KUCHING, 22 June 2023: Festivalgoers to this year’s Rainforest World Music Festival (RWMF) can take part in a record-breaking bid to assemble the ‘Most Percussionists in a Music Festival’ to merit inclusion in the Malaysia Book of Records (MBOR).
Sarawak Tourism Board’s announcement, released Tuesday, says the record-breaking attempt will convene throughout the three-day festival at 1645, 23 to 25 June, at the Sarawak Cultural Village festival ground.
Festivalgoers can take their percussion instruments to the event, or they can improvise with household items such as pails, pots, pans, bottles or any other materials that can be drummed to produce percussive sounds.
Upcycling garbage items as percussion instruments aligns with the festival’s role in promoting the concept of ‘responsible tourism’ and values of sustainability through a ‘green’ event that contributes to the conservation of the environment and local heritage.
Sarawak Tourism Board (STB) chief executive officer Sharzede Salleh Askor noted that drumming has deep cultural roots in many societies worldwide, each with its strong drumming tradition spanning generations.
“We aim to set this new MBOR entry over three days, and we invite all festivalgoers to be part of this event which not only emphasises harmony but communicates it through acts that remind us of responsible and sustainable practices for a fulfilling RWMF experience,” she explained.
“Through this historic drumming circle record-breaking event, we aim to unite as many people as possible whose drumming traditions may differ from one another to connect by playing the same rhythmic beats, sending a strong message of unity, togetherness and oneness.”
During the RWMF, drumming circles involve one person leading a group of percussionists with various percussion instruments to start with a steady beat as others listen and then gradually play improvised rhythms together. Participants in drum circles do not need to have musical experience as long as they can listen to and connect musically.
Festivalgoers also can learn drumming techniques or how to build their percussion instruments from sustainable materials by attending the daytime workshops between 1400 to 1745 conducted by RWMF performers before the drumming circle event.
More info at rwmf.net
Or for more travel information, visit www.sarawaktourism.com.
(Souce: Sarawak Tourism Board)
