The iconic Rainforest World Music Festival marks its legendary return, featuring a cast of world renowned performers never seen before in Sarawak. The annual three-day music festival celebrates the diversity of world music in Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia, with daytime music workshops, cultural displays, craft displays, food stalls, and main-stage evening concerts.   This year’s festival will be making a ‘physical’ comeback from 23rd to 25th June at Sarawak Cultural Village, Kuching. The festival’s line-up will feature a total of 199 musicians from 12 countries, across more than 3 continents to perform a diverse range of music genres. Performers at the Rainforest World Music Festival include Grammy Awards winner, ‘Gipsy Kings’ ft. Tonino Baliardo from France, ‘Big Mountain’ from Jamaica/USA, ‘Safi Theatre’ from Tanzania, ‘Rastak’ from Iran, ‘Fasylive’ from Maldives, ‘Afriquoi’ from the United Kingdom, ‘Chatusram’ from India, ‘Rizal Hadi & Folk’ from Indonesia and ‘Ethno Thai Fusion Sound Band’ from Thailand. The line-up will also include performers from Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore.

The post Rainforest World Music Festival 2023 appeared first on Asian Itinerary.

Fairy tale times, or perhaps time for a fairy tale. Yes, because walking here and there among the stands at the Rainforest World Music Festival in the Malaysian Borneo, at the concerts and meetings with the most varied and fascinating people, there is always a story to hear, a life story that ignites your imagination or unleashes a river of emotions. Real life stories or legends, or real facts that have been handed down for generations. Fairy tales in the truest sense of the term: those short narrations in which both men and animals, plants or other inanimate beings can be the protagonists. These are generally symbols or representations of typically human aspects of life that have the purpose to make a moral truth easily understood. I leave the moral truth hidden in the story that follows to those who want to get to the bottom of it. I limit myself to relating it as it has been told to me, hoping that in defining it a ‘fairy tale’ I do not enrage the various Aesops, Phaedrus, La Fontaine, Trilussa and all those ‘real’ writers whose fairy tales we have listened to since we were children, and with whom we grew up. “Domine non sum dignus”… I’m just a little short of a storyteller. Still, fairy tales they are, tales where animals perhaps play a fundamental role but where the real protagonist is always the ‘orang’: the person. Fiona is an artist from the Melanau tribe. We meet her at the ‘Borneo Boat Lute Revival’, an interactive exhibition aimed at keeping alive in the new generations, and at making foreigners familiar with the art of the various forms of the Malaysian lute. Instinctively nice and sociable, Fiona is eager to talk, and to tell: “My family and I cannot eat deer meat”. This is apparently because of an agreement, a kind of contract signed hundreds of years earlier between an ancestor of hers and… a deer of course. Nothing in writing, of course, much less a notarial stipulation but, not for this reason, a less binding and significant agreement. She learned this story the hard way when, at the age of nine, after accidentally eating venison, she developed a severe rash. Although Fiona is a young woman, I imagine that perhaps when she was a child there were no specialist doctors nearby to consult. So it was that an aunt, one of her father’s sisters, suggested a cure to follow: she had to take fragments of deer antlers, but without killing the animal. She had to collect the splinters that fell when the deer ‘sharpened’ the antlers on the trees, mix them with essences, burn them and get her body ‘smoked’ for three consecutive nights. Naturally Fiona recovered. Sure, we could easily dismiss the incident as a banal allergy to deer meat. But here we are not in a dreamless and cold American metropolis; we are in Sarawak, where there is still room for fairy tales and legends. At the time, Fiona asked her grandmother about an explanation, and she told her a tale: one of her ancestor, a hunter, had been seriously injured in a leg while in the forest. The wound was slow to heal and the leg continued to lose blood; it almost seemed there was no way out and that the fate of the unfortunate hunter was to bleed to death. But some benevolent spirit had decided otherwise. A deer had arrived and had licked his wound until it healed completely, and the man was saved. The hunter, grateful to the animal, entered into a pact on the basis of which there should be no bloodshed between future generations of men and deers, binding the descendants of the man to the pact that they should never again eat the meat of the descendants of the deer. Fiona gladly accepted the explanation but a doubt remained: why had one of her brothers who lived in Kuala Lumpur eaten venison several times without suffering any consequences? But of course… the deal was with the Sarawak deers, not with those of Peninsular Malaysia. Fiona laughed at this explanation and pointed out that “something is not right”. Despite life’s injustices, to my question: “Did you ever think of going to eat venison in Kuala Lumpur with your brother?”, Fiona replied that she was so traumatised by that experience that she would never eat venison again anywhere in the world. Fairy tales almost always have a happy ending, and during our trips in Kuching and Miri we had the opportunity to listen to a few of them. They tell us about women in a type of society where they may find it difficult to emerge, but when they do emerge they are always almost disruptive personalities. Women who express a solid characters that has its own affirmation as its goal, while not turning its back on its religion, its traditions and the rules of the community. Women who perhaps try to get where they want with the help of some innocent subterfuge, but proving in the end that they were right thanks to their merits, in a world where no one gives you pink quotas.

The post Fiona and the deer appeared first on Asian Itinerary.

