archenemy blog

Cool:

A gamelan is a kind of musical ensemble of Indonesia typically featuring a variety of instruments such as metallophones, xylophones, drums, and gongs; bamboo flutes, bowed and plucked strings, and vocalists may also be included. The term refers more to the set of instruments than the players of those instruments. A gamelan as a set of instruments is a distinct entity, built and tuned to stay together — instruments from different gamelan are not interchangeable.

The word “gamelan” comes from the Javanese word “gamel”, meaning to strike or hammer, and the suffix “an”, which makes the root a collective noun.

It’s not quite droning, but I like it! And:

Boston has its own homegrown Balinese-style gamelan orchestra: MIT’s Gamelan Galak Tika. Founded in 1993 by both American and Balinese-born musicians, Galak Tika (the name means “intense togetherness”) has some 25 members and is led by composer Evan Ziporyn. When I spoke with Ziporyn on the phone as he was navigating the complexities of Logan Airport, he explained that what makes Balinese gamelan unique is not its serpentine rhythms or its sparkling tonal qualities but its fundamental organizational dynamic. “The Balinese will never do something alone if they can do it in a group, and they’ve figured out a very sophisticated musical system to make that necessary. The instruments on a literal level don’t sound right if they’re played alone, because of the way they’re designed, and the rhythms aren’t meant to be played in isolation — they’re all composite, interlocking rhythms, every part is dependent on every other part. The music is like this big, beautiful Swiss clock. It makes sense only if all the parts are working together.”

Aside from influencing lots of western composers, Gamelan has found its way into pop culture, too (we’re back to the wikipedia article for this one):

Recently, many Americans were first introduced to the sounds of gamelan by the popular anime film Akira. Gamelan elements are used in this film to punctuate several exciting fight scenes, as well as to symbolize the emerging psychic powers of the tragic hero, Tetsuo. The gamelan in the film’s score was performed by the members of the Japanese musical collective Geinoh Yamashirogumi. Gamelan and kecak are also used in the soundtrack to the video game Secret of Mana. The musical soundtrack for the Sci Fi Channel series Battlestar Galactica features extensive use of the gamelan, particularly in the 3rd season.[16]

It seems like there’s a geek angle to everything, these days.

(via)

UPDATE: interesting Radiohead tribute.