Question: How would you say that your education and background as a musician have led to this interest in gamelans?
Answer: My interest in gamelans is relatively fresh. In my adolescent years, I played in school bands and different rock groups. During my three years at high school, I took lessons in jazz drumming with Carl Haakon Waadeland and classical percussion with Jon Gunnar Gundersen. Back then, I thought I had to choose between the two instruments or styles to get an education with the goal to become a musician. In Namsos, where I grew up, we had a fantastic classical percussion unity. This led me to apply to the music conservatory in Tromsø, where I started to study classical percussion in 1994 with Guri Frenning as my percussion teacher. My four years, 1994-1998, in Tromsø, was a great experience. We played a great deal of percussion ensemble and performed in Tromsø Symphony Orchestra and different contemporary music ensembles. I also started to play jazz drums more regularly because other students were interested in jazz. This led to regular playing with the local jazz musicians in Tromsø. I then thought it would be wise to study jazz drumming because I felt ready to apply to the jazz department at the Conservatory in Trondheim. In the ‘90s, studying jazz in Trondheim was the place to evolve if you wanted to become a jazz musician. I then studied jazz drumming for two years in Trondheim, 1998–2000, with a subsequent master’s degree in jazz, 2004-2006.
Based on my education, I would say I have been fortunate. I have found ways of using both my educational paths in my profession. Since I started my classical education, I have been interested in contemporary music. In 1998, the Trondheim Sinfonietta was established, and after 2002, I became the main percussionist of the ensemble. Conversely, I played and composed the music for several jazz groups. The most important were “The Core” and “Basement Sessions,” both groups I started and co-led. In addition, I have performed several school concerts where I could mix my musical professions and compose much of the music.
As a percussionist with a broad genre background, I am used to playing percussion instruments from around the world. If you look at the percussion section in Western orchestras and ensembles, these instruments come from across the globe. Instruments such as Turkish cymbals, Chinese gongs, Egyptian/Arabic tambourines, and Central American marimbas (which originated in Africa) are all instruments standardized as part of the percussion group. Similarly, the drum set is also a construction in which drums and cymbals, with additional pedals, were combined to cover several musical functions. Like percussionists in several genres, I can relate to the use of lesser-known and exotic instruments, which percussionists do not necessarily consider "special" or "exotic." Throughout the years, I have played instruments such as the Indian tablas, Arabic darbuka, Caribbean steel drum, Chinese tom-toms, and the more non-exotic hand saw, where all these instruments are written in the percussion part by composers. This is expected to be performed by a "regular" percussionist. I say "regular" in quotations, as many percussionists perform these parts and are interested in the instruments of other cultures and want to learn something new. However, it is common for percussionists to have an open approach to playing non-Western percussion in an orchestral setting.
But, you asked, how this background led to an interest in gamelan? To explain this, I need to break it down into “key” musical experiences.
As a student and professional musician, I have been involved in projects that have affected my choice of musical interests and career. I can point to three musical experiences that, in many ways, defined me as a musician and further led to my interest in gamelan music.
The first experience was during my classical education in Tromsø, which was the process of rehearsals and performance of Steve Reich's work "Drumming (1970−71).” The entire idea of this composition was so strong: the freedom of this music within the framework, the non-score rehearsal process, the intricate yet straightforward concept of rhythmical interlocking, the modal concept with pentatonic scales, and the way this 90-minute piece influenced the audience with its hypnotic atmosphere. This experience fundamentally changed me and made me more focused on following a contemporary path as an ensemble musician. Over the years, I have performed works by other composers that I could relate to this experience and musical interest, like works by John Cage, Rolf Wallin, and David Lang, to name a few.
Drumming: Part II(1970-1971) by Steve Reich
from Drumming / Music For Mallet Instruments, Voices And Organ / Six Pianos ℗ 1974 Deutsche Grammophon
Note to Videos: Videos are snapshots of different lessons. Rai Alit is a friend of Raka and an ensemble leader in Ubud.