Personally, I appreciate traditions in an almost exaggerated way. The phrases, the actions, the events; in one word, a culture that characterises the roots of a people and which, in oral or written form, is handed down from generation to generation. I think it is important to know where we come from and to whom or to what we owe for being who we are today. Sure enough, the world is shrinking, peoples are mingling with each other generating new cultures. These new cultures are the natural result of a mix of original cultures, and we are rapidly moving towards a world in which the new password is globalisation. This is a nice word, an end in itself, were it not for the fact that the meaning attributed to it almost universally does not appear as exclusive. On the contrary, it tends to exclude individual cultures to the advantage of a “non-culture” that must include everyone but that does not represent anyone. We can clearly see this in the controversies surrounding the definition of World Music. This term was coined by the American ethnomusicologist Robert Edward “Bob” Brown to describe music influenced by traditional cultures. World Music has nowadays taken on an almost derogatory meaning for the use of it by the music industry and record labels of the Western world in the 1980s to describe non-English recordings. Multi-instrumentalist and music producer Brian Clark believes that this term classifies “most non-Western music into an outcast group destined to the fringes of music festivals and lonely corner music shops”. Asia is the cradle of ancient civilisations, and in the specific case here in Sarawak, progress in its various forms cannot ignore the past. Today the Dayak people are called Iban, and though they have obviously modernised, they still adopt the principles of a past to which they have always been related. This can be seen in those Iban who still live by choice in the Longhouses, a kind of wooden one-storey “condominiums” often built on stilts. These longhouses give shelter to several families and were originally created with the aim of keeping groups united so to defend oneself from the frequent incursions of other tribes. It can also be seen in those original tattoos that almost every local has, and that reflect symbols of bygone times. Last but not least, it can definitely be seen in the evolution of local music which, while moving forward, always maintains a certain attention to what is produced by its fathers. This is something we noticed straight away at the Rainforest World Music Festival, right from the usual meetings with the artists, where on more than one occasion the thin and not so invisible thread that inextricably binds various generations was remarked.   Pinanak Sentah are six kids with clean faces and reading glasses, something that denounces a lot of time spent on books. They are Malaysians, from Siburan, less than 50km from Kuching, and they are somehow making their musical dream come true. They are a family: brothers and cousins accompanied by their father/uncle, who is also a musician, but who is not active part of the group. Well, not physically at least. But in terms of idea, he is the inspirer model for his children and grandchildren that range from the 15 years of drummer Emmanuel to the 26 years of guitarist Akinson and keyboardist Rick. They play a mix of tribal and modern music accompanied by both traditional and modern instruments. They are able to switch, with the ease of consummate musicians, from a Sape to a bass and an electric guitar, and from wooden xylophones to drums. We chatted with them off the stage, where they sported a certain confidence. The smile that lit up on their faces was not ostentatious or flaunted; it was genuine, spontaneous and typical of that age in which one looks at the world with confidence, aware that the world is in their hands. Then you see them on stage and, assuming there is still room for a transformation, this  transformation takes place there. Emmanuel skilfully strikes his instrument by sliding his sticks on the drums with the exuberance of his 15 years of age; Natalina, 17, who seemed almost intimidated by our questions during the press meeting, replaces her top-of-the-class student glasses with colourful beaded hair clips, immerses herself in a private world of her own, and produces harmonic sounds from her jatung utang, a kind of wooden xylophone, focusing seriously only on her instrument. She smiles little on stage: perhaps the large audience that listens in religious silence intimidates her. In the end, she is still little more than a child; nevertheless, she does not show it and she manages to deliver a feeling of mastery for each instrument that she plays. And only when at the end of each piece the silence is interrupted by thunderous applause, she lets herself go to a satisfied, not so imperceptible smile. What a beauty. Then there is 20 years old Ethania, a little secluded in the background. She plays the bass with delicacy, elegance and confidence. In front of her stand the two front-men, who together represent the ideological synthesis of the group: Ethaniel, 22 years old, a neat haircut, traditional clothing and a Sape in his arms, instrument that he masters without hesitation; and the aforementioned Akinson on the electric guitar: a red ribbon in his hair and an attitude that is somewhat reminiscent of Jimi Hendrix. Pinanak Sentah are there, on stage, with their father/uncle who, after passing the baton of tradition to them, observes from behind the scenes this Malaysian musical fable that continues its path towards a future that does not give space to amnesia on the past. These are second generations: groups that grew up with the tribal music of their fathers in the ears, together with rock, jazz and pop. Wayan Balawan is a Balinese musician on the threshold of his fifties, and he is considered one of the...

The post Fathers and sons in World Music appeared first on Asian Itinerary.

