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16TH Text by: Thomas Gennaro Photos by: Guglielmo Zanchi
RAINFOREST WORLD MUSIC FESTIVAL
THE CONCERTS
Set in the lush jungles of Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo, the annual Rainforest World Music Festival (RWMF) is one of the region’s most popular events, a three-day weekend of music and dance held every year in Sarawak Cultural Village in Santubong. When I received a media invitation from its organizers, the Sarawak Tourism Board, I did not need to think twice, booked our ticket to Sarawak’s main town Kuching and got excited in anticipation of what I would experience.
The Sarawak RWMF, which started in 1998, has earned wide international acclaim for its cultural uniqueness thanks to wonderful live performances by world singers and bands, an international lineup of folk and world music groups that get involved in daily workshops and nightly concerts. It would be appropriated to say that RWMF is today one of Malaysia’s largest musical event for an enthusiastic audience that keeps coming back year after year.
WHO IS BEHIND IT?
THE LOCATION
THE ARTISTS
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he Rainforest World Music Festival is the brainchild of the organiser, the Sarawak Tourism Board, which also runs the annual Borneo Jazz Festival in Miri, northern Sarawak. Since its humble beginnings in 1998, the festival has grown in popularity and into a world-class event – hence a more commercial one - with an audience that went from 400 people to 25,000 of last year, all gathering in Sarawak to experience some of the finest acts on the World Music circuit, as well as afternoon workshops and mini-concerts, a crafts market and a great variety of local foods to be tasted.
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he venue of the Rainforest World Music Festival is the Sarawak Cultural Village, located in Damai, on the north coast, a 45-minutesdrive from Kuching town. The village grounds are set against the magnificent and majestic jungle-clad Mount Santubong, at its foothills, where you really feel part of the rainforest. Locals and regular festival-goers always hope for a bit of rain to bless the festival and make them feel more attached to nature.
he Rainforest World Music Festival brings together a mouth-watering feast of renowned world musicians from all continents on the planet, some coming from as far as Colombia, as well as indigenous musicians from the interior areas of Borneo. A showcase of musical talents performing musical genres spanning from traditional music, to world fusion and contemporary world music. The participating criteria emphasize the use of traditional acoustic world instruments, although electric accompaniment instruments are common.
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he Rainforest World Music Festival concerts took place on 2 different stages located next to each other near the Cultural Village lawn: the Jungle Stage and the Tree Stage. This set-up made it possible to seamlessly switch from one band to the next without any idle setup time. Video screens and speakers were positioned all over the village compound to ensure no-one missed any bands, so you could still excuse yourself for a while to enjoy food and drinks from the local stalls, or to head to the counter where the festival memorabilia, and CDs and DVDs from participating artists were for sale (no plastic bag was handed out though, in line with the environmentallyfriendly characteristic of this festival and of Sarawak in general), as well as cultural and craft displays. The concerts started after dawn under a canopy of tree and the night sky, and lasted until 12,30 am. The festival is appropriately named as the rain was indeed experienced, though on a small scale. During the rainy minutes, the audience put their raincoats on and danced as in a trance rave in the relatively muddy part of the grounds. Once the evening concerts were over, the action moved informally to the
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THE WORKSHOPS
he 3-day program at the Rainforest World Music Festival started in daytime with mini-shows and workshop sessions where performers from various countries conducted gatherings related to their music and songs in three different traditional houses within the Sarawak Cultural Village: Dewan Lagenda, Iban Longhouse and the Theatre. The members of the audience interested in getting to know more about how to play an instrument or sing a tune or dance a dance, enjoyed interactive sessions, ethno-musical lectures as well as dance workshops. In a relaxed atmosphere and thanks to a more than flexible timetables for the workshops, we learned about traditional Aboriginal body rites, music and traditions of the Bidayuh people, different types of drum percussions and string instruments, the origin of the traditional gong, and many more sounds and music and traditions from around the world. It was a relaxed yet delightful and mind-filling experience. Artists are seen as human beings, walking through the site throughout the duration of the festival, and always willing to a chat with members of the audience.
Damai Beach Resort grounds nearby for a few jam-sessions, chats and drinking sessions that grouped up musicians, members of media and some of the audience who stayed at the resort. In fact, one of the other features of this festival is that there are no restrictions in communicating with the performers, and the musicians themselves encourage conversation, especially at the afternoon workshops or during their idle time.
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WHAT ABOUT US
he Rainforest World Music Festival left in us a feeling of hope for reconciliations amongst all the world races. Not only did the festival attract plenty of musicians, but it also gathered audience of so many nationalities who flooded to Kuching from all over the world and who displayed different languages and skin colours and ways to dress and behave, all lulled by dazzling lights and spectacular sounds. It was such a fulfilled and wholesome festival experience that we do not hesitate to recommend it to anyone interested in… music and people! It was an unforgettable event for us and for every visitor, where to experience the warmth of ethnic music, the colours and variety of performers’ costumes and instruments, all transforming the place into a mystical festival for the ears and the eyes.
The Rainforest World Music Festival is a guarantee for enjoyment, for mixing and matching, and for a fun-packed visit to Kuching, Borneo, if you happen to be around towards the end of June. Dates for the 2014 event have been already set: 20-22 June 2014. Check it out and buy your tickets on www.rwmf.net - Whether you are new to Rainforest World Music Festival or a veteran, you will not regret it.
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