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Tah nu resep cianjuran, ceurik rahwana (rahwana's
cry) di jieun versi musik ku bangsa lain... duka kumaha modelna nya
..
Tembang Ceurik Rahwana dina laras
madenda, bisa oge make laras salendro , nyaritakeun rahwana nu nuju
birahi kasmaran ka dewi sinta, ngarayu make bahasa raksasa..
Aya nu apal tembangna ?
SambaSunda, the Indonesian gamelan band from the Javanese
Sunda region, are riding high on the European World Music charts with their
new album, Rahwana's Cry.
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| SambaSunda's latest realease "Rahwana's Cry"
(left) and "Soul Deep", a compilation of Afro-American music put out by
the BBC as part of its recent six-part TV
series. |
Gamelan was one of the first Southeast Asian musical styles to
be introduced to Western audiences when it took its bow, along with Cambodian
classical dance, at various exhibitions in the 19th century. Classical
composers like Debussy were fascinated by the intricate, densely layered
percussive rhythms and melodies of gamelan, just as modern minimalists like
John Cage and Terry Riley were years later in the 20th century.
It may
have taken a long time for gamelan to emerge again, but SambaSunda have been
tearing up the international circuit for a few years now. The band has a
string of domestic releases on the GNP label that chart the band's development
as it experimented with incorporating new sounds from other styles - like
Brazilian samba and the African djembe drum - into a basic gamelan set up.
Some of the songs featured on these albums appeared on Berekis (Kartini,
Germany) and last year's The Sunda Music (Rice Records, UK), which I reviewed
earlier this year.
For those of you that missed the review, SambaSunda
is an 18-member ensemble featuring gongs and percussion instruments used in
various kinds of Indonesian gamelan, ably supported by violin, suling flute,
djembe and timbales. Many songs are instrumental but the vocal tracks feature
the sweet, nasally voice of Rita Tila.
SambaSunda's first effort
specifically designed for international audiences, Rahwana's Cry is doing very
well in Europe, boosted no doubt by the band's festival appearances this past
summer.
The foreign influences and Indonesian pop elements apparent on
the previous two albums have this time been seamlessly blended into a gamelan
base, creating a distinctive sound that is both ancient and modern. With
plenty of surprises and musical detours, the songs on this terrific album
swing from haunting, dreamy soundscapes to hard driving percussion workouts,
augmented by wails, chanting, haunting violin and Rita Tila's soaring voice -
her contributions are found on my favourite tracks, Mang Mang and Harepan.
The band certainly does its best to dispel the notion that gamelan is
just about gong bashing and repetitive rhythms. SambaSunda have developed a
mature sound that is distinctive and unique. Whereas most bands from this
region that attempt to create some kind of fusion music nearly always fall
back on rock, jazz funk or bossa nova to "internationalise" their music, there
is not one rock guitar solo on this album.
I expect this album to be
featured on many critics' best of the year lists. Highly recommended. Mail
order from: www.sternsmusic.co.uk, www.amazon.com and
www.phatplanet.com.
It's a tall order to try to cover the history of
Afro-American popular music in just two CDs, but Soul Deep - the compilation
the BBC released as part of its recent six-part TV series - attempts to do
just that.
To cover 50 years of music in only 39 tracks means that
some omissions had to be made, but why there is nothing by Ray Charles, a key
pioneer in the secularisation of gospel music during the 50s, nor anything by
Sam and Dave, Stevie Wonder, Wilson Pickett or Otis Redding is a mystery. The
Southern Soul belles are largely absent, as is any representative from the
Philly sound or disco. Oddly, the album ends with Bobby Brown's My
Prerogative, which was released in 1988, so the last two decades of hip hop
and r'n'b are ignored.
That said, there are plenty of great songs on
the album, which at 399 baht is a bargain (I found my copy in the music
section of Central Chidlom's B2S store). James Brown, Etta James, Sam Cooke,
the Temptations, the Isley Brothers, Sly, Parliament, Aretha Franklin, the
Supremes, Marvin Gaye, Martha Reeves and even James Carr take their
bows.
Soul fans will already have many of the songs - Baby Love and My
Guy are so well known you wonder why they were chosen - but if you don't know
gospel from funk, then this album is a must.
The TV series was highly
acclaimed when it was broadcast but so far the BBC has indicated that the
six-part series will not be released on DVD.
Let's hope the mandarins
of the BBC change their minds. If you want to find out more information on the
series, read articles and listen to sound clips, go to
www.bbc.co.uk/music/souldeep.
This column can be contacted at:
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Interpretation is the revenge of the intellect
upon art. -Susan Sontag,
author and critic (1933-2004)
Komunitas Urang Sunda --> http://www.Urang-Sunda.or.id
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