SambaSunda: Gamelan Funk & Fun

This is one of those songs that I don't mind getting stuck in my head. The pentatonic melody, the percussive strings, the gongs.... It all adds up to a wonderful track from a somewhat mysterious group. The SambaSunda website hasn't been updated since 2003, which may be the time that they signed with Kartini Records (home also to the crazy Indonesian music of Sabah Habas Mustapha & the Jugala Allstars). This month Sambasunda releases a new CD on Network Records called Rahwana's Cry - I'm very eager to hear it.

Kartini released the album Berekis, on which this track appears, which was recorded at Jugala Studios in Bandung, Indonesia. It's full of wonders, sometimes wandering into a soundtrack-ish audioscape, sometimes getting a little more upbeat and funky. And sometimes finding a catchy hook that lodges in your brain.

mp3: SambaSunda: "Lost Two Tigers"
from the CD Berekis - Kartini Records, 2001
buy Berekis mp3s | buy SambaSunda's brand new 2005 CD Rahwana's Cry