MALAY PERCUSSION FUSION AT ITS BEST

ASIKA is an eight-member troupe that has multi-instrumentalists as its core members. Lead by Mohd. Kamrulbahri Hussin, most of the band members are graduates from the National Arts Academy. Mohd. Kamrulbahri is a virtuoso percussionist as well as a stout supporter of keeping the traditions of Malaysian music... read more...

DIZU PAATJIES’ IBUYAMBO

DIZU PAATJIES’ IBUYAMBO’s music will plot a route through the musical roads of Sub-Sahara desert regions. In African language, “Ibuyambo” means a renaissance or a birth and a renewal of things. Clad in traditional outfits and body paints, the group will bring back the memories and rituals of the African’s music ... read more...

ENSEMBLE KABOUL

Afghanistan has had more than its share of war and hardship and in times of trouble, the first thing to crumble is usually the Arts. Music has existed for thousands of years in Afghanistan and is said to be one of the oldest traditions in the world. Its music is made up from different cultural sources – the Pashtuns and the Tajiks, the Uzbek, Hazara, and more. There are even Indian influences especially... read more...

FARAFINA (BURKINA FASO)

FARAFINA, who hails from Burkina Faso, will keep their traditional instruments despite the surge of modernity in their world. The band is also still vibrant and taut with strong Manding ties and influences in their music. Read more...

FOGHORN STRINGBAND

The FOGHORN STRINGBAND is a quintet of young men who play old-time string music of the Appalachians and the Mid-West. Some of the songs they do can be traced back to the 1700s. Even so, this music is still the life and soul of community circles right up till the present day. Read more...

HUUN HUUR TU / MALERIJA (TUVA & RUSSIA)

HUUN HUUR TU is a quartet has taken their folklore, throat singing and distinctive instruments like the igil (a Tuvan horsehead cello), khomus (mouth harp), doshpuluur (Tuvan banjo)and the tungur (shaman drum) to an international audience, thus ensuring that their music is preserved. They were the first band to come out of Central Asia to be a great success, both artistically and commercially. Read more...

INKA MARKA

One of the most endearing music to listen to is the soft caressing melodies and gentle but lively rhythms from the Andes region of Peru, Ecuador and Chile.

The Andes mountains are the highest peaks outside of Asia and it is the longest stretch of highlands in the world... read more...

MAS Y MAS

MAS Y MAS is a trio based in the United Kingdom. They are Rikki Thomas-Martinez on his beloved Spanish guitar, Wayne Evans with his well weathered 100 year old double bass that he says used to be a prop for a dubious photographer’s work, and Richard Kensington who sits on his cajon and surrounds himself... read more...

NARASIRATO PAN PIPERS

NARASIRATO PAN PIPERS – a tribe from the Are’are region of Malaita Island that is one of the Solomon Islands. These islands are a volcanic and coral reef archipelago, stretching over 1400kms in the southwest Pacific Ocean, and home to an incredibly diverse mix of terrain and people. Read more...

TAMMORRA

Sicily is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea and is home to Europe’s tallest volcano, Mount Etna, which is still active today.

The original inhabitants of Sicily were said to be tribes from around the Aegean Sea. Due to of its strategic geographical location, it has been colonized by different forces since the 8th century... read more...

WICKED AURA BATUCADA

WICKED AURA BATUCADA is the biggest band at the festival and they are expected to bring the house down with their irrepressible energy and infectious rhythms. The group is based in Singapore and most of their members are as un-Brazilian as you can get, but music and drum beats have a way of getting around such things. Read more...