Finally today, after an early morning flight, a somewhat turbulent landing and an hour on a taxi, I was at the Damai Beach Resort reception to check in… Only last week, as the days went by, I felt a kind of excitement growing. I was in for a return that should have happened two years earlier, a return that the pandemic had blocked without possibility of an appeal. Nine years, this is the time that passed from my first attendance to one of the events that fascinate me the most since I live in Asia, and today. Nine long years later, yet everything reappeared so familiar to me, almost as if I had been there the day before. I immediately tasted that atmosphere made of magical uniqueness, of arriving luggages and cases of instruments with strange shapes that were to indicate a content that would have been worth dwelling on. Eastern and western faces so obviously different from each other but in whose eyes a common denominator could be found: the passion that brings them closer and, in some way, makes them similar. What? I am forgetting something? Oh well, yes, pardon me. I was forgetting the most important things: my destination and the cause of my state of mind. Well let me fix it straight away: this morning, on a flight from Kuala Lumpur, I arrived in Kuching, in the Malaysian Borneo, to witness once again that amazing event that is the Rainforest World Music Festival. From the moment I arrived at the airport, I had the feeling that only a few details had changed; in general, I immediately realized that I would be moving in an environment well known to me, with the only discordant note given by the grey and rainy weather, which I did not expect but which will be accompanying us for the entire event. Paying little attention to the weather, I ventured out through the paths leading to the concert area, still semi-deserted, and imagined what it would be like the day after: sparkling, colourful, full of food stalls from which columns of smoke and inviting smells will rise, tempting passers-by with tasty local products, and tribal Iban boys and girls showing off their traditional clothes with a touch of pride. But above all, the day after the notes of the 25th Rainforest World Music Festival will start to be heard in the air for an event that is back in the post-pandemic era with a new hybrid format. That’s how the artistic director of the Rainforest World Music Festival, Mr. Randy Raine-Reusch, 70-year-old Canadian composer and multi-instrumentalist with a particular passion for traditional Southeast Asian musical instruments, defined it at the the inaugural press conference. Hybrid. Similar to cars that can work with two or more different types of fuel, a festival that has a traditional music brand in itself is projected towards the future. A future made up of performances in which some artists will physically attend, alternating with other artists being there only virtually in the form of a live video or a recorded performance that, based on set agreements, could be granted exclusively to the festival. A hybrid festival. That’s how this edition of the Rainforest World Music Festival will look like. And to those who object that in this way the meaning of a concert would be degraded, Mr. Randy calmly replies that in exchange we would have an absolutely unique and unrepeatable event. A statement worthy of respect but questionable, especially since the Rainforest World Music Festival already proposes an element of absolute uniqueness through its workshops, which in my opinion represent the highest and most significant moments of the entire event, even higher than the concerts themselves. The performance of artists from all over the world, with different musical traditions and with similar instruments but with important differences between them (I am thinking for instance of the many varieties of flutes or stringed instruments not-so-close relatives of the guitar) will in fact meet together for an impromptu, unique and unrepeatable exhibition in these workshops where one cannot fail to be enchanted. Just a few more hours and this ensemble of music, dances and songs will once again be the protagonist at the rainforest, and the performances of performers unknown to most, with the accompaniment of instruments that are often even unimaginable (have you ever heard of the ‘Nose Flute’?) will take us into a dimension out of our time, making us forget the pains that have afflicted and still afflict our world. Let the party begin!

The post Back to the rainforest appeared first on Asian Itinerary.

Hybrid for the first time in Malaysian festival history, the Rainforest World Music Festival (RWMF) is back this year to celebrate its 25th year with more heart-racing, foot-stomping world rhythms from June 17-19. Themed ‘Legendary Rainforest Celebration’, this year’s RWMF will return to the Sarawak Cultural Village for the full festival experience, and simultaneously be livestreamed around the world. It will feature 60 performers from a host of countries including Korea, Canada, China, India, Mexico and almost everywhere in between. Sarawak Tourism Board chief executive officer Sharzede Salleh Askor, who announced this at a press conference here yesterday, said this year will see more individual acts than ever before on the rainforest stage – some live at the Sarawak Cultural Village and some beamed in by the power of modern technology. “This year, among others, we are joined by Bluguru from Australia, who set the soundwaves singing with their incredible blend of musical styles from Bluegrass to Blues, Indian to Celtic, Swing, Jazz and adventure too. “The audience can enjoy the rapid switches from one genre and one instrument to another, backed by soaring vocal harmonies, blistering guitar and fiddle. “We also feature Timo Väänänen, the leading exponent of Finland’s national instrument, the kantele. He will seamlessly blend the traditional model with the modern, electrical 39-string version to give the Sarawak audience a taste of a haunting and unique sound which has graced film, 25 albums and five solo CDs,” she pointed out. Sharzede said for those watching RWMF from home, online viewers will get a two-hour experience nightly of RWMF through their own dedicated platform, combining livestream of the action at the Sarawak Cultural Village with original curated content. She said individuals just need to sign up for one hour at RM25, then extend for another when the rhythm moves them. She added that they could just book two hours in advance over all three evenings. “Expect the same grand performances from global acts, but this time alternating with curated original video material, showing a range of local and international performers in their own environments. “We are also able to showcase a unique range of acts which might never have previously been able to stage a whole set. Meet Sarawak’s cultural practitioners of purposeful sound – our chanters, drummers, and pratuokng players, all at home,” she said. Sharzede said this year is a celebration but it is also about legacy building, with Randy Raine Reusch, originator of RWMF, returning to the stage and behind the scenes – the guiding hand of the artistic content. “He is joined by two rising stars of Sarawak music, Alena Murang and Bob Meldrick of At Adau, as Randy passes the baton to the next generation of musicians who grew up with this festival. “Our two Sarawak performers share their award-winning experience of video production and international travel with the next set of performers to appear on the stage that first welcomed them,” she added. RWMF workshops, she said, often the highlight and defining feature of the festival, continue this year. She said these workshops will bring together diverse musicians from many disciplines, drawing together these talents under unifying themes to showcase, jam and create unique music in the setting of the Sarawak Cultural Village. “Our Friday will kick off this year with our ‘Sape Gathering’. We are calling together anyone who can strum a Sape in Sarawak to get together for a grand sape jam. “This year, we have a kiddie’s workshop to bring on the next generation where they can play with instruments, create art and enjoy the festival ground to their hearts’ contents,” she said. Early Bird ticket sale is happening now until May 14 for both the physical and virtual concerts. Those interested in the physical concert can grab tickets in the different categories – Adult 1-Day Pass (RM150), Adult 3-Day Pass (RM375), Child 1-Day Pass (RM80), Child 3-Day Pass (RM155) and 1-Day Family Package Pass – two adults and two children (RM400). The physical tickets are available for purchase via rwmf.net. The virtual blocks will feature handpicked artistes that will showcase the allure of world music from both Sarawak and the international stage. Audiences can choose to buy the virtual block of one hour each depending on their preferred lineup. Virtual tickets will be sold at a later date which will be announced soon. Enjoy Rainforest World Music Festival (RWMF) 2022!

