Insitu Recordings

From Issue 2

Scintillating Sensation: The Roots and Shoots of Seni Sana Sini

Evan Gilman

 

I remember the first time I heard jegog. I was just seven when the sounds of Geinoh Yamashirogumi’s score for Akira’s opening scenes infected me forever. This was a serious parental oversight, because now I’m addicted to striking bamboo tubes. Occasionally I even travel halfway around the world to get another fix.

In the decades since I first heard the sounds of a massive jegog ensemble gamelan has continued to change and evolve. Some might even say that it’s currently bursting at the seams with intense creative drive. New groups are establishing entirely new ways to play and experience this music. Hearing how such groups forge these new paths forward is always compelling, and Seni Sana Sini, just like revolutionary groups that came before them, is breaking all the molds.
 
Before establishing Seni Sana Sini, I Made Arsa Wijaya (Wawan) and Ida Bagus Putu Pradnyana Putra (Gustu) spent most of their youth playing gamelan in local groups. Wawan also remembers playing a toy tingklik his father bought for 25,000 rupiah (~$2 US) when he was just seven. After attending mebarung jegog (jegog competitions) events with his family, Wawan learned to play melodies on his toy instruments from memory. Foreshadowing his flair for leadership, Wawan eventually began to organize mock mebarung, with up to 90 other neighborhood children participating.
 
I Made Arsa Wijaya (Wawan)
Ida Bagus Putu Pradnyana Putra (Gustu)
As Wawan and Gustu grew older, they played here and there, garnering experience in baleganjur in grade school and playing with a local semar pegulingan group, Sanggar Sangita Mredangga, at temple ceremonies. Later, after they had both moved to Denpasar and enrolled at ISI, they began travelling across Bali for school events and  participating in various gamelan projects organized by classmates.
 
Wawan reflects on his music education as a collage of these small but significant experiences driven by an eager autodidacticism:
 
“I would have liked to have studied with several teachers [in Jembrana], but most of them ‘politely declined’ my requests fearing competition with each other. Having to learn to play by myself, I found it difficult to engage with professors at Insitut Seni Indonesia (ISI) because my skills were underdeveloped when I entered the karawitan program. Eventually I realized that I could learn more from classmates, because they were very skilled and often had events for us to play. They also understood my situation.”
 

Wawan and Gustu got the idea to form their own group while teaching themselves gender wayang pieces at home to supplement their conservatory training. These ‘rehearsals’ began to attract other young people who wanted to play gamelan but had nowhere else to learn. Before long, Wawan and Gustu set in motion a plan to build the jegog instruments that Seni Sana Sini uses today. The most innovative feature of these instruments is the tuning. If compared to seven-tone tuning systems used by other gamelan on Bali, jegog ensemble scales traditionally resemble the subset built from the 1st, 3rd, 5th, and 6th pitches (dung-dang-deung-dang). The jegog commissioned by Wawan is tuned using the subset of the 1st, 2nd, 4th, and 6th pitches (ding-dong-deung-dang) to differentiate Seni Sana Sini’s sound from others’.

Seni Sana Sini (literally Here There Art) was established in  September 2013 and named for Wawan and Gustu’s habit of travelling great distances to get their gamelan kicks before owning an ensemble themselves. It also characterizes the exploratory nature of the group. Their works span the spectrum from traditional to overtly experimental. Employing all manner of techniques, several members of the group contribute compositions to the repertoire. Their debut album Sensasi, recently released by Insitu Recordings, encapsulates the entire spectrum. The title comes from an abbreviation of the group’s name (Seni Sana Sini) and points to the evocative English cognate – sensation – which alludes to the exploration of different moods and feelings throughout the album.
 
Each member of Seni Sana Sini brings a unique perspective to the group, and each composition reflects the composer’s personal style. Sikut Lawas, composed by Putu Nova Handiyana, is a riff on the traditional teruntuungan form, the first piece to be played during a jegog performance. Much like introductions in the repertoire of other gamelan ensembles (e.g. gineman from semar pegulingan), the piece helps communicate the group’s identity and can even help listeners understand where they are coming from – literally and figuratively. Sikut Lawas does not conform to all the conventions of teruntuungan pieces, but the avid listener will be able to identify the classic form – with some very playful twists. Skipping from some of the longer bero (melodic sections) straight into rushing patterns of the kancil and suir (higher toned instruments), Sikut Lawas is briefer than most classic versions. The result keeps the ears active, and ready for the other peculiarities: inverted melodies of the longer bero, and a short, sharp finish. Are these twists and turns a reflection of Balinese roads that the members navigate? It wouldn’t be the first time I’ve heard that analogy, but let your ears decide.
 
Another track takes inspiration from the natural environment—a classic source of inspiration for composition styles and names. Munyin Tiying (lit. Sound of Bamboo) by I Putu Juni Suta Widnyana (Junik) is quite literally about the sound of bamboo knocking together in the wind. The form of the piece is rooted in the traditional mebarung style frequently used for competitions between jegog groups during seasonal festivities. Classic but ambitious, cascades of colorful tones work the scale until a section reminiscent of gambangan leads into a suling interlude and other explorations.
 
