1. Hoshi Wo Mite Nemurimasyo
The concept for this piece comes from a lullaby used to help babies fall asleep. It is written using a 6/8 meter, an aspect common in many Asian musical styles, although notably absent from traditional Balinese music. The composition synthesizes Japanese and Balinese musical structures.
This piece was meant to be an embryo, a first attempt to a simple idea: to create microtonal music for gamelan instruments. As a foreigner with western ears, gamelan sounds like it allows many possibilities if one combines the scales of different instrument sets. I tried to find similar pitches on diverse types of gamelan and center my choice of notes around those. However, intuition was eventually going to take over the former idea. The result makes me think of vanishing into uncomfortable and foggy harmonies. Three musicians, three different scales, three sections, three minutes.
Inspired by the piece Gambang Kuta by I Wayan Lotring, this composition re-orients the musician’s perspectives of the principal melody into various meters as a means of studying polyrhythm.
Ganjur is a concatenation of the words gangsa and kenyur, and refers to the composer’s efforts in adapting the soft sounds of the kenyur instrument onto several gangsa instruments.
Depresi, or depression, is a mental health condition that affects our thoughts, feelings, mood and how we approach daily activities. While experiencing depression we feel prolonged sadness, loss of hope and motivation, negative emotions, and personal guilt. Depression can persist for a long time and can even cause someone to go crazy.
This concept for this composition is that of a long journey that eventually returns to its point of origin. The music features a combination of experiments began 5 years ago that have finally come to fruition in the present.
A large city generates many complex soundscapes, made up of the sounds of animals, vehicles, humans and many other things. There are sounds in the smallest of spaces. Even a swarm of ants unseen produces sounds that can be heard and produce emotional response in a listener at a close-enough distance.
This composition is inspired by the blue sky, which represents a deep and exhaustive knowledge. Through all its stages, day and night, rain and dry heat, the sky will always return to its blue color. The music features unique rhythmic patterns that accentuate the tuning of the gender wayang instrumentation.
Many thanks to Sangger Kembang Ceraki for letting us record in their space.
Recording session coordinator(s): I Putu Gede Sukaryana (Balot)
Recording date(s): 2017/04/30
Recording location(s): Sanggar Kembang Ceraki, Desa Beraban, Kab. Tabanan, Bali
Audio recording: Jonathan Adams, Yan Priya Kumara Janardhana (Janu), I Putu Deva Arya Suryanegara (Arya), I Putu Gede Sukaryana (Balot)
Video recording: Jonathan Adams, Yan Priya Kumara Janardhana (Janu), I Putu Deva Arya Suryanegara (Arya), I Putu Gede Sukaryana (Balot)
Crew: I Gede Putu Resky Gita Adhi Pratista (Resky)
Audio mixing: Jonathan Adams
Audio mastering: Jonathan Adams
Video editing: I Putu Gede Sukaryana (Balot), Yan Priya Kumara Janardhana (Janu)
Photography: Jonathan Adams
Cover art: Jonathan Adams
