Mujo
“Mujo” is a Buddhist/Hindu concept in which all things are impermanent and transient in nature, and how longing for perfection and stability misleads people to unhappiness. I wanted to produce an album because Gamelan Merdu Kumala had grown to a place where we achieved deeper creativity and positive group dynamics. We came out of the pandemic strong, after a year of Zoom meetings, and were excited to be finally back practicing and performing again. In 2022, we took a trip to Denver, Colorado to join a gamelan festival, and also created and performed a live 60-minute-long original score for the film “The Adventures of Prince Achmed.” It was the right time to take this step and make a record.
But unlike the live performances we had been doing, making a musical record is a process of preserving songs to be…permanent. The idea of capturing highlights of this group and wishing them to last forever turned out to be the sentimental irony of making and naming this album.
From another angle, “Mujo” illustrates the movement and shifting nature of the album. We used three different types of gamelan: gamelan gambuh, one of the oldest surviving Balinese performing arts ensemble centered around meter-long flutes, Saih Pitu Alit, a custom 7-tone gamelan, and gamut, an a cappella ensemble. Fluidity between modern and traditional styles, instrumentation, and musical modes all mirror human experience and people’s journeys to achieve happiness. Our ending song “On The Way,” which was commissioned for GMK in 2021, captures hectic human lives as people on their vehicles drive past a busy intersection. In that piece, I’m maneuvering my motorbike through waves of heavy traffic to a gamelan rehearsal.
Mutability of “Mujo” also refers to major changes facing the ensemble this year: incorporation as a non-profit, changes in leadership, departing with the old set of gamelan, and welcoming the new set. Although the title came about after the fact, it summarizes why we made this record and how it transpired.
Track Details
Bapang Gede
Traditional
This traditional gambuh piece comes from the village of Pedungan, Denpasar, Bali and was adapted for GMK’s Saih Pitu Alit, a custom 7-tone metallophone ensemble. The song is used to accompany the dynamic dance of Demang and Tumenggung, servants of an antagonist king.
Sandikala
Composer: Hirotaka Inuzuka
“Sandikala” illustrates a period of time connecting the seen and unseen world, the state of obscurity, and the entrance to the night world. As the sun sets in the Californian desert, evil spirits start to roam around and it’s best to stay inside. This song was composed to precede “Sepuk Ngenget,” another desert song set in the dead of night.
Pesisin Segara
Composer: Hirotaka Inuzuka
Lyricist and arranger: Bli Ciaaattt
Through the lens of a foreign person, one observes a ceremony at a beach, where waves come ashore towards the mountains. Feeling the calmness after a prayer, one longs to connect to Bali, its people, and nature.
Ampuang angin ring sisin segara
Segara genah sane suci
Genah melasti
Ombak ring pesisi nyujuh giri
Mangda ajeg sutrepti
Ida dane elingang sareng sami
Ngiring mangkin meutsaha mereresik tincapang jeg baktine
Sanghyang surya nyinarin gumine
Mangda preside rahayu ring jagate
(translation)
The wind greets us on the coast
The ocean is a holy place for cleansing ceremonies
The waves reach out to the mountains
Towards peace, beauty, and unity
To you, never forget
We must strive together to maintain our environment
And express our love toward the earth
The sun shines on us all bringing happiness and peace
Langsing Tuban
Traditional
Gambuh is one of the oldest surviving dance dramas in Bali, and gamelan gambuh is the ensemble to accompany such lengthy plays. Meter-long bamboo flutes called suling gambuh carry the melody while other metallic instruments provide colotomic structures to the compositions. Two kendang drummers lead the ensemble with dynamic shifts and tempo fluctuation to match the dancers’ movements. “Langsing Tuban” is a tabuh petegak, which is an instrumental “sitting” music performed before the main drama.
Lengker Cenik
Traditional
As Bali’s metal-forging technology advanced, many gambuh pieces were adapted to a set of metallophone-led instruments called Gamelan Semar Pegulingan. Instead of flutes, the main melody of the compositions are now played on trompong, an instrument made up of a series of pitched kettle gongs mounted horizontally. “Lengker Cenik” is a popular piece used to accompany royal characters in the gambuh theater.
Sepuk Ngenget
Composer: Hirotaka Inuzuka
In a remote California desert, a black magician practices his sorcery in darkness. With the hypnotic cycles of gamelan, he falls deeper and deeper into his magic and starts to shape-shift into different figures.
Jaran Sirig
Traditional
Another gambuh piece from Pedungan village was adapted to GMK’s Saih Pitu Alit. This piece is usually used to accompany Prabangsa, the step brother of Panji, who is the main character of the Malat tales that gambuh dance drama is based on.
“On The Way” from Traffic
Composer: Bli Ciaaattt
Gamut (Gamelan Mulut) is a style of gamelan in which the players vocalize all the parts of a gamelan orchestra. This piece was inspired by the pace of Denpasar’s busy intersections–the chaotic interlocking of human lives and traffic.
Credits
Artistic direction by Hirotaka Inuzuka
Recording musicians: Matthew Clough-Hunter, Shameen Cooper, Geoff Dent, Katrina Dent, Spencer Hauck, Anna Inuzuka, Hirotaka Inuzuka, Kayle Khanmohamed, Cordey Lopez, Arev Markarian, Eugene Moon, Danika Pryatna, Steve Sauté, Kerri Shak, Julie Simon, and Otto Stuparitz.
Recorded at Unity Studios, LA
Engineered, mixed, and mastered by Adam Berg
Assistants: Bryan Neville, Jordan McDonald, Lizzy Erickson
Produced by Gamelan Merdu Kumala
Album cover by Eugene Moon
Photos by Miranda Fan
Liner notes by Hirotaka Inuzuka
Special thanks: Bli Ciaaattt, Bapak I Nyoman Sudiana, Ni Komang Septriarti, I Ketut Mahardika, Bapak I Nyoman Wenten, I Putu Danika Pryatna, and Adam Berg.