GALICIA, Spain - The Bidayuh traditional music band from Sarawak, Madeeh has been hand-picked to represent Malaysia at the 20th anniversary of WOMEX, the largest world music expo. The expo, taking place in Santiago de Compostela, Galicia, Spain from Wednesday, 22 – Sunday, 26 October, is represented by Sarawak Tourism Board under Malaysia Major Event stand by Malaysia Convention and Exhibition Bureau (MyCEB).

The Madeeh ensemble who plays Bidayuh roots music from the upper Padawan region of Sarawak, performed on a daycase Stage at the Cidade da Cultura within the exposition area. Picked as the first band to perform on the daycase stage which only opens to WOMEX delegates, Madeeh has attracted attention from many music industry professionals from around the world. Sharing the same stage with Madeeh is Paolo Angeli from Italy/Spain who performed on the same day.

 On stage, Madeeh presenting their musical instruments which are part of a centuries-old tradition of music and dance, developed in the communal life of the longhouses. The instruments are the pratuokng, a zither made from a bamboo tube, sritakng xylophone and the gaduok hand-drum. ‘Madeeh’ means cousins, relatives, brotherhood or sisterhood and the ensemble members are all related and came from the same longhouse. They are led by Arthur Borman ‘Bai Kis’ Kanying, an expert on the history of the Bidayuh people and on searching out the best bamboo for making the traditional instruments.

WOMEX 2014 is the annual international world music expo that brings together the business of world music from across all borders to interact on a global platform. Comprising of 60 acts with more than 300 artists from 25 different countries is truly a music expo like no other.

This year for the first time ever, not just one but two Malaysian artists have been hand-selected to play at WOMEX. Apart from Madeeh, the traditional Kelantaneese band ‘Geng Wak Long’ who displayed the beautiful culture and heritage of Kelantan will also be performing. Both bands have performed at the Borneo World Music Expo in Sarawak, the same platform and the music market of its kind similar to WOMEX, but held in Asia. The selection process at WOMEX is conducted each year by a jury of esteemed members from the global music community, with the utmost stringency, to put together the programme for every World Music Expo.

 According to Ben Mandelson, Founding Director of WOMEX, having the performance presence of Madeeh and Geng Wak Long this year at WOMEX reinforces the presence of Malaysian arts professionals at WOMEX over the years. “WOMEX was created with the intention of bringing the people from the world music industry together. It is one of the biggest and best places to discover music and connect with people on a global scale and I think that Malaysia has been a great addition to our expo” he added.

 Showcasing at the Malaysian stand are the renowned Rainforest World Music Festival (RWMF) and Borneo Jazz promoted by Sarawak Tourism Board. For STB, the World Music Expo is one of the important platforms for band selection for next year’s festival. There are 600 exhibiting companies from 40 countries presenting their music product within 245 stands at the trade fair.

At the Malaysian stand, Tony Nagamaiah, General Manager of Malaysia Major Events says “I see world music as a medium that transcends language and culture. Malaysia offers a unique perspective in that aspect as we celebrate all races and traditions in truly spectacular environments”. According to Tony, Malaysia is a world class location for people and what Malaysia Major Events is doing at WOMEX this year is to create the opportunity for festival organisers and world music musicians to collaborate and showcase Malaysia on an international stage.

2015 will be the ‘Malaysia Year of Festivals’, the year which promises an array of events to celebrate diverse festivals unique to the country. The internationally renowned Rainforest World Music Festival in Kuching, Sarawak has been acclaimed as one of the ‘Top 25 World Music Festivals’ for the last 5 years by Songlines, a renowned world music magazine. The festival attracts nearly 25, 000 visitors for a fusion of traditional roots to world beat. At WOMEX this year, Sarawak also proudly presents the well-recognized Borneo Jazz held in Miri, which will celebrate its 10th anniversary next year. The 2 days event features Jazz musicians from across the globe.

