Tour news: De La Soul, St Germain heading to Womad

De La Soul will play Womad alongside St Germain and Asha Bhosle.

Veteran Rap act De La Soul will headline Womad next year, and they'll be bringing their new fan-funded album with them.

The New York trio are today confirmed to perform at the New Plymouth-based festival, held at Bowl of Brooklands Park over the weekend of March 18-20.

It's good timing: Posdnuos, Dave and Maseo will bring a new album with them, the Kickstarter-funded record Anonymous Nobody, due for release on April 29.

It's their ninth album since their 1989 seminal debut 3 Feet High and Rising, and it will be a guest-heavy affair, with Little Dragon, 2 Chainz, David Byrne, Pete Rock and Damon Albarn all slated to feature. The first single Pain features Snoop Dogg and will be released early next year.

St Germain.

Today's second Womad announcement also adds French electro act St Germain, Korean duo su:m, and 82-year-old Indian singer Asha Bhosle to its line-up.

They join previously announced acts Ladysmith Black Mambazo, John Grant, Calexico, Tami Neilson, Julia Deans, Bic Runga and Tiny Ruins.

Womad's co-artistic director Emere Wano says the festival's line-up is an international juggling act.

"It is like a big moving jigsaw with the goal to deliver the richest and most intriguing programme possible. As artists become available you have to think how they will add to the mix and the programme balance, which stage they would best be experienced on and how that fits into the overall picture."

St Germain will cement his 2015 comeback after what Wano calls "a long hiatus". After 2000's Tourist ruled cafe playlists thanks to its chilled mix of house and jazz, the French downbeat artist, real name Ludovic Navarre, released a new self-titled album this year.

Asha Bhosle.

Korean duo su:m (it's pronounced "soom") perform on traditional instruments like bamboo oboes and a 24-pipe mouth organ, while Asha Bhosle has sung more than 12,000 songs in more than 20 Indian languages and is recognised by the Guinness Book of World Records as the most recorded artist in music history.

• For full line-up details and tickets visit womad.co.nz.