Sarawak Rainforest World Music Festival 2009 Review

The international crowd descended onto the fields of the Sarawak Cultural Village in Santubong, an annual affair for most revellers and this year, any evidence of the 12th annual Rainforest World Music Festival (RWMF) being an ageing and declining relic event was nowhere to be seen. 21,000 people graced the workshops, festival concerts and everything else that it has to offer in its glory. Despite the threats of the economic crisis, the spread of the AH1N1 virus, the muddy grounds caused by the sudden rain on the first night and the higher cost of attending due to opportunistic service providers outside the control of the organisers, Sarawak Tourism Board (STB), it did not stop the audience from enjoying the best of what world music had to offer in the newly renovated space.

View Pictures Here: http://bit.ly/RWMF09

This year was a test of all sorts, with the festival nearly facing a total shut down within days of the event start amid growing fears of the spread of the virus. Credit has to go to the organisers for taking no chances with safety precautions such as face masks, hand sanitizers, sniffer dogs and fever checks at the gates. One thing was obvious though, nothing and i mean nothing was going to get in the way to dampen the spirits of the thousands that turned out and lapped up everything the various bands had to offer. Every night’s ending climaxed with chants of “We want more” for encores. Even some of the afternoon workshops left those who packed up the various theatres were screaming and giving standing ovations for more. It was a sight to behold and the essence of why people keep coming back to the RWMF. With 15 great notable bands from new places like Oudaden from Morocco, Zawose Family of Tanzania, Moana & The Tribe from New Zealand, Korea’s Noreummachi, Sekaa Jaya Jengala from Bali Indonesia, Muszikas of Hungary, Chinese Canadian group Red Chamber, four Malaysian groups and more, everyone was spoilt for choice.

Despite the rain pouring down for the first two performances of the festival, Noreummachi and Poum Tchack of France stole the limelight on the opening night, ending the evening with a climax that left everyone’s expectation of the weekend shows high despite the mud. The fully packed one-sided percussion at the Iban Longhouse, Trans-Afrique and Soul of the Maori workshops all left high anticipation of the performers on Saturday night. Naturally, they didn’t disappoint. Local group Asika led by Kamrul Hussin got the evening off to a great start, led by the high energy sounds from Oudaden and the fiery Maori warriors doing the Hakka from Moana and The Tribe with a unique blend of powerful messages embedded in contemporary rhythms. Jeff and Vida followed up with some bluegrass fun and ended with Portugal’s scintillating and rocking performance from Dazkarieh with the beautiful Joana Negrão, mesmerising the crowd on the lead vocals. It was back to back entertainment that didn’t let the crowd rest and can easily be said as one of the best single night combined performance of the festival.

Much can be said about the individual performances of the local and international bands by reading the other reviews all over the web and print media but what was evident from the various workshops was the instant chemistry that the different band members had to offer from trading notes and knowledge not just among themselves but to the audience too. It was music magic happening in real time, just like how the group AkashA was born out of spontaneity at last year’s festival. The only wish was that there was more time to spend at the three parallel workshops, soaking up the sharing between the various bands. Perhaps STB could arrange it in a staggered manner in future to allow for others to experience this but even as it is, the theatres and halls are full house as it is for most.

Even the solo workshop by Maori group, Moana and The Tribe, was so full that there was literally no room to get in. Same thing happened at the percussion and traditional drum instruments sessions that were filled with people clapping to the rhythms and beats, especially towards the end when that same chemistry reared its head, when all the individual players from the different bands, play together fusing together spontaneous sounds into a singular global groove that left everyone cheering, clapping and more. It sort of gives you a preview of which bands to look out for and what to expect during the three nights of performances. You don’t get that special live workshop experience at the night concert where the individual bands perform their own isolated sets, with the only exception of a mild version encore at Sunday night’s finale.