Later during my stay, Raka invited me to an odaan ceremony in Ubud village (not to be confused with Ubud center). The video example of Dewa Alit´s piece below is from this ceremony. This ceremony is an annual celebration (based on the Balinese 210-day yearly cycle). It is, in all its simplicity, about the battle between good and evil, represented by the spirits of Barong (good) and Rangda (evil). Yet, it is so much more. Here, music, art, social life, myth/folklore, and religion are intertwined, and such ceremonies can last for several days. As one of the few Westerners (Westerners can only attend by invitation), I gained a unique insight into Balinese life. During the ceremony, I experienced all aspects of the gamelan tradition, especially the tight bonds between music and social/spiritual activities.
The third experience was in 2005 with an ensemble called “The Indian Core.” Through the work and reputation of the Core, I had the opportunity to work with three Indian musicians, Fateh Ali - Sitar, Prasenjit Mitra - Tabla and Kanchman Babbar - Flutes, all with a background in Indian classical music. The Core received a commission from “Rikskonsertene” (the Norwegian national concert organizer) to prepare and write music for a cross-genre jazz/Indian ensemble. The project included a tour in India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Bangladesh, with a follow-up Norwegian tour in 2007. The collaboration was an eye-opener when it came to working with other cultures’ music and musicians. I knew very little about Indian classical music, and the preparation was based on an expectation of a musical landscape. Our musical goal was a further development of how music from India influenced modal jazz in the sixties. The approach was to meet, bring our new repertoire, and see what happened. The result was overwhelming, with standing ovations from the Indian audience. Our focus was the elements we had in common: the modal approach, rhythmic/polyrhythmic understanding, and the development of improvisations and compositions.
If I look back, I would say these three experiences consist of music that was made or originated in the sixties in response to the established directions in classical and jazz music. These projects have several similarities:
- Modal music with a drone function/tonal center.
- Ostinato-based music.
- Musical freedom within these structural concepts.
- The composed material is melodically and harmonically uncomplicated.
So. Now we are closing in on the question: Why gamelan?
Back in 1995, when we, students at the conservatory in Tromsø, were preparing for Steve Reich's composition "Drumming" (1970-1971), I remember a brief conversation about the relationship between Steve Reich and gamelan. Among other things, we were interested in the rhythmic interlocking system, but this was before the Internet, YouTube, and online listening, so at that time, I had no good sources for listening to this music. In 2011, after many years of touring and releasing several albums with the Core and other projects, I had the urge to do something different. At that time, I had "rediscovered" gamelan music. My wife, who was writing her doctorate, had travel support to complete her thesis. I suggested that we travel to Bali, where I could learn gamelan and she could finish her PhD. In December 2011, my family and I traveled to Bali and stayed there until June 2012.
What caught my interest in the Balinese gamelan when I first came to Bali in 2011 was extreme rhythmic interaction. This rhythmically woven soundscape, known as kotekan, is a signature of the Balinese gamelan and was performed at exceptionally high tempos and with unbelievable ensemble precision. I heard several performances aimed at tourists in Ubud Palace. One should by no means underestimate that these concerts are for tourists. These are the area’s best musicians and ensembles performing, and some of them have played here for several decades. These are the best-paid jobs for musicians in Bali. Here, the traditional gamelan is performed in kebyar style, mixed with ceremonial music. The musical content is not significantly adapted to the tourist audience other than being fitted to a more conventional Western concert shape and length.
Another exciting feature of this music was the almost hyperactive use of contrasts, from extreme dynamics to large spans of tempi changes, all performed with flawless precision. This intense dynamic was something I also got to experience later when I was playing in a gamelan ensemble in Bali. I have always enjoyed loud music, and sitting in the middle of a gamelan ensemble where the volume of sound was so intense was a great experience.
