Alena, Bamboo Woods to perform at RWMF 2022
KUCHING: Sarawak’s very own multi-talented musician Alena Murang and Sabah’s famous group Bamboo Woods will be performing live at the iconic Rainforest World Music Festival (RWMF) 2022.
Alena, an award-winning musician, painter, teacher and event management consultant, will make her return to the RWMF following the release of her second album ‘Sky Songs’ in 2021.
She will be joined on stage by Sara Heng on guzheng, Simmy on keyboard and tin whistle, Joshua Maran on drums and guitar, Herman Ramanado on bass guitar, and styled by fellow Bornean Saerah Ridzuan.
Born and bred in Kuching, Alena draws inspiration from the past and present of her Dayak Kelabit heritage. She is the first female to professionally perform and teach the traditional lute instrument of the highland tribes of Borneo called the sape.
Her strong connection with her culture can be heard and felt through her heartfelt performance singing in the Kenyah and Kelabit languages, dancing the ‘Ngarang’ hornbill dance, and of course strumming the sape.
With a mission to promote and spread awareness about Sarawak music to the world, her passion for her craft has seen her perform globally and featured on several international media outlets like National Geographic People, NPR Radio, BBC Radio 2, Radio 6 and Discovery Channel.
In July 2021, Alena took home the Best Asia and Pacific Music Video and the honourable mention for Best Costume awards for her music video ‘Warrior Spirit’ in the International Music Video Awards in the UK.
“Over the years, I have begun to realise that I’m not preserving it. I’m not playing it like my uncle did or like my grandfather did. It just keeps evolving and I think that’s how cultures can stay alive – by adapting and evolving,” said Alena when asked about the importance of preserving the genre of musical culture.
Meanwhile, the very role of Sabah’s Bamboo Music is also about keeping traditional music fresh.
The group of musicians, who play 100 per cent fully bamboo and wood instruments, are making a change in bamboo music’s style, music arrangement and presentation.
Formed in 2015 and led by Shamsul Sabli, the group’s innovation in bamboo music has won them such lauded recognition as ‘Best Performance of the Year’ by Sabah Ombak Association (2016), Best Musical Award in bamboo music (2017), Most Creative Talent in Borneo at the Borneo Talent Award (2017) and, most recently, they were the welcoming performers for Sabah’s first border opening in two years after the pandemic for airline flights from Singapore.
Its members include Lawrence Usup who is a first-place winner in the Malaysia Traditional Instrumental Competition for Solo Category (State Level).
Bamboo Wood’s main focus is to inspire the world with Sabah’s bamboo music and to attract the younger generation to appreciate traditional music with their unique spin on their selfcomposed tracks such as ‘Pason Id Koposion’ and ‘Love Malaysia’.
Rainforest World Music Festival (RWMF) is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. It is also presented as a hybrid event for the first time since the music festival started in 1998.
From June 17 to 19, 2022 viewers can watch the physical concert taking place at Sarawak Cultural Village (SCV) or livestream it from their homes via rwmf.net.
Under this year’s theme ‘Legendary Rainforest Celebration’, RWMF 2022 will feature a host of international performers from Canada, India, USA, Finland, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, Singapore, Japan, Australia, Madagascar, Ukraine, China, Bhutan and South Korea, while showcasing a string of Malaysia’s own talents.
Festival-goers can choose from the different ticket categories: Adult 1-Day Pass (RM150); Adult 3-Day Pass (RM375); Child 1Day Pass (RM80); Child 3-Day Pass (RM155); and 1-Day Family Package Pass – 2 Adult and 2 Children (RM400).
The virtual tickets are priced at RM25 per one-hour block.