CELTIC PERFORMERS: Festival project director Angelina Bateman (far right) and Tony (far left) with Mabon band members during Womex in Cardiff, Wales.
KUCHING: A Welsh band will the first time be featured at the 17th edition of the internationally acclaimed Rainforest World Music Festival (RWMF) to be held here on June 20-22 next year.
Sarawak Tourism Board, Malaysia Major Events and Mabon jointly announced this at the World Music Expo (Womex) 2013 being held in Cardiff, Wales.
The band is delighted to accept this invitation which tops off a remarkable year of shows across Europe and precedes the band’s headline ‘Taith ADRE Tour’ across Wales in November.
Jamie Smith, Mabon’s composer and accordionist said it is a great honour for the band to be invited to this festival.
“We look forward to performing to a new audience and making new friends in a different part of the world,” he said.
The mighty Jamie Smith’s Mabon (JSM) are Britain’s finest original Inter-Celtic music performers, travelling beyond borders to explore the forms and styles of the Celtic traditions and work them anew.
The band’s reputation for producing acclaimed recordings and stunning live shows is well documented. Combining traditional instruments and a modern rhythm section, JSM perform outstanding original compositions, both instrumental and vocal, by acclaimed accordionist Jamie.
The band comprising five members will no doubt thrill festival goers.
In 2011 they were awarded ‘Best Instrumental Album’ by online folk and roots magazine Spiral Earth. Since then the band has played sessions for BBC Radio 2 and Radio 3, headlined shows for Celtic Connections, Womad (UK), Interceltique du Lorient, Het Lindeboom (France), Music Meeting (Netherlands) and a host of high profile festivals across Europe.
In 2013, Jamie won the competitive accordion competition at the Festival Interceltique de Lorient.
They are a ‘must see’ act in the folk and roots world.
General manager of Malaysia Major Events Tony Nagamaiah, said Welsh band Mabon
performing for the first time in the RWMF 2014 is a sign of the festival’s success.
“This is a milestone for the world class event and will attract new world music talent and fans in line with our aspiration to make Malaysia a hub for major events in the region.
“Mabon will be an opportunity to market the festival in Europe and attract more international attendees to the country for Visit Malaysia Year 2014.
“We applaud Sarawak Tourism Board for continuing to create different elements for world music fans from all over the world to enjoy,” he said.
Malaysia Major Events is a division of Malaysia Convention & Exhibition Bureau (MyCEB), an agency under the Ministry of Tourism and Culture, Malaysia.
The RWMF has been voted for the fourth consecutive year in 2013 as the top 25 international festivals by Songlines, a renowned world music magazine.
The festival has also won the BrandLaureate Country Branding award by Asia Pacific Brands Foundation for 2012-2013.