The second issue of Insitu Recordings Magazine is an even broader sampling of the sonic and cultural diversity surrounding gamelan music that was ISSUE 1.

We’ve directed this issue’s focus segment at sastra (letters). Thomas Hunter provides an introduction and translation of excerpts from the Kṛṣṇāyaṇa in A Contest of Love and Beauty in the Tale of Krishna and Rukmiṇī and Putu Ari Suprapta Pratama introduces contemporary kakawin in an analysis of I Made Kuna’s Kakawin LPD Bualu. In this segment we also take a peek at contemporary Indonesian literature on music. Putu Eman Sabudi Subandi sits down with Art Music Today founder Erie Setiawan and I Putu Arya Deva Suryanegara explores IMAGI-NATION: Membuat Musik Biasa Jadi Luar Biasa, a translated re-issue of Vincent McDermott’s Thoughts about Composing in Indonesia. As a capstone to the sastra focus, we’ve also included a selection of poetry in this issue’s Seleksi Puisi, much of it translated and/or including audio or video.

Our aim to shed light on gamelan outside Indonesia is also maintained. Liani MK investigates the social pressures that permeate gamelan music in Singapore’s multi-racial environment in Tuning in to Indonesian Gamelan in the Lion City: how gamelan reflects Singapore’s multi-racial identity; I Dewa Made Suparta takes a microscope to new compositions written and performed by one of Singapore’s most active groups, Gamelan Singamurti, in his Album Review: Nunas Taksu; and American composer Wayne Vitale reflects on his experience collaborating remotely with Balinese musicians on our latest release in Collaborative Composition: A Reflection.

Finally, the issue wouldn’t be complete without touching on emerging artists and groups or celebrating the work of those that paved the way for their innovation. Evan Gilman covers the creative output of Seni Sana Sini, one of Jembrana’s most innovative ensembles, in Scintillating Sensation: The Roots and Shoots of Seni Sana Sini; we ask 5 people 5 questions in our new recurring 5 Questions feature; and we take a look at Cili Mekar (1990), a little-known gem in the Bali Record catalog, in our new recurring Recording Retrospective.