Gamelan of Java and Bali
Bronze orchestras, interlocking rhythms and two tuning systems. How the court music of Central Java and the temple music of Bali differ, and where to hear both.
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Music of Indonesia
Javanese and Balinese gamelan, Thai piphat, Khmer pinpeat, Vietnamese ca trù and đàn bầu, Burmese saung harp, Filipino kulintang and Malay dikir barat.
Sung and searched in Indonesian, Javanese. The YouTube button above can run your search in that language.
Roots and traditions
Traditional genres
The diversity of Indonesian music genres is the result of the musical creativity of its people, and also the subsequent cultural encounters with foreign musical influences into the archipelago. Alongside distinctive native forms of music, several genres can trace their origins to foreign influences; such as gambus and qasidah from Middle Eastern Islamic music, keroncong from Portuguese influences, and dangdut with notable Hindi music influence.
Indonesian regional folk pop music reflects the diversity of Indonesian culture and Indonesian ethnicity, mostly use local languages and a mix of western and regional style music and instruments. Indonesian folk music is quite diverse, and today includes pop, rock, house, hip hop and other genres, as well as distinct Indonesian forms. There are several kinds of "ethnic" pop music, generally grouped together as Pop Daerah (regional pop). These include Pop sunda, Pop Minang, Pop Batak, Pop Melayu, Pop Ambon, Pop Minahasa and others.
Popular music
Qasidah modern
Qasidah is an ancient Arabic word for religious poetry accompanied by chanting and percussion. Qasidah modern adapts this for pop audiences. It is used to denote a type of orchestra and the music it plays, believed to be introduced by Muslim settlers from Yemen. Qasidah modern were derived from Islamic pop, adding local dialects and lyrics that address Indonesian contemporary issues. Though popular among Arabs in Indonesia, it has gained little popularity elsewhere. One of the oldest qasidah modern musical groups in Indonesia is Nasida Ria. The contemporary form of Islamic Middle Eastern-influenced music in Indonesia is exemplified by the band Debu, that feature a sufism approach on music to spread their message.
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