Third drum festival to feature noted percussionists

Third drum festival to feature noted percussionists

By Franki Raden

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia has an infinite treasure of percussion
instruments. Gamelan, a music genre making global inroads, is an
orchestra mainly consisting of percussion instruments.

This phenomenon has influenced the development of Indonesian
contemporary music. Composers and percussionists like Harry
Roesli, Ben Pasaribu, Sapto Rahardjo, Inisisri, Embie C. Noer, I
Wayan Sadra, Taman Husein, Elizar Koto, M. Halim, I Wayan Diya,
Manda Daeng and Gilang Ramadhan, have experimented endlessly and
managed to compose a music piece for percussion instruments, both
acoustic and electronic.

At the upcoming Indonesian International Drum Festival (IIDF)
to be held between July 14 and 15 for the third time at Ancol's
Art Market, 12 composers and noted percussionists will be playing
their newest works. They will transform the stage into an
attractive scene of competition for music enthusiasts to enjoy
the makings of contemporary music by Indonesian composers and
percussionists.

Of the 12 works the group are to perform, three different
approaches by the composers will be noted. Composers like I Wayan
Sadra (Surakarta-Bali), Inisisri (Jakarta-Banyuwangi), I Wayyan
Diya (Jakarta-Bali), Manda Daeng (South Sulawesi), Elizar Koto
and M. Halim (Padang Panjang) will perform works totally grounded
in the traditional music of their regions.

Sadra and his work Bamboo Splitting will explore and develop
the power of rythm, the shades of sound and the technique brought
forth by bamboo in various traditional music works from Java and
Bali.

Inisisri with his different instrumental formations will also
make use of the blunt powerful music rythm of Banyuwangi. With
a combination of percussion instruments made from leather, wood
and alloy, the full brashness of the rhythm will form a colorful
and rich balance.

Elizar Koto and M. Halim will be working together in a piece
based on rhythmic plays of various traditional percussion forms
from West Sumatra. One of the dominant rhythmic traits in their
work has been adapted from a traditional music genre called
Tabuah Kamat, which uses a drum to call people to pray in a
mosque.

Manda Daeng will be playing a very dynamic piece for tambours
very much in the tradition of music from the Gowa region in
Sulawesi. While I Wayan Diya will be staging traditional music
from Bali in a colossal turnout of over 100 players.

These composers and percussionists aim to dish up a musical
event as a cultural event. This is why I Wayan Diya will also
create a Balinese cultural atmosphere at the Ancol Art Market.

The second group is made up of composers combining traditional
and modern musical instruments. They include Ben Pasaribu, Santo
Rahardjo, Embie C. Noer and Gilang Ramadhan.

Ben Pasaribu with his work called Sumatra Dwipa No. 7 will be
combining traditional drums from Sumatra like the karo drum,
malayan drum, marwas (tambourine), taganing, a set of drums
following upon each other, 2 timpani, rototoms and a drum bass
which will produce a richly integrated sound. This concept will
also be used later by Gilang Ramadhan. Of interest in Gilang's
work is his team work as a drummer among tifa drummers from Irian
Jaya.

Two of Ben and Gilang's colleagues, Embie C. Noer and Sapto
Rahardjo combine efforts to add more color to the sound of
electronic instruments, especially the MIDI synthesizer, that is
in the region of the membranophone.

Embie in his musical work Tinggal Landas (Launching), will
integrate synthesizer sounds with percussion instruments like the
rebana and beduk from Cirebon. Although Embie is from the region,
his music presents an attractive nuance that surmounts cultural
hurdles.

The same applies to Sapto Rahardjo who combines Javanese
gamelan, synthesizers and percussion instruments. Sapto's effort
to integrate music with the sounds of Yogyakarta's environment,
his place of origin, immediately attracts the listener. His work
entitled Dum G'Dum Dum has been transformed into a soundscape
composition.

The third group of 11 composers and percussionists don't touch
on traditional music at all. Harry Roesli and Taman Husein will
present two different percussion varieties.

Harry Roesli is going to stage a stimulating experimental
piece, while Taman, with his background in Jazz and Pop, will
perform an awesome percussion formation of drums.

Aside from problems in Indonesian contemporary percussion
music, IIDF 95 will also introduce international percussion
groups who were specially selected to enliven the Indonesian
Republic's 50th anniversary.

Outstanding Japanese taiko drummer Leonard Eto will be the
first drummer of a large taiko group of Japan called KODO. Eto
gave a spectacular performance when he played at a world music
festival, "Great Music Experience", together with world music
greats Bon Jovi, Bob Dylan and Wyane Shorter in a symphony
orchestra conducted by Michael Kaman. In his upcoming performance
at IIDF 95, Eto will be giving away an improvisation of
traditional taiko music from Japan which is to be spectacular in
sound and sight.

Another foreign participant will be Nantha Kumar, a
percussionist from Singapore. Kumar is known as a member of the
group "Flame of the Forest", but often plays together with famous
international music groups like John Kaizan Neptune (member of
Sakuhachi) and the Gypsy Kings.

In his work Cross Boundaries, which he will play at IIDF 95,
Kumar works together rhythmic elements from traditional
percussion sounds in Asia, Latin America and Africa.

From Australia, Ron Reeves and his trio will present a
cultural shortcut which could be likened to a dialogue between
percussion sounds from Sunda and traditional Aboriginal music
from Australia and Africa. Reeves has delved deeply into the
study of Sunda music.

Meanwhile, Gautam Kumar JHA from India will be representing
his country's traditional music at IIDF 95 with his tabla
accompanied by female sitar player Sharmistha Sen.