KanDe

And at last the main stage is ready. Lights up. Sound on.

KanDe, from Aceh stole the show. Infectious Qawaali-like music, with a political and environmental message, this was high energy crowd bopping pleasure. The band are super tight and the lead singer, Rafly is charismatic and, well, he gave good photo! When you’re behind the lens, you tend to view a show a little differently 🙂 The band were created to be a symbol of light and peace for the people of Aceh, after troubles in the region. The front few rows were full of excited Indonesian fans, mostly filming on their smartphones. The newcomers to KanDe were surprised and delighted. It’s easy to look at the lists of musicians, and think ‘Ah, that doesn’t look interesting. I mean, after all, they are not Xavier Rudd, right?” Wrong. I’ll take another dose of Kande please.

People danced amidst a stunning (albeit muddy, slippy) stunning location. Arma was transformed again, with Chinese lanterns and tree lights into a magical grove. With a market place offering clothes, food, jewelry, a bar and the familiar Fiesta condoms stall – there were, and are for the next two nights, many tempting ways to spend your money.

Written by : Suki Zoe