The post Legendary Rainforest World Music Festival 25th year appeared first on Asian Itinerary.

The Rainforest World Music Festival (often abbreviated as RWMF) is an annual three-day music festival celebrating the diversity of world music, held in Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia, with daytime music workshops, cultural displays, craft displays, food stalls, and main-stage evening concerts. The Rainforest World Music Festival (RWMF) is back and promises to be better than ever. Rainforest World Music Festival celebrates its 25th anniversary this year and there is no better way to celebrate the momentous occasion by hosting a hybrid event for the first time since the beginning of the music festival in 1998. This year’s festival – themed “Legendary Rainforest Celebration” – will be held from 17-19 June 2022. The physical concert is set to take place at the Sarawak Cultural Village while viewers can also livestream it from their homes via an online viewing platform. Welcome To The Land of the Hornbills With the objective of bringing the world back together with music, Rainforest World Music Festival will be welcoming back a host of international performers from Canada, India, USA, Finland, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, Singapore, Japan, Australia, Mexico, New Zealand, China, Bhutan and South Korea among others, with Majlis Seni Sarawak mixing traditional Sarawakian music with international flavours opening the three-day show in a first-time musical collaboration with Sarawak Tourism Board. The Rainforest World Music Festival 2022 will also feature the sounds and rhythms of Sarawak, showcasing musical elements from the diverse ethnic groups of Sarawak through exhilarating performances that will elevate Sarawak’s unique tribal flavours on to an international pedestal. Early Bird ticket sale started on 18th April 2022 for both the physical and virtual concerts. Those interested can go to rwmf.net to grab tickets in the different categories – Adult 1-Day Pass (RM 150), Adult 3-Day Pass (RM375), Child 1-Day Pass (RM80), Child 3-Day Pass (RM155) and 1-Day Family Package Pass- 2 Adult and 2 Children (400). Click HERE! Meanwhile, Malaysia Airlines has been named the official airline partner of the Rainforest World Music Festival. The collaboration, which is also a continuation of the Malaysia Aviation Group (MAG)’s partnership with STB will see Malaysia Airlines, Firefly and Journify offering unbeatable deals comprising flights and 3-day event pass to drive visitors and drive footfall to Sarawak.

The post Rainforest World Music Festival 2022! appeared first on Asian Itinerary.

Yoga and health are inseparable, just like food and drink. Many in Asia wrongly think that yoga is an old people’s exercise, but that mindset is totally wrong as many young people nowadays accept Yoga as a relaxing practice that leads to a healthy lifestyle. Sure enough, in term of burning calories, yoga is quite a slow activity compared to other types of exercise; however, if taking into consideration the aspect of mental health, yoga is indeed winning its mark.  We are all aware that, despite of the feeling of so many beautiful moments in life, our human brain tend to fill with worries and negativity, mainly due to work stress, a troubled relationship or any other similar cause. Yoga is believed to be the miracle cure to these mental ailments.  Yoga originated in India and it’s a term that comes from Sanskrit, meaning ‘to find peace and relaxation’, hence it became a form of meditation. It is a proven fact that a disciplined Yoga practice leads to the achievement of peace and relaxation, as well as fulfilling the control of body and mind.  Hinduism encompasses several types of Yoga, amongst which is Classical Yoga, Ashtanga Yoga and Hatha Yoga, while in Buddhism, Yoga is known as Jainism and Tantra. Many nowadays will state that Yoga is a form of aerobatic exercise. By practising Yoga, you will build muscle strength, improve body balance and flexibility, reduce body pain, achieve stronger bones and increase blood flow. Yoga helps us to focus and to calm down and relax, increasing our level of of happiness. For the ladies, the great news is that by practising Yoga regularly, you can maintain an amazing body shape! Few studies have concluded that Yoga can help fight cancer. Whether this is correct or not, one thing is certain: practising Yoga correctly does no harm! Rainforest World Music Festival 2018 in Kuching, Sarawak, was complete of Wellness and Lifestyle class as usual. This, the organiser said, was thanks to the positive and overwhelming response they got from the previous year. And like the previous year, Asian Itinerary (Stefano and Cato) once again took part in the Yoga session. At 11am of the first day at RWMF we followed the Power Yoga class introduction by teacher Louise, who is indeed a great Yoga instructor; she had extra yoga mats for those who did not bring theirs, and started off by showing us the poses properly, in a professional manner. Some of the poses, I must admit, were hard for me, but that was partly due to my not exercising regularly, hence my body was not so flexible. That was ok though, as Yoga is all about understanding your body after all. The 45 minute session with Louise and her team were really amazing. She started it with basic step and progressed slowly up to more challenging poses. Louise runs Come Reza Yoga, which Spanish language means Eat ad Pray, both important elements in our lives.  To wrap it up, Rainforest World Music Festival is indeed the perfect and ideal place to get introduced to Yoga. You should always take into consideration the fact that Yoga is one of the oldest traditional form of exercise, one that help shaping body, mind and soul.  For those interested in Yoga class, please note that Come Reza Yoga has a centre in Kuching. Their address is 1st FL., Sublot 1, Survey Lot 3262 Lot 2089, Jalan Tun Ahmad Zaidi Adruce, 93150 Kuching, Malaysia. For more details can log into their Facebook page https://web.facebook.com/enjoyyogaa/ 

The post Power yoga at Rainforest World Music Festival appeared first on Asian Itinerary.