During my entire stay in Bali, I learned gamelan. My Norwegian percussion colleague Rob Waring, who also has a great interest in gamelan music, stayed in Bali in 2002. Rob suggested that I contact Tjokorda Raka, whom Rob had learned gamelan from back then. When I arrived in Bali, I contacted Raka, and he was eager to share his knowledge He was eager to share his knowledge and welcomed me and my family to both musical, social, cultural and family events. Raka is from the royal family and lives in Ubud Palace. He is a musician and ensemble leader; among others, he led an ensemble that toured Europe and the United States in the nineties. Raka plays all the gamelan instruments and is a musician and leader of several performances at Ubud Palace. Through him, I learned several of the central instruments in gamelan, such as reyong, gangsa, and kendang, all of which perform the kotekan concept. This new learning experience with instrumental techniques gave me another dimension to understand the complexities of Balinese gamelan music. This understanding of really listening and playing with a complementary part, as in the kotekan, was greatly interesting. Again, I could link this to my experience with minimalism and Steve Reich.
Other more everyday experiences, nevertheless with music in focus, were in the evenings when we had dinner in Ludtunduh, the village where we lived. There, we listened to all the activities and preparations for rituals and ceremonies in the surrounding villages. We could hear numerous ensembles rehearsing for several kilometers, and a cacophony of instruments and pieces of music lay like a blanket over the area. Especially fascinating were the large gongs, from which the sound spread, not very powerfully but with a strong presence. For me, this was a picture of the enormous social activity that the preparation and performance of this music represents in the local community.
What I learned through living in Bali for six months was a great insight into gamelan music as a tradition, in terms of performance practices, composition principles, and the social contexts of music. These are experiences one cannot achieve through reading books, listening to records, or watching movies. Living so long in a place also contributes to a kind of familiarity with the culture and the people who make everything into everyday events. After coming home to Norway and putting all the impressions aside, I had an urge to pursue what I had learned and experienced in Bali. I wanted to investigate how I could bring my new inspiration and my experiences from gamelan music into my practice as a performer and composer and, in this way, hopefully, produce new musical expressions. I was also hoping to show, through my artistic work, my personal way of working with other cultures’ music. This idea formed the basis for my application to the “Program for Kunstnerisk utviklingsarbeid” (PKU), a PhD in artistic research.
Joseph Jarman, American jazz saxophonist, composer, Buddhist priest, and member of the Art Ensemble of Chicago, says something exciting about being inspired by other cultures:
| I´ve been informed by both sides, jazz, Western music, Asian music, African music, all sides, because I´ve been interested in the sound of the universe, and that sound is without limit.(Gross, 1999) |
This quote says a lot. If one is open to being inspired from all sides, new art and music may emerge. That is precisely what I intend to do: artistic research based on "something" that is already there. For my case, this "something" is gamelan and its concept and performance techniques, Western contemporary, jazz music, and our Western history for how we have been inspired by Eastern culture. I will, with “this something,” through my practice and research, develop new concepts and artistic results. This personal meeting with gamelan is what my research is all about. During this meeting, something new will arise.
The second experience was in 2003, after studying for two years in the jazz department at NTNU in Trondheim. In 2001, I started the jazz quartet "The Core," which consisted of Kjetil Møster, Erlend Slettevoll, Steinar Raknes, and myself. The Core grew out of my devotion to John Coltrane and his modal quartet from the sixties. In the period up to 2012, we released eight albums, and I composed roughly 20 of the tunes. In 2003, we performed three concerts at the Molde Jazz Festival. For the rest of the group and me, these three concerts were significant musical events. They made me feel a strong relationship with the music, the audience, and again the concept of freedom in modal music. I believe this experience has the aura of what jazz is all about—energy, freedom, and connection to the audience.
Performed by: Prasenjit Matra - Tabla, Kanchman Babbar - flutes, Fateh Ali - Sitar, Kjetil Møster - saxophones, Erlend Slettevoll - piano, Steinar Raknes - bass, Espen Aalberg - Drums
Performed by: Kjetil Møster - saxophone, Erlend Slettevoll - piano, Steinar Raknes bass, Espen Aalberg - drums
Performed by: Ben Harms, Bob Becker, Cornelius Cardew, Glen Velez, Russ Hartenberger, Steve Chambers, Steve Reich, Tim Ferchen - Marimba
Jay Clayton, Joan LaBarbara - Voice