The Rainforest World Music Festival

If you’ve been starved for great world music, it’s time to pay attention. Here’s something you won’t find in travel brochures: for one weekend every July, Sarawak’s rainforest reverberates with the rhythms of traditional and contemporary world music. The foot of the majestic Mount Santubong transforms into a concert venue accommodating thousands of people; it’s an incredible backdrop that acts as the ideal setting for Sarawak’s immensely popular Rainforest World Music Festival.

The festival’s appeal is clear: the program is heavy on variety, featuring local, indigenous acts and ethnic sounds from every possible continent. The 14th Rainforest World Music Festival 2011 (which was held from July 8 to 10) brought Kenya’s Kenge Kenge and Senegal’s Malick Pathe Sow’s gyrating African-influenced rhythms; harpist Victor Valdez’s Mexican beats; the energetic Kamafei from Italy; Iskwew’s melodic music; Finnish folk music by Frigg; Oriental sounds from oud players DuOud; Persian poetry from Iran’s Mamak Khadem; Grammy-nominated Lisa Haley; and the Blue Canyon Boys. Homegrown talents, such as Sarawak’s Masters of Sape and Agung Beat, rounded out the event.

The music here is a flavorsome fusion of traditional and contemporary sounds, expressed beautifully with a range of ethnic and modern instruments. Each performer brings to the stage their individualism, accentuated with passion and vigor that erupts into a vibrant display of talent. This annual event is a platform for musicians to exchange musical ideas, and their unique cultural heritages. The three-day festival readies the untrained ear to distinguish the sounds of diverse instruments, like the tabla, oud, harp, and uilleann pipes. Musicians connect with the audience, taking them on a journey of harmonies, melodies, songs, and dances.

This cooperation is most evident at the afternoon interactive workshops and ethno-musical lectures where groups of eager music enthusiasts gather to listen to musicians weave together tales and musical notes. Each workshop serves up a lesson on history, traditions, musical origins, and cultures, hopefully breaking down religious, cultural, and language barriers. Workshop participants find themselves actively involved in learning a new dance, or a new style of music. Jam sessions and mini-concerts — where musicians from different groups combine efforts to showcase their different styles — are common. The sheer energy of these workshops best illustrates the bond global musicians share. There are also children’s workshops, dance workshops and storytelling sessions.

If you missed this year’s performances, you should definitely include the festival on your itinerary next year. Collectively, the Rainforest World Music Festival successfully ignites, inspires, and arouses music lovers and travelers. Frankly, there’s nothing else quite like the sounds of the world captured the way they are right here at the Sarawak Cultural Village, Santubong, a mere 35-minute drive from Kuching.

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Photo Courtesy of eugenethephotobug/flickr