Are you familiar with beads? Have you ever come across ancient ones? Generally, beads are well-known objects the world over. Some of them are believe to have existed for over 100,000 years! They are usually employed as small decorative objects and come in variety types of shapes, sizes and colour. Beads can be made up of stone, bone, shell, glass, plastic, wood and pearl, and are later collaged together with threads or strings. Despite being previously mostly known as jewellery, beads in modern times are more related to art and craft.    History tells us that the use of beads indicated social status, wealth and power amongst the natives of Borneo. Narrowing it down to the Sarawak area, original beads there were made out of wood, shell, stone, glass, wild boar and leopard teeth and also bones. It can be said that beads in Sarawak are quite unique as they are related with the region several ethnic groups. The ethnic influence played a major part in the pattern and technique of beads making, with each ethnic groups having different patterns and meaning of their beads, commonly used as jewellery and also sawn into traditional clothing. To give you a few examples, beads in Iban communities – Iban is the largest ethnic group in Sarawak – are used in a traditional piece of clothing (Ngepan Iban) called Tango.  A tango is worn on a lady’s shoulder and is an essential part of women traditional dress. Bidayuh ethnic group uses beads as the necklaces, while the Orang Ulu group mostly uses beads in headbands, traditional dresses, hats and accessories such as reed baskets. Most of these beads are worn by natives during Gawai Festival. The yearly Kuching Rainforest World Music Festival (RWMF) is mainly a celebration for culture, and as beads and culture are inseparable, the festival Craft Bazaar showcases a great range of beads made ad used by Sarawak indigenous people. There you can see both beads belonging to the past, and beads used in modern times, sawn onto handbags and modern times clothings. I am a local and I have visited Rainforest World Music Festival craft bazaar every year in the past five years. I admit I really admire the beads made by my own ethnic people. Sure, the variety of beads around the world is quite wide, but Borneo beads design and colours and patters are so unique, you will not be able to find a match anywhere else. Similarities perhaps many, but never exactly the same. In fact, Sarawak takes the beads business quite seriously by organising a Beads Conference: https://greendaun.com/borneo-international-beads-conference-2017/ – This internationally acclaimed Beads Conference has seen many countries participating over the years, and is highly recommended for those who love beads, or want to know more about them. There will also be a special craft bazaar in conjunction with this event, showcasing many traditional and contemporary beaded jewellery on sale. Rainforest World Music Festival (RWMF) is back this year from 12 to 14 July – for tickets and program click HERE. This will be your chance to visit the Craft Bazaar, open daily from 10,30 am to 8,30 pm, and grab some interesting specimen. For Sarawak Tourism Board website and events, click on https://sarawaktourism.com  Unique Sarawak beads are waiting for you!

The post Beads at Rainforest World Music Festival appeared first on Asian Itinerary.

The ever popular Rainforest World Music Festival (RWMF) happening in Kuching, Malaysian Borneo, is not an ordinary festival to the world crowd. Running since the early 90s, this  yearly festival never failed its audience and keeps bringing various talented performers from all over the world. Last year Rainforest World Music Festival, organized at the Sarawak Cultural Village, SCV, gathered a big audience at the performance of Tahitian group O Tahiti E. This amazing team who managed to woo the crowd through their amazing dancing movements was not just an ordinary group but a famous one the world over. Seeing their dance and listening to their music made me move as well. While their appearance reminded me of Moana, the Disney movie, they were for real, and every workshop they joined was a great success too. Same I can say for most of the groups invited year after year at this amazing gathering. This year, Rainforest World Music Festival is expected to bring 27 performers, among them Danai Kuwai (Sarawak), Dona Onete (Brazil), Elisouma (Comoros Islands), Kevin Locke (USA), Votosi (Poland) and many more, as well as the extraordinary and interesting combination of Sarawakian music in local band At Adau. For a complete list of performers, click HERE. But it does not stop at the music. In line with FIFA World Cup 2018 in Russia, Rainforest World Music Festival does not miss the chance to display Russian culture through the performance of a Oyme, a group from the Republic of Mordovia, part of the Russian Federation. And if music is not your cup of tea, please do not retreat: Rainforest World Music Festival also provides its cheerful public with other activities such as Wellness and Lifestyle: Yoga and Zumba classes, Sape sessions, Sampeh stories, Children’s sessions, Rainforest Crafts Bazaar, Food and Village Mart and also mini sessions known as workshops. Don’t miss out a chance to join us at Rainforest World Music Festival this year.Tickets can be booked and buy online through http://rwmf.net/tickets/ or https://www.facebook.com/rwmf.official/. My advice, book early for affordable prices. See you there, and enjoy the festival.

The post Rainforest World Music Festival 2018 appeared first on Asian Itinerary.

