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South African bands to shake things up at Rainforest Festival

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KUCHING: South African bands, Abavuki and Kelele will be performing at the Rainforest World Music Festival (RWMF) from 14 to 16 July at the Sarawak Cultural Village.

Abavuki, which means “Wake up, early birds!” in the Xhosa language, provides energetic and multi-instrumental performances which mix traditional rhythms of the South African people with the  more modern styles of kwaito, samba and Jazz.

Founded in 2001 and based in Cape Town, Abavuki’s high-energy afro-beat music reflects the band members’ optimistic outlook on life, music-making and the resilience of the South African people. Their albums are Decade, Live in China and African Rhythms

Kelele is a minimal-instrument band with the members’ voices as the focal instrument.

Keeping traditions alive with its melody and harmony, Kelele maintains the age-old African oral tradition of storytelling through songs, passing on history, folktales and lessons in life over generations.

The band performances are acompanied by traditional instruments like the mbira dzavhadzimu (the finger piano), the uhadi (the traditional bow instrument of the AbeXhosa people), the umrhubhe (another bowed instrument) and the talking drum of the Nigerian Yoruba people.

South Africa is a country at the southernmost point of the African continent, with a multi-ethnic population overflowing with diverse languages and cultures.

This year marks the 20th edition of the Rainforest World Music Festival which will kick off with three days of all-day entertainment including mini music sessions, health and wellness activities, food and craft markets, traditional games as well as  nightly performances.

Sarawak Cultural Village, the venue of the festival, is popularly known as the “living” museum and is located on 17 acres of land at the foot of Mount Santubong, roughly 35kms north of Kuching.

Festival tickets and updates are now available online or from the ticketing agents listed at www.rwmf.net, with pre-sale prices available until 13 July.

The festival is supported by the Ministry of Tourism and Culture Malaysia and Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture Sarawak and endorsed by Tourism Malaysia with Malaysia Airlines as the sponsor.

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