I haven’t missed the Annual Rainforest World Music Festival (RWMF) at the Sarawak Cultural Village, since its inception in August 1998. The first three years I was there as a performer. This year I went as a photojournalist who had to pay his own way, but, hey, any excuse will do, right? – I just had to be there!

Especially when I heard Shooglenifty was on the festival bill again. This trance-inducing kick-ass Celtic ‘hypno-funkadelic’ group from Edinburgh had the audience throwing decorum to the wind and jigging in the rain when they closed the festival in 1999. Their crafty dervish blend of traditional highland folk and heart-thumping techno-rave dance music is utterly irresistible. Shooglenifty deserves to be as rich and famous as Jethro Tull or Pink Floyd – but the band is too good-humoured, too sensible, too steeped in down-home irony to bother with the hustle and hype of the music business. And a good thing too: if they were as strong vocally as they are instrumentally, they’d become far too expensive for the heavily subsidised RWMF!

Börte – a Mongolian "ethno-jazz" ensemble – proved to be a gobsmacking act with their spectacular costumes and impeccable musicianship. Featuring the amazing "throat singing" technique made famous by Tibetan monks, these young graduates of the Ulan Bator Music Academy were impressive with their discipline and verve. Yatga (curved-board harp) virtuoso Chuluunbat Munkh-Erdene delivered an absolutely regal performance, while Dagvan Ganpurev was simply awesome on two-stringed bass violin and umzad (vocal undertones). Börte derives its name from the mythical grey wolf that sired the Mongol race. The austere, stoical, and majestic music they make can bring a tear to the eye and evoke splendid vistas of desolate beauty.

No one can beat the Africans when it comes to sheer percussive prowess and showmanship. Badenya les Frères Coulibaly – a good-looking family of griots from the Bwa tribe of Burkina Faso – were a hit with everybody. Led by Souleymane (the Wise) on balafon and n’goni, with twin brothers Lassina and Ousseni on djembe and doumdoum, the group had the added attraction of a spirited dancing and singing cousin named Mariam who wowed the crowd with her frenetic choreography and wild hair.

From Madagascar there was Rajery, led by Germain Randrianarisoa on the valiha (a bamboo zither whose origins have been traced back to Borneo). The infectious charm and festive spirit of this Malagasy group easily earned the audience’s approval, even though they could only communicate in French. A charismatic Chaplinesque figure on stage, Rajery (Randrianarisoa’s nickname) belted out moving ballads – occasionally accompanied by his funky band, and sometimes only on his phallic valiha (which produces a crystalline tinkling music reminiscent of the kalimba or African finger piano). At the tender age of 11 months, Rajery lost all the fingers on his right hand – but this didn’t stop him from developing a sensitive and evocative valiha technique.

Cairo-based Sudanese Afro-Moorish diva, Setona, was another act that went down well. Backed by her solemn, beturbaned husband - oud virtuoso Said Ahmed Abdel Kerim - and a rollicking Egyptian dance combo consisting of accordion, percussion, and electric bass, Setona Ali Adam’s bounteous and besequinned stage presence was beautifully offset by the mystical voice of Said Ahmed’s oud.

Also in the festival lineup were the Los Llaneros trio from Colombia – featuring the heartthrob of the Mestizo harp, Henry Benavides, and the unassuming master of the maracas, Diego Luis, the group’s driving force appeared to be the Llanos-born Karin Stein aka La Negra Karin who sang and played cuatro and jarana (miniature guitars).

Kanenhi:io, a Native Canadian women’s vocal group from Ontario led by the pure-voiced Wathahine and her shaman mother Lucia, chanted songs of blessing for the Earth and all the elements - gathered from the Cree, Inuit, Iroquois, and Mohawk traditions. Their set was too much medicine and not enough music, but their cogent eco-feminist message was nonetheless well-received. At least Kanenhi:io can be said to travel light: all they brought on stage apart from their voices were a few hand drums and cowhorn shakers!

Less critical members of the audience seemed quite entertained by the saccharine folk-pop group OK! Ryos from New Caledonia – but, quite frankly, they sounded like a small town hotel combo on vacation. They got my vote as the worst-dressed act at the Rainforest World Music Festival 2001.

Among the usual Sarawak offerings, Jerry Kamit & Friends showed the greatest promise with their funky fusion of contemporary and traditional instruments. Dubbed the "Jimi Hendrix of the Sarawak Sape" Jerry Kamit has been getting the attention of world music aficionados for his street-savvy skill on the home-made electric sape. Other more traditional musicians culled from Sarawak’s fast-dying indigenous tribes appeared a great deal less cheerful about their prospects. Forced out of their natural habitat by ruthless "development" and put on stage to perform for tourists, it was hard for them to display much enthusiasm or showmanship.

The most outstanding feature of the RWMF has to be its scenic setting at the foot of the mysterious Mount Santubong. It’s easy to overlook minor shortcomings in such a festive atmosphere, suffused with exciting music from far-flung parts of the world. For three whole days (July 20-22) one could leave behind the troubles of the so-called real world and dance to the beat of the electric rainforest. Little wonder that the festival is pulling in bigger crowds each year. The RMWF is the best party in Sarawak!

To see the RWMF 2001 Photo Gallery click here