By Shikin Louis
KUCHING, June 29: After 10 years of trying, Malaysian reggae band Salammusik finally has the chance to perform for the first time ever at the 27th edition of the Rainforest World Music Festival (RWMF).
The band’s lead vocalist Ashraaf Salam A. Alan, also known as Acap, admitted that he felt nervous as the band is looking forward to perform tomorrow night (June 30).
“I was here [witnessing the first night of the concert] yesterday. It was crazy. There were many people. I think I’m going to be nervous going on stage but I think it’s going to be fun.
“We’ve been practicing a lot for the show and we have new material to perform as well. It’s going to be a new experience for us,” he told reporters during a press conference at Damai Beach Resort here today.
He explained that some of the songs that they will be performing will come from their third studio album titled ‘Riwayat’, infused with traditional instruments.
Among the traditional instruments featured include ‘kroncong’, ‘chak and chuk’, drums, ‘shehnai’ – an Indian instrument, and ‘serunai’ – a Kelantanese instrument.
“Actually, we rarely perform these songs. We never do it actually. Only for this festival, we incorporated these styles.
“Therefore, I believe that RWMF is the most appropriate platform for us to perform these songs. So when we received invitation to play at this festival, our excitement went through the roof,” he added.
Revealing that the band has practiced for about two months for the RWMF, Acap stated that it will be one of the biggest stages the band has ever performed.
Established since 2006, the band is renowned for their hit songs like ‘Cerita Kedai Kopi’, ‘Aku Pelat’ and ‘Dewi Seraya’.
Apart from Acap, the band members who were present at the press conference included Aabid Aafiat (tenor saxophone), Mohd Irhas@Payung (trumpet), Kristopher Chong (bass) and Jazmi Jamaluddin (alto saxophone).
Salammusik will perform alongside “Havana Social Club”, “Alright Mela Meets Santoo” (Pakistan and France), “Bourbon Lassi” (Australia and Malaysia), and “Krakatau Ethno” (Indonesia) on the third night of RWMF tomorrow (June 30). — DayakDaily
