Alena Murang
Sky Songs, Alena Murang released her latest album on May 27, 2021.
"It's a tricky path to follow, to be both local and global, and talented musicians like Murang have to decide whether to try and make the local traditions popular or tie them up with proven pop and rock formulas. Here it's a mixture of both."
-- Simon Broughton (Songlines, UK)
Alena Murang is a Borneo-born Dayak-European living in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, who sings in the endangered languages of Kelabit and Kenyah. Dayak are the native people of Borneo. She is one of the first women to play the sape'. Deeply influenced by the lives of her ancestors, coupled with influences of rock and folk, her shows are a journey of past and presents, along the mighty Baram river that runs from the coast to the highlands of Borneo, through the world's oldest rainforest. Alena is also a dancer, sape' teacher and visual artist.
Her first EP, Flight (2016) presents interpretations of traditional Kelabit and Kenyah songs. In 2021, Alena Murang has released her latest album Sky Songs, inspired by the stories of her ancestors that lived in the skies and on Earth. Now, she travels to festivals across the world sharing the music of her people.
