https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLC_cpR8sZYRKqyNFJNmqXnjix_-iPMaq2


Ismet Ruchimat: kacapi indung, rincik, kendang, backing vocals
Yadi Cahyadi: kacapi indung, vocal, backing vocals
Asep Yana: suling, backing vocals
Budi Sofyan: rincik, kendang, kecrek, backing vocals
Neng Dini Andriati: vocals

Editor's info
The Sambasunda collective of Bandung has gained international attention for its fresh, groundbreaking approach to the traditional music of West Java, releasing a series of albums boldly bringing together pan-Indonesian styles and instruments with added global percussion. This album is a specially commissioned project performed by a ‘chamber ensemble’ comprising Sambasunda founding members Ismet Ruchimat, Yadi Cahyadi, Asep Yana and Budi Sofyan with new singing discovery Neng Dini Andriati. It reflects an enduring classical tradition of Sundanese music while at the same time creating something fresh, modern and original. The music is centred on the kacapi, a boat-shaped zither whose mellifluous tones have been heard in Sunda (West Java) for centuries. It’s a haunting and evocative sound which connects to the Sundanese soul and perfectly accompanies the sung poetry which often describes feelings of displacement, longing and melancholy. The kacapi has been described as the ancestral ship which transports its listener home to the mythical golden age of the ancient Javanese kingdom of Pajajaran. From the days of its use in the courts of the regional nobility, from where the still-popular classical style of Tembang Sunda developed, to its twentieth-century migration to the fast-growing capital city of Bandung, where new urbanized styles came into being, it has been a key instrument of Sundanese musical culture. Even in modern productions of pop-Sunda music, synthesizers often emulate the sound and style of traditional kacapi playing.

The instrumentation of the Sambasunda Quintet follows the Tembang Sunda tradition, using up to three kacapis, augmented by violin and suling (bamboo flute) accompanied by a female singer. The addition of the khendang drums – a large barrel-shaped drum played at both ends with various tones elicited by pressure of the foot and three smaller high-pitched drums known as kulenter –.......
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Zespoły gamelanowe są wizytówką kultury Indonezji, tradycyjna orkiestra towarzyszy tańcowi oraz teatrowi wayang. Prowadzony przez kompozytora i multi-instrumentalistę Ismeta Ruchimata Sambasunda Quintet jest jednym z najciekawszych obecnie zespołów redefiniujących bogatą, muzyczną spuściznę Jawy, jednego z najgęściej zaludnionych regionów na świecie. Muzycy Sambasunda Quintet pochodzą z Bandung, tętniącej życiem stolicy i kulturalnego centrum zachodniej Jawy, bardziej znanego jako Sunda.
Na płycie usłyszymy zarówno gongi (kendang), flet (suling), instrumenty strunowe (przypominający cytrę kacapi indung, rancik i skrzypce), instrumenty perkusyjne (kecrek) i śpiew. Obdarzona unikalnym głosem Neng Dini Andriati sprawia, że to nagranie wychodzi poza formułę tradycyjnej muzyki indonezyjskiej, w której solowy głos nie jest organicznym elementem.
Przepiękne aranżacje, szczerość i autentyczność w każdej nucie to niejedyne zalety tej płyty, której producentem jest Colin Bass, założyciel zespołu Camel, legendy rocka progresywnego.

'An intriguing, charming set from a band who should prove surprisingly accessible to western audiences' 4 * * * * stars, The Guardian