The award-winning Rainforest World Music Festival in Sarawak, Malaysia is hosting an unprecedented virtual musical showcase this weekend. Here are some highlights from three performing bands.
First held in 1998, the iconic Rainforest World Music Festival (RWMF) will be going online with a virtual showcase from June 18-20. The theme of the virtual experience this year is Get ‘Entranced, Liberated, Immersed’.
I first attended the festival in 2008, and covered over ten editions, some of them published in World Music Central. Each year, the organisers have innovated with features like a new indoor stage, World Crafts Bazaar, seafront attractions, competitions to choose local bands, and festival previews in local venues.
This year, the online musical showcase will feature a retrospective of past RWMF performances and new pre-recorded sessions with homegrown acts. The entire performance will be streamed from RWMF’s official website from 6:00-7:30 pm (Malaysia Standard Time) each day from 18-20 June.
Local featured artists will include Alena Murang, Kemada, Sang Rawi, At Adau, Tuku Kame, Suk Binie’, Nading Rhapsody and Mathew Ngau. Three of the bands join us in interviews for this article on their origin story, music, expectations of the festival, and future plans.
The back story
For Alena Murang’s band, her cousin Joshua Maran is the producer and guitarist. He was also the drummer in their teenage band, Ka’nid. “He later selected the members of the band over a few years, based on their fit and interest in our music and stories,” Alena Murang explains, in a chat with World Music Central.
“All of our members are actually from different bands who were busking at the Kuching Waterfront. We got to know each other, and formed an experimental music band in 2014. We took part in the music talent search for RWMF that year,” Apris of Sang Rawi recalls.
Nading Rhapsody was officially formed in 2012. But most of the initial band members knew each other since childhood, and some were even related. “Each of us came from different music backgrounds, but it was in 2012 that we had a calling to do more indigenously influenced music,” they explain.
The music
Sape’ instrumentalist and songstress Alena Murang’s latest album, Sky Songs, was released on April 1, 2021. Her debut album was Flight (in 2016). The new songs are in the Kenyah and Kelabit endangered languages, while some are in English as well.
Alena’s music blends folk pop, folk rock, and world music. The lineup of instruments from Borneo includes sape’, tubong, pagang, and rattan mat. They are performed along with guitars, drums, flute and cowbells.
From the Sky Songs album, Gitu’an (‘Stars,’ in Kelabit) is based on learnings from the ancestors, with themes of togetherness and identity. Maya (‘Follow,’ in Kelabit) is about something you feel you have known even before you see or hear it for the first time.
Thunder and The Moon is about sadness and despair. “It reflects on the gradual loss of life that is guided by the stages of the moon. It also reflects on the lives of our elders in emptying longhouses where the younger generations have migrated to towns and cities,” Alena explains.
“Sunhat Song was written with our cousins in mind, those scattered all over the world now, in what we call our ‘global longhouse’,” Alena describes.
Sang Rawi’s music blends roots, hip-hop, psychedelic, rock, and folk. “We called it the Malay New Order,” Apris of Sang Rawi explains. The aim was to continue with their cultural heritage but also bring it to broader audiences.
They released a live EP in 2018, and performed in Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia. They describe their music as cheerful and emotional, which unites the band with its listeners.
“Music is the language of love,” Apris describes. Their music expresses love for God, nature, humanity, life and more. One of their recent songs, Maha Seni, is a story of appreciation for God who creates art forms. Zaffin is a traditional song, while Senandung Kaseh blends local forms like keroncong and senandung Melayu with ska.
“This song is about the struggle of a lover to find and get love. The message of this song is whatever happens, don’t lose hope. Keep trying and at the end you will get what you want,” Apris says.
As for Nading Rhapsody, their song Sabak Pulai is an adaptation of a poem of lamentation. It was initiated by Roy Kulleh when he was mourning for his grandmother, and the whole nation was also mourning for the passengers on the missing airliner, MH370.
Dunya Ransi (‘Mad World’) reflects the band’s frustration with the sad condition of humanity and the planet, with crises, war and environmental destruction. Umbas (‘Enough’) calls for a stop to the negativity in the world – its racism, violence and pollution.
Pandemic impacts
The pandemic has had a devastating economic impact on artists, particularly performing musicians – while also opening up new avenues of creativity in adversity.
“The biggest impact is not having live events. As performers, live events feed both our souls and our pockets too,” Alena Murang explains.
“Not being able to perform has been tough, not just for me but for the whole industry, including bands and crew. The band also hasn’t been able to practice together,” she laments.
“Creatively, I’ve learnt more about music production, and also picked up a bit of graphic design and film editing. We even wrote most of Sky Songs during the pandemic. The first lockdown actually gave me the time and the space to write, as prior to that I was travelling a lot,” Alena recalls.
“We lost a lot of our income because we were at the peak of our musical journey when the pandemic struck,” Apris of Sang Rawi laments. But they carried on working in true entrepreneurial spirit. They performed on radio shows, and created a production house for TV programmes and jingles.
“Frankly, everyone is affected by this pandemic. We used to meet for practice, jamming sessions, and recordings – but everything had to be put on hold,” the Nading Rhapsody group explains. They began to focus more on health and family, and conserving their finances.
Many others lost their jobs and businesses. “Being alive and trying to get through all these seems to be the main focus right now. Although with that being said, it has given us a different set of energy to come up with new ideas,” the band adds.
The road ahead
The three bands have a number of projects lined up for the coming year. Alena Murang and her band are continuing to work on Project Ranih, an online archive of childrens’ songs in the kelabit language. “We’ve also just released a music video, Warrior Spirit. I am working on some vlogs to encourage people to eat local Sarawakian produce,” Alena adds.
Sang Rawi wants to carry on working on their first album Malay New Order, which has been delayed because of the pandemic. “Apart from that, we are getting prepared for our new compositions. We are also collaborating with other artists for our new upcoming project,” Apris adds.
Nading Rhapsody plans to continue with their recording works. “We are praying hard that the world will be in a better situation very soon. We can’t wait to be able to get into the studio,” they explain.
RWMF 2021
All the bands express pride and delight in being able to perform for the unprecedented virtual showcase of RWMF.
“I’m glad that RWMF is taking to the screens, and I see that many people are excited for it. It feels a little nostalgic. During this interview, I almost felt like crying at some points because the festival has played such a big part in my life, my openness to cultures, my career as a musician,” Alena opens up.
“The whole team and artists have worked hard to put on a great show, and I’m looking forward to experiencing it,” she adds.
“It is an honour for us to play on the big stage of RWMF this year. This brings us a new spirit – to celebrate the Malaysia’s music by sharing our artwork to the world. We feel great and inspired,” Apris of Sang Rai enthuses.
It has been seven years since Nading Rhapsody’s last performance on the stage of RWMF in 2014. “The sweet memories led us to the start of an incredible journey in music. We are excited to be able to be part of the special edition this year, it means a lot to us,” the members enthuse.
“We will be able to share our music with festival lovers who have missed the festival due to the pandemic. They will also appreciate the virtual showcases of earlier performers. All this will be free, so don’t miss out this chance, it will be a life changing experience,” they sign off.
Author: Madanmohan Rao
Madanmohan Rao is an author and media consultant from Bangalore, and global correspondent for world music and jazz for World Music Central and Jazzuality. He has written over 15 books on media, management and culture, and is research director for YourStory Media. Madan was formerly World Music Editor at Rave magazine and RJ at WorldSpace, and can be followed on Twitter at @MadanRao.