Friday, July 01, 2011

Exciting line-up for Sarawak Rainforest World Music Festival opening night

KUCHING: The upcoming Rainforest World Music Festival (RWMF) is expected to open with a bang.

The first night of RWMF will see Sabahan band Agungbeat, Scandinavian folk musicians Frigg and Canadian Native American songstresses Iskwew opening the act.

Featuring the premier talents of the younger generation, Frigg is a band of classically trained folk musicians from Finland and Norway.

They perform Nordgrass: a combination of Nordic folk music and American bluegrass.

With their straight grassroots attitude towards making music, Frigg injects energy, fun, humour and interaction into any gig.

They have recorded five albums and received several nominations for the best folk music album of the year and ‘Top of the World’ appearances on Songlines magazine.

The joy of performing live and giving the audience an energising experience drive this band to keep touring throughout Europe, the US and Canada, which is where fellow performers Iskwew come from.

Iskwew (pronounced ‘is-kway-yo’) means woman in Cree. Made up of founder Sandy Scofield, Debbie Houle and Niska Napoleon, the trio combines their First Nations heritage to create, explore and perform songs in the plains and West Coast traditions of North America.

Their voices weave a sonic dance in celebration of songs that tell stories of the connection to the earth, the creator and one another.

The heartbeat of Mother Earth will be heard through their drums, underscoring a message of community and culture from a people who have survived the impacts of colonisation.

Iskwew has performed at festivals, concerts and First People’s conferences throughout Europe, Canada, Mexico and the US and will be on the RWMF stage on July 8, Friday night. They will also be involved in a music workshop called ‘Drum Dance’ at Dewan Lagenda at the festival site on July 8 and 9.

Continue reading (Incl. Pic) at: Exciting line-up for Sarawak Rainforest World Music Festival opening night
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