 31 January so buy now to save a tenner!

Marzoug, WOMAD festival, Charlton Park, near Malmesbury in Wiltshire, 27-29 July

"Marzoug is an exciting mix of Arab and African cultures. A genuine family settled in the El Alia district of Biskra, in southern Algeria, the Marzoug ensemble is an experience which goes beyond music.

Marzoug is led by the distinguished pipe master, Soudani Djelloul, who carries on the traditions of the music of his area. The music of Marzoug must be seen against the backdrop of the Sahara Desert - that immense mysterious region that encompasses most of North Africa up to the Mediterranean Sea that separates yet joins North Africa and Southern Mediterranean Europe. The band’s music invites us into the immensity of the desert through their integrated programme of music, song and dance.

The group have a great rapport with the public that owes a lot to their integration of traditional instruments such as the chekwa, the qarquabou and the tabla added to the voice of singer Laifa Youcef. The chekwa consists of two pipe reeds tied together at the tip, one part of which is fixed to the inside of the bag. At the top end of the bag, two small gazelle horns are placed with a third small reed, into which the musician will blow to fill the bag with air. The qarquabou is a large iron castanet and the tabla is the typical North Africa Drum."

[Al-khiyal]

WOMAD, which is moving to a new site at Charlton Park, near Malmesbury in Wiltshire and happening from Friday 27th to Sunday 29th July has announced more acts.

Newly confirmed are:- Balkan Beat Box (Israel/USA), Bassekou Kouyate & Ngoni Ba (Mali), Candi Staton (USA), Cesaria Evora (Cape Verde), CJ Chenier (USA), DJ Shantel (Germany), Imagined Village (UK), Kronos Quartet (USA), Kung Nei & Ouch Savy (Cambodia), Lila Downs (Mexico), Mariza (Portugal), Samba Mapangala & Orchestre Virunga (Kenya/Democratic Republic of Congo), Serta-Gesar Troupe (Tibet), Sheila Chandra (UK), Toots and the Maytals (Jamaica), Toumast (Niger), and Warsaw Village Band (Poland).

They join the previously announced acts of Baaba Maal (Senegal), Ben Taylor (USA), Bill Cobham (USA), Daara J (Senegal), El Tanbura (Egypt), Marzoug (Algeria), Sam Tshabalala (South Africa), Steel Pulse (UK), and The Dhol Foundation (UK).

Tickets are on sale, available at the reduced price of £110 until 28th February (this reduced price time has been extyended) - afterwards they'll be priced at £120. Camping from Friday to Monday is included in the ticket price - if you wish to camp on the Thursday there's an extra charge of £10.