Hello world!

Gamelan X’s ‘Sambelan’ project is my collaboration with percussionist, Rob Peterson, and trumpet player, Josh Jerge.

‘Sambelan’ is a fusion project that incorporates Brazilian samba percussion and Balinese gamelan (samba + gamelan = sambelan), plus a Western brass section. The idea stemmed from the desire to create freshly innovative music that could be accessible to a wide range of audiences. Gamelan X is well-known for crafting rhythmically complex pieces for Balinese instruments, which may seem exotic to first-time listeners. While this has become a favorable attribute in Gamelan X’s growing audience, there are still many who have trouble being able to classify or compare GX’s unique sound. The ‘Sambelan’ project achieves a balance between the sonically familiar music of samba with the unique sounds of gamelan, in order to reach new audiences and innovate within the musical structures of contemporary gamelan.

Within all of this, though, I did not want to “water down” any of our music to fans of brass music, samba, or gamelan, so I sought out the following collaboration:

The core repertoire of “Sambelan” comes from percussionist-composer, Rob Peterson, who has spent much of his life studying Brazilian samba percussion. Utilizing his compositional formats, Rob and I were able to transform a few of his pieces. We arranged agogo bell patterns into Balinese reyong (metal kettle pots) patterns, and shaped tamborim (small frame drum) rhythmic patterns into Balinese cengceng kopyak (handheld cymbals) patterns, always maintaining the integrity of Rob’s work while showcasing the musical strengths of the Balinese instruments. By adding the Brazilian caixa (snare drum), surdo (bass drum), and a set of Balinese gongs, we were able to achieve a full sound of ‘sambelan’ fusion.

Once the skeletal style was created, I turned to trumpet player, Josh Jerge. Josh’s background and experience in a wide variety of genres and arrangements was essential to creating the riveting horn lines that serve as the melodic feature of this ensemble. The brass section – consisting of trumpets, trombones, and tuba – often have sweeping melodies that intertwine with the punctuations of the Brazilian surdo patterns and the Balinese gong cycle, while still drawing from easily recognizable genres like jazz, funk, and rock.

Since this project’s inception this past summer, ‘Sambelan’ has taken a life of its own. I have been inspired me to arrange Gamelan X’s classic beleganjur repertoire for our new “sambelan” ensemble; introducing new parts, such as horn melodies and new percussion arrangements. From this – instead of taking samba musical formats and fusing them with gamelan – I have taken gamelan musical formats and fused them with samba. The resulting horn lines share several unison themes with the complex and tempo-changing patterns of the cengceng kopyak and the reyong, and the caixa and surdo realize the original texture of Balinese kendang (traditional drum) in a fresh, new way.

Whether you are a seasoned fan of our intricate stage performances, hungering for a new genre of music, or just a curious on-looker, Gamelan X hopes to share with you our new version of world fusion music: something that all music lovers can enjoy. — Ed Garcia, Artistic Director, Gamelan X