Rainforest World Music Festival 2012: Andu numbur taruh (Day #3)

Sunday. 15th July 2012

I’m still having a hangover from last night. Neither because I went for the concert nor I went for a drink after the concert (as if I would crazily go drink and drive). Well, after coming back from the RWMF later that evening I went straight to the office instead of going straight home. (Owh! yea…sometimes I’m a work freak. Not workaholic…just work freak haha!). Actually, I need to get connected to the internet right away to check on the next day’s schedule while transferring some photos and videos before they fully occupied my memory card and prevent me to capture more beautiful moments on the next day.

It was already 10AM when I woke up this morning. Not my usual time to wake up but…I overslept (Geez! hope I’m not late). Taking a quick shower and getting ready as casual as I can, I hope I still make it to the Media Center in time. I’m not gonna miss today’s Lunch Date (Haha~…day dreaming mode). Anyway, I reached OHS just in time :). As soon as we finish registering and take my final day pass, grabbing some materials and drinking water from the Media Center,  we then proceed to SCV for the final day workshops. But before the workshops start, I manage to have my free lunch at the Performers and Media Dinning Area with the other fellow bloggers. Thanks to STB for the free meals!

Wanna see how the Performers and Media Dinning Area looks like? Here’s Lindy with the pose;

Lindy, a fellow blogger pose on front of the Performers & Media Dinning Area

The Workshops

By the time we finish our lunch, its 45min pass 1pm. Discussing where and which workshop to go, we decided to check out the All In Row – Instruments That Need Horizontal Movements workshop. The workshop took place at Dewan Lagenda and is scheduled at 2pm. Afraid that we might miss the best spot, we rush to the Dewan and get the most front spot…hahaha~ (in any how, we can still get to the front area though. That’s how exclusive Media Passes are :P)

Today’s workshop features an instruments called ‘Balafon’, played by the Diabate brothers, Mamadou & Seydou. The other instrument is called Kulintangan & Cak Lempong, played by Rajwan Juni from the Rythm of Borneo and the third instrument featured for the workshop is the Mouth Organ a.k.a Harmonica, played by Conrad Molleson.

Mamadou Diabate with his Balafon

Seydou Diabate also playing the Balafon

Making faces…LOL~

Rajwan enjoys clanking his Cak Lempong

Funny fact about Balafons is that, it can be used as communication medium for those who really understands the tunes and melodies like these Diabate brothers. I was amazed by the way they communicate and conveying message to each other just by playing the Balafons. Although Seydou doesn’t speak much English but his brother, Mamadou can translate it by using the Balafons (just like a music telepathic message…lol!).

Before the workshop ends, Conrad Molleson sang us a song about a story of a Tax Collector. A famous folklore among Scottish locale.

The next workshop that we went was Breath of Fire – Wind instruments. Featuring flutes, alboka, madeira, daegeum and sogeum. Played by artistically talented performers such as David Synak, Jean Michel Ducau, Raimundo Teixeira Neves and Seongwon Kim. I can tell you two things about this workshop:

1. Captivating
2. Spellbinding

I’ve never heard such a beautiful melodies played live such as today from wind instruments. I’ve always want to learn how to play flutes but…lets just say, I’m not talented…hehe.

Needless to say more. I’ll just have the videos above explain how soothing the wind instruments melodies are. Hope you guys enjoy it as much as we are too. This is the chance where we can really enjoy the music while getting to know the performers up close and face to face.

Still spellbind-ed by the tunes, we decided to find something metal to clank and change the music phase in our head. That’s when we decided to go to the next wind instruments workshop. The ‘Metal In My Mouth – Brass Instrument’ workshop. I was a bit hyped about this workshop because here, you can see a lot of  ‘Kasim Selamat’ but with different skin tones and types of brass instruments…LOLOLOL!

Thiery Courdouzy with his Saxophone

Sebastien Boyer playing the Tuba

Tuned brass melody in a line

Photos aren’t enough to express the enjoyment during this workshop. Let me feast your eyes and ears with the video. Lead by Barbaro Garcia the Trumpet player from La Zikabilo:

Wow!!! what a team they are. People chanting and screaming of excitement following these metal tunes. YOU JUST HAVE TO BE HERE TO ENJOY IT! The next time this festival is held, please get your tickets early. Or…you might wanna think outside the box a little bit. Instead of spending money on the tickets and entrance passes, why don’t we apply to become a volunteer during the festival. Not just you will be granted the passes, you also will entitled to have stage passes (limited to officials only), free meals, free roam and covering around ground zero, opportunities to get close and in-person with the performers.

How’s that sounds? Interesting eh? Why not, right? Hehe~…

Anyway, along the festivals I manage to capture some happy faces of trevellers and fellow friends

 

Well, I really hope that opportunities like this will come again in the future. Its not everyday you can get lucky and selected to be here especially as media representative. I have so much to thanked the Sarawak Tourism Board and Sarawak Bloggers for giving me the chance to have such a wonderful times and great adventures here. I learn a lot about our preserved musical cultures and I learn a lot on how to appreciate myself and the musics around me.

Most of all, I discover myself and discover new friends along the way. Great friends and awesomely nice companionship. Thank you all for giving the best 2012 memories. To my fellow blogger friends out there, YOU GOT TO BE HERE NEXT TIME! haha. I’m gonna miss you all.

(~.^)v