Search - Various Artists :: Music From The Morning Of The World: The Balinese Gamelan & Ketjak, The Ramayana Monkey Chant

Exuberant and packed with energy and life

Kean Chhay Chang | Vic, Australia | 10/18/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Great music and very well recorded for sure, I really enjoyed this cd because, it's nothing like I have ever heard before, packed with energy, life, vibrant and full of sudden shifts in mood. Gamelan gong kebyar or just kebyar mean "to burst into full bloom, lightning or to strike a match" and indeed it does desrcibe this musicial style for sure. Track 1 and track 10 is the ketjak or kecak the monkey chant which enacts scenes from the well known Hindu epic of the Ramayana. Very exotic and unusual even though it had been recently developed and spawned from an older vocal chant used to put girls into trance. The vocal chant is interesting as it shifts in vocals and moods and also the style... pretty good... even better is to watch them perform live and get the experience performance. Track 2 packed with energy and colour from the musical composition used for a dance, 3 is the traditional and rare dance theatre which was believed to have originated from Java, this style is very mellow and quite distinct however the conclusion of the track ends with a large ringing of the gong, track 4 an excerpt from the barong dance which is often performed for tourist, track 5 a very rare and unusual vocal performed by a young girl, quite beautiful and delicate and my favourite was track 6 with the gamelan angklung this track was packed with everything from the quick and sudden intro through to the shifting of moods and compositions and the list just goes on for sure. This cd is great packed with goodies... The quality of the music is very outstanding as well. To record music from Bali was a break through for sure... The booklet contains information about the music but not as spectacular as the cd and music itself... I recommend it for music lovers who like something exotic..."

Oh well the music of my home town

Jodawi | 05/24/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"well I just give my comment to this music, Im a balinese. I like to hear the music from my hometown, it is a part of our energy and powerfull spirits by playing the gamelan orchestra. Besides the hinduism ceremonial music the artists played, I also feel that the international music media are interrested in the morning eastern music than the Techno,...ha ha ha ha!!!!!! Oh well,..I wish ya well and have a fun with this record, if you have a highly spirit and you will have a hardly energy too."

Hot and beautiful

Jodawi | Seattle, WA USA | 07/25/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The transition midway through "Golden Rain" made me think "Wow... balinese gamelan is the punk-rock of world music". Probably not really a good description, but this is the recording that turned me on to gamelan, leading to joining a gamelan orchestra."