A ‘ngerang’ to share Sarawak’s heritage
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco), has debuted at the General Conference of the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage 2018, and is now available online.
In the video, she shared her personal story on preserving culture in line with Unesco’s aim to highlight the important role of youth in safeguarding and transmitting their vibrant living heritage.
For 2019, she said she was excited about her new musical journey.
She has also put together a band rather than continuing to perform solo.
She played in her first music festival at City Roars Festival in Kuala Lumpur yesterday (Jan 12), alongside bands from Malaysia, Japan, Korea and Taiwan.
“Playing in a band means our sound is bigger and I can play longer sets. Our band made its debut at Wonderfruit Festival (Thailand) in December 2018,” she said.
Her main focus now is to record and release new music and music videos based on Kelabit and Kenyah history, the language of the two ethnic groups and contemporary Sarawak life.
It was her mother, an anthropologist, who nurtured her interests and identity in Kelabit culture, traditions and way of life.
Growing up in Kuching, Alena took up ‘ngarang’ (dance in indigenous lingo) classes, learned to play the sape, wove and made costumes and even studied songs of the Kenyah and the language of the Penan.
She can be best described as an artiste, musician, dancer, strategist and social entrepreneur all rolled into one with a mission to bring about positive changes to society and the environment, and preserve her Borneon heritage.
She has not stopped learning about her cultural heritage and identity, and has been constantly upgrading her musical genre since releasing her debut EP — Flight — in 2016.
“I will continue to share Sarawak’s old and modern stories, perform at music festivals around the world, teach the sape, conduct workshops and working on films and documentaries.
She said as an independent musician, she was always looking for partnerships in funding, creating and innovating.
My music was licensed to a National Geographic documentary, and aired on NPR Radio, a globally renowned music station based in the US, BBC Radio and RPM.fm (Canada).