“The Power of Music” series produced by Steelgrass Studio continues this Sunday with 15 musicians, singers and dancers of Sambasunda, a West Javanese gamelan group that is becoming famous in world music circles for enlivening their traditional Indonesian music with a
“The Power of Music” series produced by Steelgrass Studio continues this Sunday with 15 musicians, singers and dancers of Sambasunda, a West Javanese gamelan group that is becoming famous in world music circles for enlivening their traditional Indonesian music with a new fusion sound. “Contemporary Gamelan with a Kick,” as their show is called, will be performed at 7 p.m. on July 15 at the Church of the Pacific in Princeville. Tickets will be available for $15 at the door, or they can be purchased in advance at Small Town Coffee in Kapa‘a and Hanalei Music and Video.
“‘Sambasunda’ is one of the most exciting musical voices in world music today,” writes Tony Lydgate of Steelgrass Music. “A multi-talented group of musicians, singers and dancers who bring together a dazzling array of instruments and influences to create a new style of Gamelan orchestra.”
The group will be performing on Kaua’i exclusively, blending the lilting sounds of traditional instruments of Sundanese gamelan degung (metallophones, tuned bronze bowls, bass gongs, wooden drums, bamboo percussion and assorted flutes and stringed instruments) with elements of Jakarta’s kroncong, Sunda’s jaipong, Balinese kebyar and the Brazilian rhythm of samba. Led by composer Ismet Ruchimat, this is the band’s second visit to Kaua‘i (since their February 2006 appearance to present “Bamboo and Bronze,” a workshop on Sundanese music and culture, also sponsored by the Power of Music.)
“Sambasunda comes to Kaua’i in the middle of a world tour that has taken them to Europe, Australia, Canada and several Mainland cities, and on their stop-off here they’ll also be recording their next album at Steelgrass Studio in Kapa’a,” writes Lyd-gate.
“Based in Bandung, the bustling capital and cultural centre of Western Java, Sambasunda’s aim is to update the venerable sound of a gamelan orchestra, that revered and mesmerizing showpiece of Indonesia’s rich musical traditions, by fusing it with flavors from other parts of the Indonesian archipelago and from as far afield as Brazil — hence the ‘Samba’ in the name. The classic sounds of the instruments evoke not only past splendor, but also the bustling, urban energy of Java today: a full sound palette from the deep resonance of the mighty gongs to the silvery eloquence of the suling bamboo flute, complete with a heavyweight percussion section, wild vocal chanting known as senggak, and the truly breathtaking vocal skills of singer Rita Tila,” states the group’s Web site.
“The result is a mesmerizing mix that manages to be both relentlessly exciting and languidly tranquil, full of explosive energy and seductive sweetness. Both reassuringly familiar and daringly innovative at home in West Java, this is a dazzling new sound for the rest of the world to discover as the group adds unorthodox instruments such as dulcimers, guitar, jaw harp and violin. Ismet and his band are Sundanese, the second largest ethnic group in Indonesia with a unique language and culture, and the music they make is a powerful evocation that captures the complex spirit of Indonesia today,” states the group’s Web site.
The group has released several albums, that, along with their latest “Rahwana’s Cry,” will be available at the July 15 concert. For more information, call 821-1857 or e-mail info@steelgrass.org, or for more information on the group visit www.sambasunda.com.
