Babel Sound is usually defined by the festival-goers as „wonderful” due to the benevolent, unselfish, joyful atmosphere of this unique and homely event. Many of the musicians were present as camp residents and jammed together during the whole week, often taking the stage as guest performers in each other’s shows.
The first night’s performers were the Spanish TranceUntes who brought real festival vibes to the stage of Babel Camp – Szimpla Ruin Bar with their psychedelic folk beats. On the second night at the same location the audience was entertained by the Serbian Naked and their progressive, Balkan-inspired music. Miramundo took the stage on the third night with their action packed performance bringing smiles to their listeners’ faces.
The festival didn’t lack Main Stage concerts either: amongst many others was the Catalonian all-girls brass-band Balkan Paradise Orchestra who reinterpreted many balkanese classics with their unique sense of humor. The Argentinian La Fanfarria del Capitán even brought their own wines which the audience could taste during their show. Although African rhythms can sometimes be incomprehensible for European ears the Senegalian bard, Ibrahima Cissokho, made them dance easily with her songs and energy. The festival’s highlight, Indonesian reggae musician Ras Muhamad delivered a huge and professional show.
Different to the previous years, all-day-long interactive, exciting kids’ programmes were introduced. In the morning Évkerék Társulat greeted the children with their music-filled tales and were followed by the Mongolian-Hungarian-Russian DzsinnKalaDzsi group. During the day festival goers could attend a variety of interesting DIY activities such as Portuguese tile dying, silk scarf batik dying, traditional Italian spaghetti pasta making and could even prepare funny instruments from recycled materials. Random jam sessions could also be witnessed throughout the festival area.
Her Excellency the Indonesian Ambassadress Wening Esthyprobo attended the festival with her entourage on Friday and Sunday. This year India, Indonesia, Morocco, Italy, Portugal and Turkey had their own thematical tents, but the organizers aim to broaden the palette with even more countries and their interactive cultural programmes.
Still, the most cathartic moments were brought to us by the more intimate performances like the acoustic chello-singer duo of Redi Hasa and Maria Mazzotta or when the Django-esque swing musician Bilal Karaman’s trio expanded into a quartet with the help of a brilliant Austrian violinist.
At Csavargőzös Stage, Lake Balaton set the mood for the afternoon concerts. Banda Zeitun from the Balearic Islands said a worthy goodbye with their danceable music to not only the festival but the waves of the ’Hungarian Sea’.
