The Breakdown
The collaboration between Naarm/Melbourne-based Balinese gamelan orchestra Gamelan DanAnda and electro-jazz fusion group Firetail has resulted in the fascinating album ‘Anglayang’ which has just been released through Komunitas Records. Creating an absolutely enchanting fusion of modern western jazz music with the traditional gentle sounds of Bali, the mix results in something greater than its constituent parts – the sharper focus of the jazz fusion and electronica weaving in and out of the more ethereal hypnotic sounds of the gamelan orchestra.
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.
Opening track ‘Elasan Gelak’ sounds at first blush like a tradition gamelan piece but a certain wind instrument edging indicates something more at play. ‘Bapang Slisir’ brings in more of the jazz components to the sound. ‘Ngalayang’ and ‘Dead Beat’ have a thoroughly Eastern timbre with the vocals delivered over the soft traditional percussion but contrasting beautifully with an aquatic bass and wind instruments above the fray, lending a more jazz amble to the proceedings.
‘Inked’ creates more of a jazz fusion structure with its ebbs and flows and sharper focus – dynamic and filled with a sense of restless motion. Final track ‘Can’t Sleep’ has a funky bass spine with splashes of sound coasting over an ethereal bedrock of the gamelan orchestra. The track is filled again with the sense of a journey – full of movement and change, restless at times, spiritual and calm at other times.
There is something untrammeled and joyous about this heady mix of music cultures – a delicate balance between the ethereal gamelan orchestral sounds and the thrum of electric jazz fusion that works so well.
‘Anglayang is out now and available to download and stream through the link above and here.
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. Gamelan DanAnda Creative Producer John Cheong-Holdaway says:
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!
‘Anglayang’ Album Launch Brunswick Music Festival
When: Wednesday 5 March at 7pm
Where: Quad Club – 345 Victoria St, Brunswick VIC 3056
Tickets here.
Feature Photograph: Adelista Widjaya
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