Cheikh Lô to receive WOMEX Artist Award

Beloved in Senegal, adored by world music fans and admired by musicians around the world, there is no doubt that Cheikh Lô is one of the giants of West African music. Lô’s five international releases present a music that is rooted in Senegalese mbalax but with important and exciting sonic detours through Latin America, the Caribbean, the USA, Nigeria and DR Congo - his influences are gleaned from across the world.

Lô is a tireless musical innovator, pushing boundaries in both his own music and as a collaborator with many and varied artists. His stature and music have also brought much greater exposure and international recognition to the Baye Fall – the Sufi order to which he proudly belongs. It is for these reasons that WOMEX will present Cheikh Lô with the 2015 WOMEX Artist Award. He will perform a special show that will bring WOMEX to a close for another year.

The 17th WOMEX Award Ceremony will take place on Sunday 25 October at the Palace of Arts in Budapest and will recognise formidable artistry, professionalism and contribution to the arts sector and record label output in the following three categories: Artist Award; Professional Excellence Award; and Top Label Award. The recipients of this year's Professional Excellence and Top Label Awards will be announced soon.

Second round of conference sessions and speakers announced

To add to the exciting selection of artists invited to showcase at WOMEX this year, 10 new sessions have been added to the WOMEX 15 conference programme, canvassing trends, issues and developments that affect or drive the broader musical community.

Hagar Graiser (Israel/South Africa) of the Cape Town Nu World Festival/BiomatrixWeb will discuss how she is using systems thinking to improve the South African music business model. Christian Ulf-Hansen (UK) of Plan C Management will dive into the world of sync. Cathy de Haan (Germany) of Wilde Sterne will explore ways that audio and visual artists can collaborate to make a splash in the digital world. Mario Escalona Serrano (Cuba) of EGREM will take participants on a journey through the contemporary Cuban musical landscape; with other sessions highlighting cross-cultural collaboration, presenting arts events and more.

Representatives of the WOMEX team and WOMEX Jury will also lead an orientation session, outlining how delegates can make the most of their time at the event. Further more information visit the WOMEX website.