Rainforest world music festival 2024

About six weeks ago when I mentioned to my wife that Kitaro would be performing at this year's Rainforest World Music Festival (RWMF) in Sarawak, she did not register much interest. I let that slide because I had expected June to be a pretty much busy month for us. We were expected to head to Kuala Lumpur to help our daughter move into her own new condo. As it turned out, yes, we were needed in Kuala Lumpur from the 29th of June until the first of July. 

But life has its twists. On the 10th of the month, we bumped into an acquaintance who mentioned he would be attending the RWMF where Kitaro was the main draw. He wasn't sure which night Kitaro would perform, though. Could be on the opening night or the other two nights. That bit of information got my heart really racing and once I reached home, I checked the festival's website and, jackpot, Kitaro was scheduled for the first night!

Once my wife was briefed on this discovery, the wheels were set into motion. We were on our way to Kuching! Quickly, our tickets to the festival were purchased, as also our hotel room in Kuching for two nights and the air tickets, the out-bound Penang-to-Kuching flight on 27 June and in-bound Kuching-to-Kuala Lumpur flight on 29 June to meet our daughter. 

Everything fitted in very well into our plans, except that we had a small Buddha statue to gift our daughter. This Buddha statue, measuring some 10 inches tall, had been purchased from Sri Lanka, and brought into Penang by a Sri Lanka monk in November last year. All this while, we had placed it for safekeeping at the Nandaka Vihara but now it has to make the trip to Kuala Lumpur. A most roundabout trip as it was turning out now since we had to detour to Kuching first before ending up in my daughter's condo in Kuala Lumpur. 

And that’s how we ended up in Kuching, or more specifically, in Santubong at the Sarawak Cultural Village. It’s not an actual village but a "living museum" that showcases the heritage of Sarawak’s various indigenous groups. The place features traditional houses, daily life activities, and cultural performances from ethnic groups like the Iban, Bidayuh, Orang Ulu, Chinese, Malay, Melanau and Penan. Since the RWMF is held there, and unless you have your own transport, the free bus ride from Kuching is your best bet. It's about an hour each way, and traffic gets pretty snarled up the closer you get to the venue​. 

The opening day's programme began with a traditional Miring ceremony that holds significant cultural and spiritual importance. It is primarily a ritual to appease spirits and ancestors for blessings and protection for the community of RWMF organisers and attendees over the next three days. I edged closer to the stage to see four representatives of Sarawak's indigenous groups performing various rituals that ended with them bringing out a live cockerel. It would've been pretty gross if they had slaughtered the animal in front of everyone but thankfully, the leader did not do that. Nevertheless, they still did their best to injure the chicken. What unnerved me was seeing them cut off part of the cockerel's comb and then plucked two or three feathers from each wing! Don't tell me there was no pain for the bird. It may mean nothing to these indigenous people but animal rights proponents would be up in arms if they had seen this. As for me who had been carrying a Buddha statue from Bukit Mertajam to Kuching, watching this ritual struck me as very unsettling.

That over, the festival continued with a drum circle. The rhythmic beats drummed on and on, which bored me after a while and I went searching for food. Thankfully the drum circle ended soon enough and the first real performance started with the Ensemble Melayu Nusantara. The members hailed from diverse backgrounds, but they were united in their passion for Malay traditional music and performance. Their blend of traditional and contemporary sounds was refreshing, and it drew me back to the stage. 

Next up was The Borneo Collective, made up of well known local Sarawakian performers. This debut collaboration included veteran musicians such as Jerry Kamit, Johari Morshidi, Mathew Ngau Jau, Ezra Tekola Semuel and Rining Peter Paris. Rining is a traditional musician of the Lun Bawang ethnic group known for playing the tapi'. Their individual and collective talents converged to give us 40 minutes of thoroughly enjoyable music. 

After The Borneo Collective finished their set, the festival brought us an innovative joint effort between Rhythm Rebels and Selonding Bali Aga. For 40 minutes, they delivered a unique performance that combined traditional Balinese gamelan music with modern rhythms. This fusion of ancient and contemporary sounds was captivating, pushing the boundaries of what you might expect at a world music festival.

Rhythm Rebels, powered by Reza Achman on drums and Rizal Hadi on the bamboo didgeridoo, are based in Ubud, Bali. The duo combined musical forces to conceptualise their unique blend of energetic roots music. Their rhythms were powerful and raw, combining different sounds from instruments such as drum kits, didgeridoo for bass and synthesiser sound, and many more. On the other hand, Selonding Bali Aga consisted of four performers on the traditional Balinese gamelan musical instrument. They are the last generation that still played and nurtured this gamelan. The idea behind this collaboration was to blend these two different styles of music, modern and traditional, to create a unique new sound while preserving the traditional music, and the result was an unforgettable fusion that brought the past and present together in perfect harmony.

By then it was about 9.15pm. Kitaro finally appeared onstage with his accompanying musicians. The crowd erupted in a thunderous welcome and incredible reception. The whole ground was jampacked with people, something I had never witnessed before in the three occasions I had attended the festival previously. All these people had come, I suspect, to watch Kitaro perform amidst the backdrop of the rainforest. Even the Sultan of Selangor and the Chief Minister of Sarawak were present but of course, they were in their own privileged section well insulated from the rest of the festival goers. 

What can I say about the Kitaro segment of the music festival? Well, it was an aural experience like no other. The music was necessarily loud, swirling through the grounds, coming at us from all directions. The minimalist visual experience added to the mystique, with the stage darkened and ever-changing subdued multicoloured strobe lights and spotlights trained on Kitaro and his ensemble. On one or two key occasions, a performer in traditional Japanese garb appeared onstage and danced to Kitaro's music, adding a visual element that complemented the auditory feast. Kitaro's closing number was a heartfelt rendition of John Lennon's Imagine. Before playing, he shared a personal anecdote, mentioning how during the COVID-19 pandemic, he had many friends passing away one after another. Fearing the virus himself, he secluded himself and found solace in his music, spending his days playing and composing. This performance was not just a tribute to Lennon but also a poignant reflection of Kitaro's own experiences during those challenging times.

In short, it was an unforgettable night, blending the mystique of the rainforest with the mesmerising sounds of Kitaro. Despite the hectic travel and unexpected detours, it was all worth it to witness such a magical performance.

However, we were brought back to reality soon afterwards. We didn't stick around for the last act by Belle Sisoski, a local DJ and multi-instrumentalist. Fearing the mass exodus after Kitaro's performance, we headed to the bus area to get back to Kuching. But we weren't fast enough. A few hundred people were already in line, waiting patiently to enter the holding area. To everyone's credit though, we formed ourselves into rough lines, but latecomers ignored them and started jumping the queues. "This whole place is a disaster," I muttered. No security personnel were in sight to manage the crowd, but eventually two arrived to assess the situation. Our complaints got through to them and they went off to control the queue jumpers. I couldn't see what happened next because we finally got into the holding zone. But as I mentioned, it was a disaster. You'd think that after 26 earlier years of organising the RWMF, they'd have learned from experience and gotten this last part right. 

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