V/A Anthology Of Contemporary Music From Indonesia (Album – Unexplained Sounds Group)
Genre/Influences: Experimental, improvisation, industrial, abstract.
Format: Digital, CD.
Background/Info: In the label’s “Music Survey”-series, Unexplained Sounds Group takes us away to Indonesia. This country is an interesting one for being throughout centuries a crossroad between different cultures. This compilation features fourteen artists from the Indonesian experimental scene.
Artists: Senyawa, Asangata, Wukir Suriyadi, Rully Shabara’s Gaung Jagat Ensemble, Stylucipher, Patrick Hartono, The Resonance Of ((( US ))), Saaba, Theo Nugraha, Wukir Suriyadi, Dadang Dwi Septiyan, Rully Shabara, Genta Nirvana, Artmosf.
Content: This compilation is without a shadow of doubt the most experimental one in the label’s series I’ve been invited to review. Most of the artist are clearly experimenting in a free-style, which sounds like pure improvisation. From a kind of free-jazz to pure industrial and noise; this compilation has a lot to offer. But you also can hear the mix between different cultures; some atmospheres being Oriental-mined while others are more reflecting the abstract, Western experimentation.
+ + + : What I’ve always liked in threes compilations released by the Italian label is the discovery of new bands, but especially from artists living in parts of the world I never have ever heard any kind of underground artist. So imagine when you start listening to this album, which will make you discover 14 artists from Indonesia! I prefer some ritual parts by Senyawa and Dadang Dwi Septiyan. There also is something to say about the harsh and extreme exposure from Stylucipher featuring hard, shouting female vocals and industrial/noise improvisations. Last, but not least I also want to mention Asangata for the dark atmosphere recovering a kind of imaginary, sacred rite.
– – – : From a very personal point of view I’ve been never a huge fan of ultra experimentation and improvisation, which this album is mainly dealing with.
Conclusion: I’ve already heard more fascinating compilations in this “Music Survey”-series, but it however remains an essential compilation you can only but cherish for the discovery of new names hailing from a country you even didn’t know there was an underground music scene dealing with this kind of music.
Best bands: Senyawa, Dadang Dwi Septiyan, Stylucipher, Asangata.
Rate: (7).
Label: www.facebook.com/unexplainedsoundsgroup
About Unexplained Sounds Group
Unexplained Sounds Group is an Italian label founded in February 2015 by Raffaele Pezzella, who also records as Sonologyst. The label started with a “Survey” compilation devoted to the Italian experimental scene, before Pezzella expanded the series to cover underground and experimental music communities across France, Portugal, Spain, Germany, Scandinavia and the UK, and later further afield, including a 2021 volume focused on Peru’s experimental scene, reviewed on Side-Line. In a Side-Line Click Interview, Pezzella described his goal as connecting new experimental music to the folk traditions of the places the featured musicians come from. “Anthology Of Contemporary Music From Indonesia” continues that mission with fourteen artists from the Indonesian underground scene.
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