Publicity Campaign: Gamelan DanAnda & Firetail - 'Anglayang' Album
Acclaimed Balinese gamelan orchestra, Gamelan DanAnda, in collaboration with electro-jazz-fusion group Firetail, highlights the beauty of cultural exchange through their new album ‘Anglayang’. Released under the new label Komunitas Records on vinyl, this project explores the blending of traditional Balinese gamelan music with contemporary jazz fusion. With their sound described by The Age as “a new and thoroughly beguiling-musical language”, the album is set to provide listeners with a sound they’ve never heard before.
The project was initiated by the late Zulya Kamalova, Director of The Boite, who sadly passed away from a brain tumour in November 2024. Zulya approached Gamelan DanAnda in 2023 with a visionary idea to explore the role of multicultural music in Australia’s contemporary scene. Her legacy lives on through this album, which challenges listeners to consider: does Balinese gamelan jazz fusion sound like Australia?
Making up the project includes band members from Gamelan DanAnda - Ketut Sutena Adiputra, I Dewa Gde Gandiva Wisanjaka, Ria Soemardjo, Jeremy Dullard, John Cheong-Holdaway, as well as members from Firetail Anna Gordon (Saxophone), Marcos Villalta (Guitar), Hong Yang (Keyboards), Keshav Yoganathan (Congas, tabla, bongos, gatam), Jamie McElhinney (Bass), Jackie Hempshall (Drums). With the project’s vision to explore multicultural music in Australia’s contemporary scene, the band was formed to create a space where musicians of all ages could come together from all parts of the world in Naarm (Melbourne) to explore the practice of collaborating and performing together.
“Most of the spaces where gamelan is performed in Indonesia don’t exist in Australia, so we are trying to create them, and carve out new spaces where people can engage with this music authentically and respectfully.” Says Gamelan DanAnda member and acclaimed Javanese-Australian vocalist Ria Soemardjo.
For the uninitiated, gamelan is a family of percussion music from Indonesia, primarily featuring gongs, metallophones, and drums. Gamelan DanAnda specialises in Balinese gamelan. The album showcases the diversity of forms that exist on the island, showcasing the chiming metallophones of Gamelan Gong Kebyar, the blazing interlocking of the bamboo Rindik, the booming drums and shredding cymbals of Baleganjur, and Kecak vocal percussion.
The project’s sound brings together Balinese gamelan’s intricate rhythms with Firetail’s jazz fusion, characterized by Carnatic rhythms and powerful percussion. This fusion allows for a shared rhythmic vocabulary, creating a unique musical experience. Tracks like ‘Nglayang’ showcase this blend, with Firetail adapting Balinese drum patterns into their instruments, creating interlocking parts that blend the two musical worlds together.
After a string of acclaimed and sold-out performances, Gamelan DanAnda and Firetail will launch the album with a live performance at the 2025 Brunswick Music Festival on Wednesday 5 March at Quad Club. Support will be from Ready New Gang, a newer gamelan fusion outfit melding the music of traditional shadow-puppet theatre with double-bass from Scott Owen (The Living End) and drum kit from David Williams (Augie March, Fanning-Dempsey National Park). Visiting Balinese artists Yande King’s and Putu Ayu Lestari will perform as special guests in both sets, bringing their incredible virtuosity, and stunning Balinese dance.
Pre-sale vinyl LPs are available on Bandcamp and with launch tickets and will be available at the launch gig.
The album is pressed on gold vinyl (so it matches the project’s instruments, and looks like a gong), with every detail being considered. “We commissioned a beautiful lino cut from Balinese artist Septa Adi that melds Balinese and Melburnian iconography, and the insert is filled with beautiful photos by local Indonesian photographer Adelista Widjaya.In a time when many people are streaming their music, if we are asking people to buy a physical object, we want to make sure it’s worth keeping in their house!” says Gamelan DanAnda Creative Producer John Cheong-Holdaway.
‘Anglayang’ is a true celebration of multicultural music, showcasing the blend of soundscapes and instruments that come together to create a truly unique experience.
TRACK SYNOPSIS
Side A: Recorded by Myles Mumford at Sing Sing East, Box Hill Institute:
1. Lelasan Galak: A traditional Balinese tune played on bamboo xylophones, re-imagined with Western drum kits and keyboards, featuring field recordings of Australian birds captured at Carmyllie Forest and Farm on Wadawurrung land.
2. Bapang Slisir: A traditional Balinese melody recontextualized through jazz reharmonization, blending Balinese and Western musical traditions.
3. Nglayang: A dynamic track featuring traditional Balinese drumming, with
Firetail’s jazz fusion creating interlocking rhythms and vibrant musical exchanges.
Side B: recorded live by Myles Mumford at the Primrose Potter Salon, Melbourne Recital Centre. Live sound by Simon Foster:
4. Inked: A Firetail tune enriched with Balinese percussion, starting with a spacey intro and evolving into a syncopated melody with duelling drum solos.
5. Kecak Interlude: A traditional Balinese vocal percussion piece arranged to highlight Ria Soemardjo’s melismatic vocals.
6. Dead Beat: A Firetail composition based on a 7-beat cycle, exploring rhythmic and harmonic complexities.
7. Can’t Sleep: A Firetail track featuring Balinese gamelan percussion, with a solo by Ketut on reyong, blending traditional and contemporary sounds.