The Malaysian delegation to WOMEX is led by Malaysia Major Events, a division of Malaysia Convention and Exhibition Bureau (MyCEB), an agency under the Ministry of Tourism and Culture, Malaysia (MoTAC). Presented at the booth are the Sarawak Tourism Board, Penang Tourism, JL Productions as well as Madeeh and Geng Wak Long. 

So I was driving to Miri Airport after work yesterday to settle some stuff when I realized the sudden drop of voltage in my car. Thank goodness for NRG Volt Meter that I've installed in my car (transferred from the my previous Iswara) I continued to monitor the voltage of my car. As it was getting darker due to the rainy season,I turned on my headlights and once again, my car CD player (Head Unit) was off,my lights was dim and my wiper was slower then usual. At first I thought it was due to the rain, my alternator belting got wet and I thought the belting must have slipped causing the voltage drop.

A few times the head unit went off but I couldn't be bothered by it as my mind set was "belting wet, must have slipped"  but that issue didn't really went off my head till I consulted my fellow friends, the Lutong Drag Crew on symptoms of a faulty alternator. They told me what are the symptoms they've experienced before and those were the exactly same symptoms I'm experiencing. One thing I didn't take note of during my observation earlier that day was the voltage would go up following my engine RPM (revolutions per-minute). The harder I rev the engine, the higher the voltage will go.

So with all the symptoms I've experienced, I was sure that its time to change my alternator. Since today is a Sunday, I was doubting that most workshops are opened but I was sure that the parts shop is still open until 3 pm. I did some reading on how to replace the alternator and after dropping my parents off, went to get a replacement alternator. This was my first time replacing the alternator on my own. If you are not confident, please let the workshop do it for you. As for my case, most workshop was closed and I'm trying to save a few ringgits on workmanship. :D

In this post, I would like to share with you, how to replace your alternator.

Tools Needed:

1.  Spanner (Size 8,12 and 14) *depending on car make and model. Here I'm referring to a 1999 Proton Satria GTI (engine code 4g93)
   
2. Floor Jack
3. Jack stand
4. Gloves (optional)

First things first, locate the position of the alternator. 

Once you located the position of the alternator, remove the battery terminals/heads. (always remove the battery terminals when working on fuel or electrical parts of the car.) Then proceed to raise the car using floor jacks. Once you raised your car to the desired height (for easy access), place a floor jack underneath the car to support it. 

Installation of the new alternator was pretty straight forward like taking it off, except its done in reverse. Once you've put everything back on, reconnected the wiring's, start the engine and what i did was, turn the radio on, headlamps and aircond and monitor the voltage through the volt meter.So far so good, no voltage drop. The normal voltage should be 12V plus (before you start the car), 13V ~ 14V with your engine running. Don't forget the adjust the belting tensioner by turning the tensioner bold clockwise *depending on car make and model). 

So the it is, a DIY session for the weekend. A new rebuildable alternator for my ride, a new experience gained and roughly RM80 saved on the workmanship. :D

Were you there at the 2nd edition of Asia Music Festival? No? You have no idea what you've missed people! This was my 2nd time covering this event and here I am, sharing with you,my dear readers, my experience.

Before the actual event starts, strolled along the EastWood Valley Musical Corridor and watching the visitors getting their tattos. I was so tempted to get a tattoo but I've told myself, wait till I gain more weight and if i were to do a tattoo, it would have a meaning to me. Something that really impacted my life and it would be there as a constant reminder. (Checkout the slide show above. *pictures taken on day 1 and 2).

The evening started off with DrumCall. A group of percussionist mostly based in Kuching,Sarawak beating the beat out of their instruments. It was a slow start at first but not long after that, you can see visitors starts storming the front stage and dancing little by little following the rhythm of the drums. 

In between the band performances, the crowd was entertained by one of the best DJ's in the industry, with at least 20 years of experience, once crowned as the Malaysian DJ Champion for 3 years in a row, DJ RoundHead. From Old Skool Hip Hip to the latest hits on the decks. That kept the crowd grovin'.He even did some frestylin'. As seen on the picture above, Dj RoundHead taking the crowd to a whole new level of frestylin' emcee.