Talikunda, composed by Komang Wahyu Yastawan Putra (Wahyu)  is rooted in traditional forms and style, but with contemporary flavor. This is a piece about the subak agriculture system in Bali. Talikunda are water channels that form the irrigation network of the subak system. Water flows slowly or quickly, from large or small sources, depending on how fields are being irrigated. In this piece, you can hear such accelerations and decelerations as explorations of tempo. This has the added effect of showcasing the group’s dynamic skill. Starting first as a trickle and then rushing forward together, the group even explores different striking techniques such as damping keys (usually reserved for bronze ensembles).
 

The entire group contributes to a shared ethos and aesthetic, but Wawan’s vision for the shape of gamelan to come is clearest. One of his contributions, Jenjang, explores the limitations and advantages of gamelan jegog. Using octaves, regular striking patterns, and a minimum of rhythmic dynamics, we see what can be done with the two octave constraints on each jegog instrument. He proves that four tones (and just four instruments) is more than enough to produce a cascade of original musical ideas. Taking back all the intricacies and using a spare and calculated compositional method like this allows one to hear jegog in new ways.
Wawan also enjoys a composition career beyond his work with Seni Sana Sini. Recently, he contributed to the album Transmissions, also released by Insitu Recordings, in which he arranged and adapted a score by American composer Wayne Vitale for jegog. He has also made significant headway on an ongoing solo album called Skala (Explorasi imprint), which features experiments using smart phone metronome apps that provide players with contrasting tempos that guide their individual patterns. Wawan says the concept for this project arose accidentally after a disastrous baleganjur performance in which “banyak pola-pola ritme salah dimainkan oleh penabuhnya” (the players made so many rhythmic mistakes) that the audience thought he had composed the piece carelessly. Around this time he had also begun to listen to works by minimalist composers. After hearing Ligeti’s Poeme Symphonique, which is scored for 100 metronomes, he was inspired and decided to try experimenting with metronomes himself. Wawan prides himself most on Skala #3, having conducted two similar experiments earlier he believes this work achieves the most satisfying mixture of tempos and patterns.
 
Wawan’s growing curiosity about other music cultures echoes his understanding of developments in Indonesian forms. Like many composers of his generation, he acknowledges Slamet Abdul Syukur and Wayan Gede Yudane as major influences and perceives traditional music to be in a state of flux:
 
“Balinese gamelan has seen major developments. The birth of many creative and innovative composers has changed the way people look at gamelan music. Many competitions value innovation. The influence of Western music has changed the way we do things. There are pros and cons to this, but it is not a problem. Everything changes over time.”
 
Another trait Wawan shares with his peers is his desire to share this knowledge with the hopes of developing a vibrant music scene in his hometown:
 
“We want to become a household name in Jembrana. We want to motivate young people and encourage them to get into the arts, because Jembrana is not like other places. We have been somewhat successful in this. Several of our younger members have chosen to enroll at the conservatory in Denpasar. We hope we can nurture their artistic insights and enable their potential to transform Jembrana into a region with sophisticated arts.”
 

Seni Sana Sini seems well on its way to fulfilling Wawan’s mission statement. Having performed various festival performances at the Taman Budaya in Denpasar and throughout Jembrana, the group has begun to develop its reputation and as an upstart powerhouse jegog group. The pieces on Sensasi variously depart from and uphold inherited forms. If this is your first time listening to jegog, you may miss some of the subtleties of Seni Sana Sini’s tuning or their novel approaches to composition, but this is all the more reason to give these tracks the deep listening treatment.

Evan Gilman

Check out Seni Sana Sini‘s music on Bandcamp, SoundCloud, and YouTube:

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Evan Gilman

Evan Gilman is a gamelan enthusiast and coffee connoisseur currently residing in California, USA.

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People and organizations mentioned in this article

I Made Arsa Wijaya (Wawan)

Arsa Wijaya or Wawan was born in Tegalcangkring on June 15, 1992 to his parents, I Nyoman Gede Suarsa and Ni Made Widiani. His interest in gamelan began at age 5 and continued throughout his childhood, having the opportunity to participate in baleganjur competitions by age 9 and the Bali Arts Festival by middle school. His parents and teachers encouraged his hobby, enabling him to fulfill one of his dreams by studying gamelan in greater depth at ISI Denpasar.
Br. Petapan Kelod, Desa Pergung, Kec. Mendoyo, Kab. Jembrana, Bali, Indonesia
Phone: 081803681592

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Ida Bagus Putu Pradnyana Putra (Gustu)

Ida Bagus Putu Pradnyana Putra (Gustu) is the first child of Ida Bagus Suaryadana and Agung Ayu utu Suwartini and was born in Negara on August 20, 1993. Hi interest in the gamelan world began at age 4, and by 8 he was already participating in performing arts events in the surrounding area. His parents did not give him permission to pursue a music career, so he enrolled at ISI Denpasar in secret with his own money. He continues to be active in the performing arts.
Lingkungan Baler Bale Agung, Kel. Tegalcangkring, Kec. Mendoyo, Kab. Jembrana, Bali, Indonesia

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© Insitu Recordings 2018