Rainforest World Music Festival 2019

Here's a recap of my experience during Day 3 of RWMF.

 I had to admit that I was in a privileged position to attend a huge event like RWMF for the first time. I never thought I would enjoy festivals as much until I attended one. 

Little did I know that this festival had been running for 23 years of global indigenous music! This year was one of the biggest and I could testify that it was an incredible way to soak in the culture of Sarawak as well as the sound of global music.

Overview

I visited the Sarawak Cultural Village at least 3 times, but this experience was unlike the others. I was there specifically for music and culture. The aura and momentum of the place were unfamiliar as the cultural site was transformed into a festival ground decorated with banners and huge billboards. I could barely recognise the historical site as what it once was before. I had a whole new experience of eargasm from listening to the global exotic, whimsical tunes. 

Going green efforts

With the new efforts and initiatives to go green at the festival, food stalls are serving their bestselling culinary with wooden spoons and paper cups; the countless "Cuckoo" refillable water stations; and the #Urbins x Trinekens projects of locally painted and designed recyclable bins. 

Modern approach

A small section of a soulless space was transformed into a neon filament sphere. It brought life to a once empty place. 

Getting in touch with nature

As the name of the festival says, the festival is surrounded by tropical trees. I got to sip in all the glorious fresh air. 

Mini Sessions

The live preview of the performers was exclusive to get a better understanding of the musicians and their inspirations behind the music they produce. 

1Drum.org

The percussion sessions were interactive as passersby approached the circle, watched and followed along with the rhythm played by a group of performers. 

Indigenous culture
Experiencing a live performance by local talents just made me feel proud to be a Sarawakian.

Warisan Sape

Traditional Chinese music by The Oriental Traditional Orchestra Kuching was played on stage in the afternoon. 

Cultures

Handicrafts market and arts

If you need a music break as I did, a visit to the craft booths will impress your right brain. The things to see were endless. The inspirations I saw in the creations of these amazing talents were the tribal patterns and designs, local designers' clothing pieces, colourful beads, wood crafting, paintings, tattoos and bamboo blowing.

Theatre performances

We were able to catch on the second half of a short performance by Mauravann from Mauritius. The traditional instruments were lit up as they play on them. The vocal Linzi was magical. I was mesmerised by the expressions of their feelings poured into the song as they sang. Although their language was entirely foreign, I could feel their songs speak of their lives. 

Jungle performances

At night, the white tent was turned into a dance platform, with the appearance of our local band. Festival attendees were dancing and injecting "ooh" and "ahh" noises.

Raban Kenyalang, Sarawak

The main stage was blasted with ethereal music from overseas' performers. The ground was overfilled with crowds. OKI was a tonkori player who had been a prominent performer of such instruments internationally. KILA performs traditional Irish folk music. The collaboration blends in so harmoniously that I forgot they were of different genres and groups. 

OKI (Japan) and KILA (Irish folk rock band)

It's a wrap RWMF 2019!
*it has been back-to-back festival-related content for the past weeks and hopefully I could publish the usual fashion/beauty related content soon!*

All photos by Prisc

Prisc

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