Sunday night somehow went in reverse order as another local group AkashA, stole the show from even the other international acts. Their sudden detour during their song into an Indian Tabla and Sitar influenced rendition of Michael Jackson’s Beat It, just sent everyone into a hysteric euphoric frenzy. It was just awesome and totally unforgettable. As corny as it may have sound, that a world music band would do a tribute to the late MJJ, we knew it was bound to happen but no one guessed that AkashA would do it and do it so well that left everyone begging for more. That was just the first act and that was a hard act to beat. Chilean group Inti-Illimani who have been around for 42 years with their interesting blend of percussions, wind pipes and modern instruments, succeeded with their best and the Zawose Family with their female drummers and tribal squeals kept the energy going for the crowd to lead to a climax finale that has been a trademark signature of the festival. All the bands came out for the Finale farewell and jammed together for a good 20 minutes with gimmick between Sarawak Sape legend and warrior Lan-E-Tuyang taking a staged battle with the Maori warriors and the guys from Oudaden and Noreummachi battling it out with their cymbal like high pitched instruments. The confetti cannon had long fired its shot into the air and yet the music just didn’t seem to end for everyone that evening.

What most visitors of the festival do not know is the nightly jam sessions at the Santubong Resort poolside until sunrise. Perhaps it’s time to let the cat out of the bag for most people. Having been to the festival over the years, hearing vain rumours of various bonfire after parties at Damai Beach, rave parties in Kuching town or somewhere which doesn’t really happen; the best place to be is still by the poolside, under the stars, surrounded by the various band members, getting to know each other and playing together until the wee hours of the morning while the other media journalists, organiser crew and friends hang out enjoying the bonus treat. This is where the magic begins and ends for the festival.

Over the course of 4 days, this where the musical relationships and global friendships gets formed, transferred and grows more intimately at the workshops and on stage. Of course, over the years, word has leaked out about this tradition and to prevent over-crowding and gate crashers, the security around the hotel has increased. The weirdest thing is that despite the bands changing year after year, this tradition has continued on. It can’t be explained and surprisingly, not many in the audience realises this.

Another warm welcome was the continued house music after the show for a good hour or so, especially on the final night, purely by accident playing from the Macbook of the sound engineer Niall Macaulay. Normally it would end after three songs or less and that was it for everyone to leave the grounds. No one stopped the music this time and it was extremely evident this time that at least half the crowd stayed on, dancing together in a controlled environment, taking pictures and finding other friends and enjoying the awesome sound setup that was already in place. There's not much additional cost to STB and it would help in efficient, systematic and orderly crowd control and disperse them at the gates for transportation rotation.

Every year, the attendees are always hunting around for alternative parties after the show at Damai Beach or at Santubong Resort poolside. Rather than encourage other illegal, noisy and unmonitored gatherings which could lead to unwanted negative press association to the festival, this is a valid and viable suggestion. They already have the proper, controlled and equipped facilities and venue to do this. This would also eliminate the issues of gatecrashers back at Santubong poolside. It would serve as an excellent diversion and allow for even the vendors and stalls to earn more from food and souvenirs sales as most would not have time to eat or buy things during the shows. The only additional element for STB is volunteer time of an extra few hours.

The major drawback was the increasing overall cost to patrons when it came to travelling and accommodation related prices. This will affect future turnouts especially with the coming alternative choice at the Penang World Music Festival tentatively set this 20th-22nd November 2009, where the veteran Artistic Director of past RWMF, Yeoh Jun-Lin will have a tough act to beat after this year’s show in Santubong. STB and even Penang should work with other Ministries to curb, monitor and penalise unscrupulous profiteering by hotels, service providers and other amenities, especially since the foreign media and tourist are observing this happening too.

Overall, STB has done it again, this time under the return stewardship of the first Artistic Director, Randy Raine-Reusch who did an exceptional job of selecting the bands from various corners of the world, to bring the purest and current traditional, folk, blue grass, orchestra, tribal, music together to form another unforgettable melting pot combination of greatness that will seal the reputation of the festival for years to come. If we were you, we would be booking tickets for the next show on 9th-11th July 2010 now.

View Festival Pictures here: http://bit.ly/RWMF09