Balawan
and Batuan Gamelan

Music in Bali

The island of Bali has long been a holiday destination for Australians and considered an idyllic paradise, but since 2002 Bali has attracted much sensational press from the bombings and court cases that have taken place there. Until one visits the island, one rarely pays attention to the rich culture that underpins the local society.

Balinese cultural activity has a strong presence throughout the island. Regular temple ceremonies and cremations form part of the social fabric. Music is everywhere, accompanying daily activities, dance and ritual.

Michael Tenzer in his book Balinese Music mentions how "...anyone who has spent an evening in the Balinese countryside can attest to the polyphonic, rhythmic croaking of frogs in the ricefields as being perhaps the most plentiful source of inspiration for local musicians".

In the evening Bali is alive with music when the sound of gamelan wafts across the landscape. Gamelan, an ensemble of gongs and metallophones made from bronze, brass or iron, is the distinctive percussion ensemble found throughout Indonesia, particularly on the islands of Java and Bali.

"The ethereal music of the gamelan is sustained with an esthetic that prizes beautiful melody and a refined sense of formal design. This is not a music characterized by the sweeping emotions of romanticism; rather it is detailed, secure in construction, and full of insistent rhythms and elegant patterns. In the music's rich abstractions the listener encounters clarity and complexity that makes it one of the most rewarding musical experiences to be had on our planet. These rewards are multiplied when one considers the music within the context of the remarkable place and culture that support it, the island of Bali."
Michael Tenzer, Balinese Music, Periplus Editions Singapore 1998.

The influences in BBG's music

The music of Balawan and Batuan Gamelan (BBG) has developed from this rich background. They combine patterns from traditional Balinese gamelan, jazz and rock to develop contemporary songs about Balinese lifestyle. They continue a tradition of storytelling through music.

Traditional songs including rhymes, folk songs and dances are the basis of BBG's music. Pieces such as Putri Cening Ayu and Meong-Meong as well as dances like anger, Meli Tuak and Juru Pencar are included in their repertoire. Balawan's original arrangements revitalise the sounds of the gamelan or gambelan (Balinese), and combine them with the more familiar sounds of guitar, drumkit and bass.

Balawan stresses that the pentatonic scale heard on Balinese instruments such as the reong is simple yet when combined with complex interlocking rhythms becomes complicated and challenging to play. The scale is chosen to accommodate the guitar tuning and the instruments are tuned accordingly. Melodies are altered to fit these scales. Traditional tuning can include notes not found in the equal tempered scale so songs played by this ensemble may sound quite unusual for Western listeners.

All members of the group have input in composing and arranging their music. Sometimes an idea will come from Balawan and the rest of the group will learn the patterns. Sometimes an idea will come from another member and Balawan will transfer the patterns to guitar. He spends many hours practising guitar in order to perform gamelan techniques such as the interlocking rhythms called kotekan.

He also plays a thirteen-string guitar, made in Indonesia to his specifications, so that he can use these ideas when he performs solo in Europe and Japan. He constantly challenges himself by trying new techniques and repertoire such as music for classical piano. He performed two of these pieces, Flight of the Bumble Bee and Turkish March, on a recent trip to Japan. He transcribed the piano score to guitar tablature in order to play it.

The musicians from Batuan

In Indonesia the group is known as Batuan Ethnic Fusion. "Batuan" is one of the Balinese central art villages known for dancing, painting, music and woodcarving and also where the members of the group live. "Ethnic" in Indonesia means traditional instruments so "ethnic fusion" means the fusion between gamelan and modern instruments.

The gamelan players are all adept on various instruments. They come from a traditional music background whereby they are expected to perform on all instruments of the gamelan. Yet these players have another special quality in that they can play across styles. It can be difficult to find traditional musicians able to bridge different musical styles as they often play repertoire of set pieces.

These multi instrumentalists include I Wayan Suastika (reong, gangsa, rindik, suling, percussion), I Wayan Sudarsana (cengceng, genggong, suling), I Nyoman Marcono (kendang, suling, cengceng), I Nyoman Suwida (kendang, reong, gangsa, suling, cengceng), Ketut Tarmadi (electric bass) and Vivere Victor Imanuel Pal (drums and keyboard).

In concert Balawan expresses his admiration for the members of Batuan Gamelan because they have been prepared to explore various techniques to create a new sound. Since joining Balawan they have been able to develop new techniques influenced by Western styles. Balawan has been playing with these musicians from Batuan for many years so they have a good rapport and are very tight as a group apart from being energetic and spontaneous performers. Balawan refers to Wayan Suastika as one of the fastest gamelan players in Bali.

When Wayan Suastika plays interlocking patterns on the metallophone called gangsa, Nyoman Suwida joins him on the opposite side of the instrument so that he plays upside down. The photo on the left shows Nyoman Suwida (left) and Wayan Suastika playing gangsa. Wayan Sudarsana is in the background. In these sequences BBG use fast and intricate interlocking rhythms which feature syncopated and unison patterns.

Apart from creating his own unique sound and character Balawan has enriched his own understanding of Balinese culture while trying to find some connection with Western music. He believes people will get to know more about Balinese music and understand it more easily by listening to his music because he combines traditional and western instruments. The group share Balawan's vision for their music to reach a wider international audience while promoting Indonesian music worldwide.

Balawan's background

Balawan sings and plays electric guitars with synthesizer using the touch tapping technique whereby he moves the fingers of both hands along the strings like playing a piano. He chose to play guitar because he believes it to be a very personal, portable instrument which allows a musician to make music on his or her own.

Balawan started playing gamelan when he was eight years old and grew up surrounded by Balinese gamelan music. The Balinese must learn to play gamelan during childhood as it is the common instrument related to daily life featured in performances during temple festivals and other Balinese ceremonies.

He began to play guitar at eight years old and started his first band at the age of fourteen. In 1993 he received a scholarship to study jazz for three years at the Australian Institute of Music in Sydney. After graduating he returned to Bali in 1997 and formed Batuan Gamelan (Ethnic Fusion), combining Balinese gamelan and jazz, and released their debut album Globalism in 1999. He began to explore Balinese music, using traditional instruments and songs to develop a new sound.

He has appeared at East Meets West Gitarren Festival Edenkoben Germany, Hell Blues Festival in Norway and toured twenty cities in Germany. Balawan and Batuan Gamelan (Ethnic Fusion) perform regularly at festivals in Jakarta and Bali including Java Jazz Festival, Jazz goes to Campus, Jazz in Chocolate Box, World Music Jazz, World Music Festival and Jakarta Jazz Festival. www.wayanbalawan.com

By Margaret Bradley