VIDEO POST: The Rainforest World Music Festival 2018 edition will be bigger and better. And Mother Nature has a hand in ensuring we keep that promise! For full program and tickets, CLICK HERE!

The post Awakening of the Rainforest appeared first on Asian Itinerary.

The 20th Rainforest World Music Festival, which started July 14, successfully brought several people of different background, culture, language, religion and tradition together with the aim to make them enjoy and help them stir towards the preservation of nature and environment. In fact, according to the festival organizers, nature is the main root and music starts from nature. Who better to represent nature than At Adau. At Adau is a local group from Sarawak, one of the performers at Rainforest World Music Festival, whom I had the fortune to interview after the Press Conference held at the Media Centre of Damai Beach Resort. Representative Meldrick Udos told me: “We really appreciate the jungle. As boys, jungle was our playground, we played hide and seek in it. It is for this reason we came to appreciate it so much”. In tribal Bidayuh ethnic language, ‘At’ means ‘root’, while in Orang Ulu ethnic language, ‘Adau’ is an old tree used to make the Sape instrument. At Adau simply means the ‘Root of the Adau tree’. Meldrick told me the name was chosen because of their love to nature, and as a symbol to tell people how much nature helps you to be who you are. The At Adau performing at the Rainforest World Music Festival was a group of 7 young men – the new generation of Sarawak musicians – who define themselves a “experimental world music band”, as they will play a mix of traditional and contemporary music. At Adau was put together in Sarawak in 2014, and their main music instrument will be, guess, the famous Sape, which is real music coming from nature. The Sape can only be found in Sarawak and its music is played for healing the body and soothing the mind. For a taste of their tribal music, listen to their studio album entitled ‘Journey’. At Adau presented an amazing performance where the Sape sounds mixed well with other ethnic instruments from tribes like the Iban, the Bidayuh and the Orang Ulu. It was especially for this festival in the land of the hornbill that they created a happy atmosphere that reflects the bond Sarawak people have with nature. Their experimental songs was driven by ancient tunes played with Sape and Perutong, and mixed with contemporary rhythms played by tribal drums, electric and bass guitar as well as an interesting mix of traditional instruments from other parts of the world. Members of the audience described their music as healing and rejuvinating. At Adau has managed to use the power of roots music to overcome cultural, gender, age, language and ideological barriers, and to represent and reflect feelings of peace, serenity and appreciation for people from all over the world and for nature, the leitmotiv at the Rainforest World Music Festival. We thank At Adau for these amazing feelings. Check them out at http://www.atadau.com/about.html Listen to their music here: http://www.atadau.com/ourmusic.html Or follow them on fb: https://www.facebook.com/loveatadau

The post At Adau appeared first on Asian Itinerary.

Rainforest World Music Festival this year is celebrating its 20th anniversary and for the occasion it will feature a great idea that definitely caught my attention: a wellness programme comprising workshops throughout the three-day event. One workshops that did catch my curiosity is Budokon Yoga. As I said, this was just one of the events, others are Hatha Yoga, Vibrational Meditation and also Taichi. All these are a must for writers like me covering the event, so today, after the morning press conference and some lunch, I did not waste time and headed to the wellness area. It was there that I enrolled in the Budokon Yoga class. Let me tell you that I found it challenging, yet yoga is never hard too learn. I managed to do a few steps and i really enjoy his class but not to hard to handle. After the 1 hour class, both my body and mind felt more relaxed, more aware. So what is Budokon Yoga? your may like to ask. This class was brought to the Rainforest World Music Festival and taught by young Daniel Geller from the Budokon University of Mixed Movement Arts. Daniel describes Budokon Yoga as a a mix of martial arts, calisthenics and yoga, a hybrid exercise that produces fluid movements aimed at encouraging flexibility and strength by focusing on the transition from posture to posture, rather than the holding of the postures. It’s a kind of yoga that focuses on peace through struggle, it aims at balancing body and soul through dance, explosive movements and the mimicking of animal. Daniel told me he developed a passion for yoga from a friend who served time in the US air force, who at the time he wanted to improve his skills. Daniel background is in martial arts and thai boxing, and in 2014, he decided to become Yoga teacher. He had to go through a one month intensive course to become certified Yoga Instructor, after which, while exploring various yoga disciplines, he came across Budokon Yoga and its founder Cameron Shayne. Amazed at this yoga techniques and its uniqueness, he spent more time with Cameron in Miami. Daniel reckons that Budokon Yoga made him learn about himself better. He taught Budokon Yoga in Germany in 2015 before finally relocating to Kuala Lumpur this year. Talking about Rainforest World Music Festival, he is grateful to have been given a chance by the organizers to promote Budokon Yoga here. Daniel advise for those out there is “You are never too young or too old to move because if you stay active, you stay young”. He added that everyone should find something that motivates them to move. Practising yoga is for him the best form of staying healthy and young. Find Daniel on Facebook on https://www.facebook.com/daniel.geller.33 and on Instagram on https://www.instagram.com/daniel__geller/ Learn more about Bukodon Yoga here: http://budokon.com Introducing a wellness programme at the Rainforest World Music Festival has been one of this year highlights as it educates people about being healthy. I did my yoga class today, I moved, I feel healthy. How about you?

The post Budokon Yoga at Rainforest World Music Festival appeared first on Asian Itinerary.

