KUALA LUMPUR – Three local bands with members hailing from Sabah and Sarawak will be collaborating on an intricate musical project titled 'Roads to Our Heritage' (RTOH). It will be a three-album plus one documentary series project.
The bands, Estranged and Stonebay together with artiste Alena Murang's band, will release a music album each to showcase stories of East Malaysia's music heritage. It will be the first music-themed documentary series produced by Estranged Sdn Bhd.
Estranged Sdn Bhd in a statement here yesterday said the project was supported by the Ministry of Communications and Multimedia (KKMM). It is funded under the ministry's Digital Content Fund (DKD) for the music industry.
"RTOH will be a television documentary series premiering on Radio Televisyen Malaysia (RTM). It will document a journey undertaken by Alena Murang, Estranged and Stonebay on the road with Triumph motorcycles and cars. It will begin in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah while the second part of the trip will start from Kuching, Sarawak.
"This series, which will have a total of 14 days of production shoot, covers around 1,000km of roads. It will feature in-depth interviews with native traditional music craftsmen of Sabah and Sarawak, a rediscovering of local traditional cultures and roots. There will also be a showcase of beautiful scenic routes coloured by the music of the three bands," the statement said.
Production is scheduled to begin in early this year. The group will also be accompanied by the lead researcher from Universiti Teknologi Mara’s (UiTM) Faculty of Music, Dr Nadia Widyawati Madzhi. As the Research Partner of 'RTOH', she will further help document the stories of traditional music instruments and their makers. It will serve as educational references and archiving for future generations.
Communications and Multimedia Minister Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah said 'RTOH' would be a benchmark set by the musicians. The creative industry would do well to follow in preserving the heritage for future generations. One of the ways to do this is by adopting innovations and technologies in their production.
He said the DKD fund aims to provide support as well as opportunities for the creative industry. It is also to reignite the creative economy which has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
"The government understands the crucial need to preserve local cultural heritage.
“At the same time, rapid digitalisation in all aspects including the media, arts and content creation also brings the opportunity to embrace and leverage innovations and technologies. This includes thinking out of the box," he added.
The project also received support from various organisations including Telekom Malaysia Berhad (TM) as a strategic partner.
For the latest updates and information on the project, the public can visit Facebook (https://facebook.com/RTOH2020), Twitter (https://twitter.com/RTOH2020) and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/roadstoourheritage/). – Bernama, January 28, 2021
