Being a Scrooge that I am, I didn’t know what prompted me to go to a recent music festival held from 10th to 12th July in Santubong, about 35 km north of Kuching, but go I did.
Whilst preparation for this trip was planned months in advance, the knowledge that I would be the only bloke in the female company of Adilah, Primaully, Kartini, Miow Foon and their friends - Veronica, Amy and Mei led me to suspect that it would be a fun-filled event and in the end, my premonition was vindicated.
This annual do, which started in 1997, was founded by Randy Raine-Reusch, Robert Basiuk, Edric Ong and Edgar Ong. Since then, it has grown in international stature, garnered rave reviews and cemented Kuching as one of the most attractive tourist destinations, all through word-of-mouth, mass and alternative media.
On the first day, soon as we arrived in Kuching, what impressed me as a first time visitor was its cleanliness and lack of potholes on the road but I digress.
One thing about this festival which I was struck with was its lack of pretension whereby music lovers got to mingle closely with the performers, thus making the atmosphere relaxing. It was also perfectly fine to go in shorts, singlet and barefooted, even. The overall experience was further enhanced by the fact that the festival was held amidst the cool and lushly forest.
Several foreign visitors, whom I had the privilege of talking to, gave their thumbs-up to the festival and some of them were in fact, seasoned goers. This year’s festival saw performers hailing from Canada/China, Chile, Korea, Finland, Tanzania, United States of America, Portugal, Indonesia, France, Poland, Hungary, New Zealand, Morocco and of course, Malaysia.
During one of the evenings, there was intermittent rain causing the ground to be muddy but it didn’t dampen the festival-goers’ spirits a bit. However, the smaller turnout compared to the preceding year was a letdown, partly due to the fear of Influenza A (H1N1)
As its name suggests, the Rainforest World Music Festival features “world music” which includes various music workshops held during daytime where almost all musicians from the participating groups get together for a jamming cum learning session. During this time, the musicians will share information pertaining to the instruments they play. In the evening, however, the groups will take turns to perform throughout the 3-day festival. Year after year, different groups from all over the world are invited to showcase their brands of music to those in attendance.
For those interested in going for the next edition, bear in mind that this being a festival that features mainly traditional and fusion music, naturally most of the performers are not as high-profile as the mainstream artistes we are usually exposed to, via MTV and regular airplay. Anyone expecting slick dance moves accompanied by sexy dancers, electronica or head-banging session will be in for a major disappointment.
As for yours truly, I had a ball time and plans are afoot to go there again next year, hopefully with the same group of people.
Whilst preparation for this trip was planned months in advance, the knowledge that I would be the only bloke in the female company of Adilah, Primaully, Kartini, Miow Foon and their friends - Veronica, Amy and Mei led me to suspect that it would be a fun-filled event and in the end, my premonition was vindicated.
This annual do, which started in 1997, was founded by Randy Raine-Reusch, Robert Basiuk, Edric Ong and Edgar Ong. Since then, it has grown in international stature, garnered rave reviews and cemented Kuching as one of the most attractive tourist destinations, all through word-of-mouth, mass and alternative media.
On the first day, soon as we arrived in Kuching, what impressed me as a first time visitor was its cleanliness and lack of potholes on the road but I digress.
One thing about this festival which I was struck with was its lack of pretension whereby music lovers got to mingle closely with the performers, thus making the atmosphere relaxing. It was also perfectly fine to go in shorts, singlet and barefooted, even. The overall experience was further enhanced by the fact that the festival was held amidst the cool and lushly forest.
Several foreign visitors, whom I had the privilege of talking to, gave their thumbs-up to the festival and some of them were in fact, seasoned goers. This year’s festival saw performers hailing from Canada/China, Chile, Korea, Finland, Tanzania, United States of America, Portugal, Indonesia, France, Poland, Hungary, New Zealand, Morocco and of course, Malaysia.
During one of the evenings, there was intermittent rain causing the ground to be muddy but it didn’t dampen the festival-goers’ spirits a bit. However, the smaller turnout compared to the preceding year was a letdown, partly due to the fear of Influenza A (H1N1)
As its name suggests, the Rainforest World Music Festival features “world music” which includes various music workshops held during daytime where almost all musicians from the participating groups get together for a jamming cum learning session. During this time, the musicians will share information pertaining to the instruments they play. In the evening, however, the groups will take turns to perform throughout the 3-day festival. Year after year, different groups from all over the world are invited to showcase their brands of music to those in attendance.
For those interested in going for the next edition, bear in mind that this being a festival that features mainly traditional and fusion music, naturally most of the performers are not as high-profile as the mainstream artistes we are usually exposed to, via MTV and regular airplay. Anyone expecting slick dance moves accompanied by sexy dancers, electronica or head-banging session will be in for a major disappointment.
As for yours truly, I had a ball time and plans are afoot to go there again next year, hopefully with the same group of people.
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