What do Maoris singing of their ancestors, a Tanzanian family descended of a musical genius, a group of Moroccan percussionists, a Portuguese rock/fado band, an American bluegrass band, and a Chilean powerhouse with a 40-year history have in common? They all performed at the 12th annual Rainforest World Music Festival in Sarawak, Borneo.
The world renown festival takes place every year at the Sarawak Cultural Village right outisde of Kuching, the capital of the state of Sarawak (Sarawak and it’s northern neighbor, Sabah, make up Malaysian Borneo). It’s no Woodstock or Lollapalooza. The Sarawak Cultural Village is a 17 acre property on the Santubong Peninsula (also known as Damai), at the base of a gorgeous mountain. Houses built in the styles of the many indigenous peoples of Sarawak surround a large pond. Over the course of three days, workshops featuring the invited acts and their diverse instrumentation are held in the early to mid afternoon, followed by a concert from seven pm to midnight. Throughout the day food is served from huge food stalls, ranging from Thai to sushi, from pizza to satay. If you don’t want to view the concert from the main stage, you can sit near the pond with a cold Heineken and watch it from one of the large screens installed throughout the complex.
Never before had I been at such an event. After each themed workshop (for example, one on percussion, one on string instruments, vocals, etc), the various musicians from different groups attempt an impromptu jam session on stage, marrying the sounds of Indian tabla to Malay kompang, to electric guitar, sitar, Indonesian “kecak”, and Andean pan flutes. Almost always, the improv sessions led to the audience chanting, “We want more! We want more!” and the tired musicians would usually oblige.
Amid the H1N1 scare and the dwindling economy, the turnout for this year’s festival totalled only at about 8,000 (from 20,000), but it carried on without a problem, and was a success by every measure. I met an Australian couple who came up to Borneo for the weekend specifically for the World Music Festival; I met an Indian man who had quit his job a week before and decided to come to the Rainforest World Music Festival on a whim.
If you ever find yourself in Southeast Asia in July, the Rainforest World Music Festival is a MUST attend for any musician. The dates for next year’s festival have already been announced: 9-11 July 2010.
For more information on RWMF, visit their website.
reporting live from malaysia,
bixo do coco
