„Musik, die auszog, das Staunen zu lehren.” (Weltmusikzeitschrift Folker)

Bali Music with hang, saxophone and tabla

Bali Fusion Music

Sudah mandi?

„Taken a bath yet?”

This question „Sudah mandi?” in Indonesian is one of the most common phrases in Bali and is also the title song of our program. In the winters of 2015 and 2016 both of the Liquid Soul artists, Beate Gatscha and Gert Anklam, travelled to Bali to study Gamelan music and gather new musical inspiration.

Besides their unusual set of musical instruments such as Wasserstichorgel, Hang, Saxophone, Sheng, Taiko, the focus of the Bali-inspired program is now on Gender Wayang and Suling.

Instruments

The Gender is a bronze or iron xylophone (metallaphone?), traditionally played for the wayang kulit (shadow puppet play) but also in religious and social ceremonies on Bali.

The suling, a traditional bamboo flute with 6 holes, is part of the Balinese Gamelan orchestra.

All the Gamelan instruments exist in pairs, which symbolizes the balance of the polarities and are tuned 5 Hertz apart. Music is an essential part of the social (and religious?) life on Bali and is practiced by all generations.