The 20th Rainforest World Music Festival (RWMF) gets a connectivity boost from Sacofa Sdn Bhd, which recently increased capacity up to 1Gbps at Sarawak Cultural Village (SCV) and the immediate areas. This means people in the area can now enjoy free plug-and-play wifi access, a bonus for festival goers, journalists, and social media practitioners. “In the past, those who came to Rainforest World Music Festival complained of bad connectivity. With too many people, the speed was slow and there was no way to share real-time scenarios with their friends and relatives back home,” said Minister of Tourism, Arts, Culture, Youth and Sports Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah yesterday. He added that Sacofa had answered their call for a solution. “The structure will remain even after the festival so connectivity with the outside world from here will be easier. If there is a need to further increase the capacity, we will make further arrangements. But 1Gbps should be enough for the festival and also for other times of the year.” Abdul Karim yesterday visited the festival site to inspect preparations for the three-day festival that starts tomorrow. He noted that a few touch-ups were necessary, while the whole place would be fogged to reduce mosquitoes. He was accompanied by the ministry’s permanent secretary Datuk Ik Pahon Joyik, Sarawak Cultural Village general manager Jane Lian Labang, and Sarawak Cultural Village acting CEO Mary Wan Mering. “During my tour this morning, I saw a number of things that need to be done, and not just for RWMF. Some of the structures are a bit worn out. We have to do something about them. We can’t show these to tourists,” he said. He said he had asked the Sarawak Cultural Village management to draw up an inventory of what had to be replaced or repaired. “I believe this year’s budget for tourism will be more than in the past. We need to look far ahead and look seriously into connectivity with the outside world to bring in more tourists,” he said, referring to the chief minister’s announcement earlier this week on a boost in budget for tourism next year. There has already been an increase in ticket sales. “Last year, we had a total of 18,000 visitors to this festival. This year may be more. There is a 12 per cent increase in ticket sales from last year.” Abdul Karim said this could be due to the Rainforest Fringe Festival 2017 (RFF17), which kicked off last week at the Old Courthouse. “Unlike in previous years, we have the RFF17 to make the connection from Kuching to Damai showcasing our food, culture, art, and photography. The concert ‘Sada Kamek’ was a prelude to this weekend. We built up the hype, not just for tourists but for Kuchingites. So this year is a little different.” While Sarawak cannot emulate big music festivals elsewhere due to venue constraint, Abdul Karim said that 20,000 to 25,000 visitors for three days is a good number.

The post The 20th Rainforest World Music Festival gets going appeared first on Asian Itinerary.

The 20th edition of the Rainforest World Music Festival 2017 will feature a Wellness Programme in the form of workshop sessions during the three-day weekend festival. The programme features activities like the “Capoeira” a Brazilian martial arts-dance, traditional yoga as well as unique meditation techniques. With a full schedule covering every base of wellness, the programme is expected to be a sensational crowd puller. Capoeira is a 16th century martial arts was created by West African slaves in Brazil. Local practitioner, Malcom Wu, the founder of Movimento Simples de Capoeira, Sarawak (MSDCS) will showcase this traditional art during the festival. “It’s not just about combat or self-defence but also the training of physical and mental attributes such as body balance, coordination, strength, flexibility, agility, concentration, rhythm, timing and even self-confidence, respect, consideration for others, teamwork and discipline. “All these traits can be incorporated into everyday life usage for self-improvement,” expressed Malcom in one of the interviews. Capoeira is just one of the martial arts-based wellness session, including a BODYCOMBAT™ session by Level Up Fitness which adopts moves from Karate, Taekwondo, Boxing, Muay Thai and Kung Fu and creates a non-contact workout regimen with enthusiastic and stress-relieving punches and kicks. Sarawak Shenlong TAI-CHI CHUAN Society’s instructor, Lai Cho Sin, will also hold a Tai Chi session that features the use of ancient Chinese martial art, with its flowing water like movements, to let go of worries and reduce stress. In a more traditional twist, the Rumpun Silat Sarawak will be holding a Silat Moves session, teaching the widely popular and internationally recognised Malay art of self-defence, so well-known it was featured on the National Geographic channel’s Fight Masters series. In a mix of martial arts and Yoga, the Yoga Warrior session teaches Budokon Yoga, a hybrid exercise that produces fluid movements which encourages flexibility and strength by focusing on the transition from posture to posture rather than the holding of postures. The Yoga Warrior session will be led by Daniel Geller from the Budokon University of Mixed Movement Arts. Alvin Heng, a teacher and practitioner of Vinyasa Yoga for a decade, will also  be holding a session that teach participants to synchronize breathing with a continuous movement of postures, a practice that increases overall balance, flexibility and strength. Unlike Budokon Yoga, Vinyasa teaches a variety of Yoga with far less martial art influence. Another practitioner, Alice Chieng will introduce two distinct yoga sessions called Hatha Yoga and Yin Yoga, which uses the physical balance between masculine and feminine movements to stabilize the internal masculine and feminine energy in participants, encouraging physical and mental steadiness. Wong Ah Shui, a practitioner of Vipassana meditation and a Dharma worker at the Kuching Buddhist Society (KBS), will present a Vipassana session. Wong practiced under decades of tutelage from his master, Ven. Sujivo, the foremost Malaysian monk teaching the Mahasi method of Vipassana meditation. The art of meditation is as old as time and is proven to improve mental and emotional health, with additional benefits to cardiovascular health as well as improving other physical conditions that are affected by stress. Dr. Lennie Soo, the Vice President of the Federation of Complementary and Natural Medical Associations, Malaysia with a background in clinical hypnotherapy, will also feature two sessions on unique, but no less traditional, meditation techniques. Dr. Soo’s Vibration Meditation session uses gong hypnotic healing techniques, with calming vibrations that calm the mind, reduce stress and improve concentration. Using a traditional Indian meditation technique, Homa Therapy, Dr. Soo will also be using flames to remove toxic conditions in the atmosphere for cleansing of the body and the mind. In the true Festival mood, the Zumba® Fitness, Shake It! Studio and Exhilarate Fitness Studio will  hold the Zumba Fitness Party session, a total-body cardio workout innocuously disguised as a dance party. The Festival will be held at the Sarawak Cultural Village on July 14 to 16 and will feature some 20 international bands over the three days stage shows. Among the various activities lined up for this year’s 20th anniversary celebration include the Festival’s mini sessions, cultural talks, arts & crafts for children as well as traditional food and crafts bazaars. Rainforest World Music Festival is organized by Sarawak Tourism, endorsed by Tourism Malaysia and is jointly supported by the Ministry of Tourism, Arts, Culture, Youth and Sports Sarawak and partnering with Malaysia Airlines as the presenting sponsor. For further information on festival activities, logistics or tickets, please log on to www.rwmf.net   For previous years festival posts, check http://asianitinerary.com/?s=rainforest+world+music+festival 

