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Malaysia Travel Guide

EXPLORE EXOTIC FACETS OF MOROCCO’S MUSICAL HERITAGE

Music is fundamental in the Moroccan daily life and it is at the heart of this nation’s cultural heritage. At this year’s RWMF, festival goers will have the rare opportunity to experience the music of Mehdi Nassouli whose passion for preserving Moroccan music is matched by his energetic and engaging stage presence.

Born in Taroudant in southern Morocco, Mehdi experienced the rhythms and sounds of traditional Moroccan culture while growing up. This inspired him to dedicate his life to studying instruments and the voice of his people. He immersed himself in the rhythms and spiritual trance of “Gnawa music practised by his ancestors.

Mehdi was also enamoured by the Malhoune poetic arts and deqqa, a traditional form of art from Taroudant and spent the better part of a decade learning several traditional musical styles across Morocco.

Drawn intrinsically to new rhythms, he took up the guembri, a percussive stringed instrument that is the foundation of Gnawa music and learned to master it from great musicians.

Launched into the international scene by festival director Brahim El Mazned, Mehdi now has many projects and international collaborations where he pushes those traditions ahead with enthusiasm. As a fusion artist, he has collaborated and shared the stage with many international artists. Mehdi was featured on French guitarist Titi Robin’s album Les Rives in 2012 and the two later collaborated on a joint album, Taziri in 2015, with both albums yielding extensive international touring. His collaboration with other genres, such as jazz and hip hop has earned him legions of followers.

Watch him perform at the RWMF 2019 – leading his traditional 5 piece, dazzling the crowd with mesmerizing dance and gnawa percussion, and endearing himself to the audience with his irresistible smile.

RWMF2019 MEHDI NASSOULI

The Rainforest World Music Festival takes place on July 12-14 at the Sarawak Cultural Village and is organised by the Sarawak Tourism Board, endorsed by Tourism Malaysia and is supported by the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Youth Sports Sarawak.

For further information on tickets, festival activities and logistics, please log on to https://rwmf.net/

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Cuisine in Melaka

MELAKA FESTIVAL 2012 A RESOUNDING SUCCESS

Melaka Art and Performance Festival 2012 a resounding success

Appiah Annan from Ghana performing Sankofa / Photo from melakafestival.com

Sep 28, 2012

MELAKA, Malaysia – The largest and only site specific art and performance festival on a UNESCO World Heritage site ended on a high note today as artists and performers celebrated a successful three-day festival. From September 21-23, Melaka was filled with art installations and performances by more than 50 renowned local and international artists.

Artists from Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Australia, France, Ghana, South Korea, Ireland, Brazil, Italy, the Netherlands, Morocco, Canada, Poland, and the USA performed in the streets along St. Paul’s Hill where the asphalt became their canvas.

Running for the fourth year, the Melaka Arts and Performance Festival (MAPFest) is an innovative contemporary festival featuring dance, performance art, visual art, film, and music. The closing of the festival culminated in the gathering of all MAPFest artists and performers as they performed “Eulogy for The Living,” a large-scale performance, which provided a spectacular and soulful finale to the festival. The play was directed by the Founding Creative Director, Tony Yap, accompanied by live music and projections by Khaled Sabsabi.

“We were overwhelmed by the response throughout the festival. These three days has truly shown that Melaka has the potential to be an international hub for arts and performances. We are definitely looking forward for a bigger and better festival next year,” said Andrew Ching, Founder and Producer of the Festival.

As a supporter of the festival, the Malaysia Convention Exhibition Bureau (MyCEB) shares the same vision. Zulkefli Sharif, Chief Executive Officer of MyCEB, said, “Our collaboration with MAPFest this year is a successful one as it proves that Malaysia can be a center stage for global events. Melaka, which is a UNESCO World Heritage site, was the ideal venue to host such an inspiring showcase of the arts.”

The event attracted over 20,000 attendees, including an estimated 4,000 overseas visitors. Festival goers participated in a dance workshop by Australia’s leading Afrocontemporary dance practitioner, Appiah Annan of Asanti Dance Theatre, as he introduced traditional and contemporary approaches to dance from his motherland, Ghana.

Many people also took part in a forum discussion themed, “Melaka intersections: Living space/museum town” by Associate Professor Cheryl Stock, Director of Postgraduate Studies Creative Industries Faculty of the Queensland University of Technology.

MAPFest 2012 was directed by Tony Yap, in his capacity as the Founding Creative Director. He was one of the principle performers with IRAA Theatre (1989-1996) and has worked extensively in Australia and overseas including the Agamemnon Festival Colline Torinese, Italy, and The Trojan Woman, Vienna International Art Festival. As the founding Artistic Director of Mixed Company (now The Tony Yap Company) in 1993, he has made a commitment to the exploration and creation of an individual dance theatre language that is informed by psycho-physical research, Asian shamanistic trance dance, butoh, voice, and visual design.

MAPFest 2012 is produced by Arts Performance Festival Melaka Sdn Bhd and is supported by Tourism Malaysia, the Melaka State government, together with the efforts of E-Plus Entertainment, Mercatus Plus Malaysia, Badan Warisan Malaysia, Kingdom of the Netherlands, the French and The Netherlands Embassies, the Australian government, the Australian High Commission, Australia Malaysia Institute, Multicultural Arts Victoria, the Embassy of France, The Tony Yap Company, Nyoba Kan, Simone Lourey, and William Randall.

Source: melakafestival.com

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Cuisine in Melaka

MELAKA FEST STARTS TOMORROW

Email    Print 20 September 2012 | last updated at 10:34PM

Taking arts to Malacca streets

THE largest and only site specific art and performance festival on a Unesco heritage site returns to Malacca for the fourth time from tomorrow to Sunday.

The Mapfest 2012 team

The Melaka Art And Performance Festival or Mapfest 2012, held daily at 10am, has performances by more than 50 local and international artistes from Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Australia, France, Ghana, South Korea, Ireland, Brazil, Italy, the Netherlands, Morocco, Canada, Poland and the United States.
They will perform on the streets along St Paul’s Hill and the asphalt will become their canvas.

Mapfest 2012 draws from Malacca’s famous heritage sites to create a space for contemporary culture and artistic practice. It will have components such as Cerita Pendek (Short Stories) 1 and 2, visual arts, discussions and workshops.
Cerita Pendek brings together dance, music and performances from all participating artistes in short works over two nights at St Paul’s Church.

On Sunday night, they will all perform Eulogy For The Living, a spectacular finale directed by Tony Yap and accompanied by live music, and projections by Khaled Sabsabi.
Producer Andrew Ching says: “The festival provides an avenue for up-coming performers to showcase their talents and collaborate with international artistes.”

Festival supporter the Malaysia Convention And Exhibition Bureau chief executive officer Zulkefli Sharif says that as a heritage site, Malacca has always been a popular tourist attraction and the festival enhances its offerings.

 
The event is set to attract more than 4,000 international attendees who can join a dance workshop by Australia’s leading dancer Appiah Annan of Asanti Dance Theatre who will introduce traditional and contemporary approaches to dance from his motherland, Ghana.

Mapfest 2012 is produced by Arts And Performance Festival Melaka and is supported by the Tourism Ministry, E-Plus Entertainment, Mercatus Plus, Badan Warisan Malaysia and the governments of the Netherlands, Australia and France among others.

Admission is free.

Details at www.melakafestival.com.
 

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