It's the festival season, and for those who don't like large crowds and don't even want to venture outdoors, Cultural Co-operation offered a free alternative. The final shows of this year's World City Music Village festival were held in this historic little East End Victorian music hall. Also streamed live for those at home, this was an impressive reminder of the globally influenced bands based in the city.
The headliners, Family Atlantica, showed the London musical melting pot at its very best. Formed in Hackney, they are an exuberant, percussive and increasingly sophisticated outfit who have set out to explore, in their words, "the relationship, the love and the pain, between Europe, South America and Africa". The flamboyant and powerful Venezuelan singer Luzmira Zerpa came on stage sporting an exotic feathered headdress and dark glasses, flanked by Ghanaian percussionist Afla Sackey and her multi-instrumentalist husband, Jack Yglesias, who went on to play anything from flute to conch shells to thumb piano. Joined by guitar, bass and saxophone, they veered between Latin and African styles, adding elements of funk and jazz along the way, with a successful excursion into Ethio-jazz (a reminder that the great Mulatu Astatke was a guest on their album) and a rousing, lilting dance finale, Manicero. They are one of the great London bands.
Earlier, there was a solid display of Congolese soukous from Kasai Masai, and African-influenced songs from the intriguing Zambian-Scottish singer Namvula, who switched between rolling dance pieces and cool, soulful laments from her forthcoming debut album. In contrast, there were edgy, haunting a cappella harmonies from the all-female Perunika Trio, mixing Bulgarian traditional laments with Japanese songs. It's an unlikely approach, but has brought these Londoners cult success in Japan.
• Family Atlantica are at Ipswich Global Rhythm festival, Christchurch Park, on 12 July.
• This article was amended on 15 July 2014 because an earlier version said Kwame Crentsil played with Family Atlantica at the festival. Crentsil is in the group, but on Sunday the percussionist in question was in fact Afla Sackey.