Second up on stage was Pisco from Taiwan. How did they got their name? PIano + Disco = Pisco.. What I love about this band? The the lead guitarist and bassist was a girl! The bassist, probably the cutest bassist I've ever seen,with her bob cut hair style, small sized girl-next-door look can really slap that bass. Who would have known that this Apple App Editor by day, a turn into a badas* chick at night. Not to miss the lead guitarist, if you've seen through the slide show I've made, is purely rocker chick but still cute at the same time.

The third band that was performing that night was Masia One from Singapore. The first band that played reggae which got the crowd really grovin'. I mean, how can you not move to Reggae? Honestly, based on her autobiography, I was expecting her to perform more Hip Hop based genre but I had fun listening to her as well. It shows that Masia One has really developed into a multi-genre artist.

This band was one of the bands that I looked forward see performing on the first night. Pancake80 from the Philippines and they didn't disappoint me. The vocalist was very versatile with her notes and they played my all time favorite song which was Cryin' by BonJovi. The lead vocalist plays the harmonica and guess what? Their guitarist looks like Jacoby Shaddix (PapaRoach vocalist) too. :D. 

This was the last band that was performing night. A band that was no longer a stranger in our local music scene. SalamMusik from Kuala Lumpur.

Misaluvi and Motion Family was the opening act for Day 2. Although this group doesn't sing or play any musical instrument, the energy they brought with them was definitely there. Not much I can say about this group as we, the Sarawak Bloggers was busy taking our group picture during the performance. Sorrrrrryyy.....

Next up was SoulMate all the way from India. Being the 2nd performer up for the night, bringing blues rock genre was really soothing after the energetic performance by Misaluvi & Motion Family. Tipriti, the female vocalist/guitarist is considered one of the finest female singers to have emerged from the North East India, paired with Wallang, who is considered one of the respected blues guitarist of India, you know they're gonna make your heart skips a beat with their performance. I personally fell in love with Tipriti's soulful voice. They really know their music well.

This one here, is a proof that music knows no language. Retrospect from Thailand.Although they sang mostly/if not all, in Thai language, it didn't stop the crowd from jumping around rocking to their music. I have to say that this band, was the cherry on top of the cake.

MAD August!! I love this band! Somehow they remind me a lot of one particular Hong Kong Band, Beyond. MAD August stands for Make A Difference and August was included in the band's name because the band was formed in August. They performed a few of their singles and did a cover of Nirvana's Song, Smells Like Teen Spirit.. Two of the band members got tattoo-ed earlier that day at the tattoo expo too.

The last band to perform that night was Ras Muhamad representing Indonesia. Known as the Indonesian Reggae Ambassador, Ras didnt disappoint the crowd that night. From the start of his performance till the end, you can see the dance floor was packed. Towards the end of the performance, they did an impromptu performance with Masia One and Salamusik. 

Need I say more? Let the pictures speak for themselves. 

Well, that was one of the best events I've attended so far.  Before I end this post, I would like to thank Sarawak Tourism Board (STB) for the opportunity, the performers, my fellow Sarawak Bloggers, members of media from all over the world, and the volunteers who made this all possible. I kid you knot, I'm already looking forward to the next event by them.

If you wish to read more on the event coverage, below are the links of my fellow bloggers who covered the event as well.

Abang Joe
Elena Aradia
Miss Alvy
Cik Reyyana
Fabian
Pei Pei
LadyBird Eileen


Pictures?
You can find them Here
Or  if you want to see the pictures taken by the official photographer, Andy Kho, below are the links.
*Note : Please take note that all pictures, be it taken by me or anybody else, if you wish to use them, please give credits to the owner of the pictures.

Asia Music Festival Day 1 By Andy Kho
Asia MUsic Festival Day 2 By Andy Kho