Performers - Sarawak Rainforest World Music Festival

For some strange reason, Frigglive has been experiencing difficulty in getting information from the Rainforest World Music Festival Organising Committee this year. What's weird is that the bios of the local bands are the ones missing.

The confirmed list of performers performing at Rainforest World Music Festival on July 11 to 13 2008 are:

1) Ross Daly Quartet (Greece)
A virtuoso of Eastern musical instruments, British-born Ross Daly plays the Cretan lyra, Afghan rabab, tarhu, laouto, kemence, oud, saz and tanbur. The unique sound of his music reflects his personal philosophy, influenced by the Sufi tradition which stresses the sacred nature of music itself, the enormous power contained within it, and the necessity for those who concern themselves with it to unreservedly and selflessly give themselves to it. This process results in an experience of music of a transcendental and spiritual nature, equally shared by musicians and audience alike.

2) Kasai Masai (Congo/UK)
Born in the Congo, based in London, Kasaï Masaï brings us the traditional sound of remote equatorial villages with a sophisticated urban twist. Led by percussionist, singer and dancer, “Voodoo King” Nickens Nkoso, the band plays ancestral music rooted in the healing power of percussion and chanting - combined with the provocative sound of the Congolese folk guitar and the sensual growl of the saxophone.

3) Hiroshi Motofuji (Japan)
Hiroshi began playing taiko drums at 10 and by 15 had joined Oedo Sukeroku Daiko, a leading professional taiko troupe based in Tokyo. He was conferred the title "Master of Taiko" at 27 and in the late 1980s formed a "taiko-rock" group called Musashi. With his outstanding technique, dynamic rhythm, and innovative spirit, Hiroshi Motofuji is at 43 widely acknowledged as one of Japan's premier taiko drummers.

4) Oikyataan (India)
Based in Chennai, Oikyotaan comprises musicians from diverse musical and cultural backgrounds who have interacted with the folk musicians of the West Bengal Baul tradition - using Fakiri, Bhatiyalli, Jhumur and Bhavaiyya Bengali folk melodies as their inspiration - and adding to it a cool and captivating contemporary flavour.

5) Cholo Valderamma (Colombia)
With 16 albums to his credit, Orlando "Cholo" Valderrama has been acclaimed as a true master of the llanero (South American cowboy) tradition which features the harp as a key instrument. This is music that celebrates magical nights under open skies and the freedom of the rugged llanero lifestyle, with an undercurrent of yearning for a distant home and the comfort of loved ones.

6) New Rope String Band (UK)
This versatile quartet plays (in their own words) "a big assortment of things and all sorts of hoedown pan-celtic old-timey up-beat down-home music. All this combined with bizarre physical nonsense and clowning about. And singing. And dancing. Sheer visualosity and laughableness, boundless energy, exuberant spectacles and beautiful music executed with kindness. What could possibly go wrong?"

7) Yakande (Gambia/Guinea)
The name "Yakande" is a merger of Yakhouba Sissokho (a wizard of the mystical kora from Gambia) and Kandet Dioubate (a bewitching Guinean diva with an enchanting voice). Their sizzling musical rapport and sensuous groove will get you swaying and gyrating in ecstasy.

8) Pinikpikan (Philipppines)
Fusing indigenous Igorot and Manabo folk motifs with an eclectic mix of Afro-Cuban, Arabic, Asian and other world-beat flavours, this exciting 10-piece band is fronted by a diminutive but dynamite female vocalist named Carol Rodriguez Bello, noted for her primal Manabo singing style. The festive and funky Pinikpikan sound celebrates our rhythmic connection with all of life.

9) Adel Salameh (Palestine)
Oud player and composer Adel Salameh was born in Nablus, Palestine, in 1966. He immigrated to Europe in 1990, quickly gaining a reputation as a master of the oud. Adel performs with celebrated Algerian vocalist NAZIHA AZZOUZ who began singing ancient Andalusian songs at age 12. She met Adel in 1998 when studying Arabic music with him and soon discovered they shared a common musical destiny. The French newspaper, Le Monde, on Naziha's vocal quality: "This is no ordinary voice. This voice is coming from Paradise."

10) Fadomorse (Portugal)
Fast emerging as a major force in the evolution of fado - the oldest urban folk music in the world – this high-energy 7-piece group is charactised by eclectic modern influences like Frank Zappa and rooted in ancient African rhythms and mediaeval Iberian folk. Dionízio Faízca’s distinctive fado guitar technique and Toninho Arreboutas’s lyrical basswork adds a muscular edge to the soulful passion that marks Fadomorse as one folk-fusion band that totally rocks!

11) Beltaine (Poland)
Danceable and dynamic folk-fusion from seven polished musicians of Polish origin, with a distinctly Celtic soul. Their music is exuberant, passionate, spontaneous, soul-stirring, and irresistible. The lineup includes Adam Romanski on fiddle; Grzegorz Chudy on accordion and bansuri (Indian flute); Jan Galczewski on mandolin, bouzouki, bodhran, guitar and Galician bagpipes. Get ready to sweat!

12) Sheldon Blackman & The Love Circle (Trinidad & Tobago)
Sheldon Blackman purveys a little-known brand of Caribbean music known as jamoo, which evolved at the end of the 1960s from an indigenous Trinidadian style called soca, which itself developed from calypso. Sheldon’s late father Garfield, aka Ras Shorty I, is credited as having invented the genre jamoo -which is, in Sheldon’s own words, "about good substance, a positive message and something to glorify God." The Love Circle comprises family members and friends who work together as several groups within the group, with the younger ones exploring new forms like "reggae-rap" and "jazz hip-hop." Sheldon Blackman & The Love Circle is all about cool vibes and uplifting messages.

13) Agnition (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia)
No info from Rainforest - to be uploaded soon.

14) Orchestra Anak Jati Bisaya (Sarawak, Malaysia)
No info from Rainforest - to be uploaded soon.

15) Sarawak Cultural Village (Sarawak)
Danceable and dynamic folk-fusion from seven polished musicians of Polish origin, with a distinctly Celtic soul. Their music is exuberant, passionate, spontaneous, soul-stirring, and irresistible. The lineup includes Adam Romanski on fiddle; Grzegorz Chudy on accordion and bansuri (Indian flute); Jan Galczewski on mandolin, bouzouki, bodhran, guitar and Galician bagpipes. Get ready to sweat!

16) Kani'd (Sarawak)
No info from Rainforest - to be uploaded soon.

17) Tuku' Kame' (Sarawak, Malaysia)
No info from Rainforest - to be uploaded soon.