The post Rainforest World Music Festival takes on wellness appeared first on Asian Itinerary.

One of the amazing performances at the Rainforest World Music Festival 2016, right at the foothill of Mount Santubong in the Malaysian Borneo, was the one by Malaysians Unique Arts Academy – UAA. Unique Arts Academy is a performing arts academy founded in 1994 in Peninsular Malaysia and recognised by the Ministry of Culture & Arts Malaysia. The group is made up of borderless Malaysian citizens proud of their Indian origins who perform music and dance of the South Indian communities in Malaysia. They bring rich art to their country on stage and at their studios in Negeri Sembilan and Bandar Baru Salak Tinggi, Selangor, in peninsular Malaysia. Unique Arts Academy offers a variety of courses both in classical dance and in world renowned South Indian classical dance, Bharatha Naattiyam. Besides this, Unique Arts Academy also offers other Malaysian dance forms and musical classes like Contemporary dance, Singing, Traditional dancing – Asli, Malay, Chinese, Indian, Portuguese and various East Malaysian ethnic dances, Hand drums and more. Their motto is “Brighten all Ages” as their academy accepts students for all range of ages, and their aspiration is to share the traditional art form and culture to the world in order to preserve it for the next generations, as well of course to produce world-recognised artists or icons. During the years, Unique Arts Academy have repeatedly performed on various stages in shows, temples, concerts, government events and International festivals such as International Folklore Festival, World Harvest Festival and a few other prestigious shows for the Ministry of culture and Arts Malaysia. Unique Arts Academy gained a lot of recognitions and fame when they won the 1st prize in the drum competition organized by Ministry of Youth in 2015. Unique Arts Academy also joined up to form South Indian Folk Drums band, an Indian folk band that plays various Indian traditional percussions such as the Thappu bass drum, the Kottu, the Chimta, the Urumi with its energetic and vibrant sound, the hand percussions Ganjira and Udukku, as well as traditional bells and harmonium. These produce captivating drum beats, that Unique Arts Academy mixes with the sound of U-bass, bass guitar and keyboard for that additional kick and flavour for the ensemble and for the audience. These booming sounds also provide distinct musical phrases and  rhythms, which folk dancers use to give form to their dances. Some of the dancers also act as musicians, dancing to the rhythm of their instrument. In the past, drums were used as a communication mechanism to convey messages to people, and still today, these performances are held at every local festivals and other celebrations of villages of Tamil Nadu, South India. THESE ARE SOME OF THEIR DANCES Bharatha Naattiyam: It is the most popular of the Indian classical dance forms in South India, and the most ancient of all the classical Indian dance styles in the entire India. Semi Classical: The steps and moves of semi-classical dance are not as complex or intricate as pure classical forms. However, the authenticity of the Indian dance form is preserved and students are able to grasp these lighter semi-classical dances easily. Semi-classical dances are fun and fluid Contemporary Dance: This is a dance performance genre that developed during the mid twentieth century and has since grown to become one of the dominant genres for formally trained dancers throughout the world. Modern Dance: It encourages dancers to use their emotions and moods to design their own steps and routines. It is not unusual for dancers to invent new steps for their routines, instead of following a structured code of technique, as in ballet. Back to the Rainforest World Music Festival, Unique Arts Academy captivating performance rocked the Jungle Stage on the first of the three evenings, mesmerising the crown with drum beats and the  intricate steps of the dancers. Unique Arts Academy can be followed on www.uniquearts.org and can be seen on Facebook and Youtube: Unique Arts Academy Contact them at admin@uniquearts.org

The post Unique Arts Academy – UAA appeared first on Asian Itinerary.

The annual Rainforest World Music Festival in Kuching, Sarawak (Malaysia) will be its 20th edition in 2017, featuring lots of bands from around the planet. This three-day event is held every summer at the lush equatorial rainforest of the Sarawak Cultural Village near Kuching, located between Mount Santubong and the South China Sea. Save the dates and do not miss Rainforest World Music Festival in 2017!

The post Save the dates of Rainforest World Music Festival 2017 appeared first on Asian Itinerary.