Kenyah’s pride Alena Murang releases new rendition of folk song for Earth Day
KUCHING: Sarawak’s homegrown talent Alena Murang has released a new rendition of her song, ‘Pemung Jae’ (Trio Version), in conjunction with Earth Day, which falls on April 22 every year.
The song, in the indigenous Kenyah language, is about being together with true friends under the moonlight and by the river that gives us so much life, according to the artiste.
“My songs are thoroughly intentional, drawing from the stories of my community.
“We are known as Orang Ulu because we come from the ‘ulu sungai’ (headwater); in my case, Ulu Sungai Baram.
“Rivers are so important for us not only for resources and connectivity, but also as part of our identity.
“When meeting other Orang Ulus, we would often identify ourselves by using the name of our rivers,” she said in a statement.
Originally released in 2016 as part of her debut EP ‘Flight’, Alena decided to produce a new arrangement of this folk song.
“This is a song that I’ve been playing for over 20 years, and I feel that it has grown together with me.
“This ‘Trio’ version has been developed over the past two years with the participation of the other female musicians in my band – Simmy on keyboard, and Yi Mann on the ‘guzheng’ (Chinese plucked zither),” she said.
The three musicians first performed the song when a university requested for a trio set-up while they were on tour in Taiwan.
Ever since then, they have maintained the harmonious trio resonance for different performances in Malaysia and Canada.
The lyric video, now available on Alena Murang’s YouTube channel, showcases home footages filmed by the artiste herself, capturing the beauty of her village in Long Peluan.