From Issue 2
Tuning in to Indonesian Gamelan in the Lion City
Liani MK
... you get the sense that difference is a gimmick to tick an NAC [National Arts Council] box, or add a cheap veneer of multiculturalism.
While Singapore’s business opportunities, unique skyscrapers, and efficient public transport are well-known, the fact that it is home to a multi-cultural population supporting several vibrant gamelan communities is not. The city is also the bearer of a system of neatly defined racial categories that does little justice to the diversity of its inhabitants. Gamelan tests these categories, first by bringing together musicians with diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds, generating discussions about the complexities of trans-cultural arts in a multi-cultural environment, and second, by facilitating the production of new works of music, which have proven to be creative pathways allowing artists working with gamelan to transcend the official race-based framework.
Understanding Race in Singapore
Although Singapore is a city-state that takes pride in its multi-ethnic makeup, it continues to grapple with racial profiling. Singapore’s long-standing ‘Chinese-Malay-Indian-Others’ (CMIO) framework was implemented at the time of the first census conducted in 1824. Many argue that including race in official documents has a negative impact on certain demographics because it influences cultural perceptions as well as decisions about how government funds and services are allocated, which must be in accordance with CMIO quotas. For instance, the racial quota affects the chance for a person to purchase a government flat.
Many believe the framework over-simplifies Singapore’s complex ethnic profile. This includes the all-encompassing “Malay” group which, like its neighbour, Malaysia, subsumes people of other Indonesian ethnicities. Likewise, many have argued that there are too many distinct differences between Singaporean Chinese and mainland Chinese people for them to be grouped under the same category. This complicates interracial marriages, which are on the rise, because it forces mixed individuals to register and identify with one racial group.
Despite these shortcomings, in reality many are able to escape the boundaries of the framework by immersing in different cultures, and they are increasingly conscious of positioning themselves and others beyond this construction. In the case of gamelan in Singapore, we find that several of the city’s leading players working with Indonesian styles of gamelan – namely Javanese and Balinese – may not identify with specific racial categories, nor view themselves as foreigners or even “Singaporeans” when playing traditional Indonesian music. At the same time, we find fusions and new compositions resulting from people integrating their own ideas and artistic styles into a seemingly foreign traditional art form. Gamelan communities in Singapore thus remind us of the need to re-examine how we situate ourselves and others.
“Ahhh no wonder you play gamelan!” – Playing Indonesian Gamelan as a Singaporean Malay
In a small shophouse-turned-rehearsal space along the bustling Kerbau Road, a motley group of Singaporean gamelan musicians gather. A multitude of upbeat sounds reverberate from this tiny room every Saturday evening during its Balinese gamelan rehearsals. There is a baleganjur rehearsal taking place, led by the young and shrewd Rosemainy, who is affectionately known to many as Rose.
Being ethnically Malay, Rose was exposed to traditional Malay and Indonesian arts early.
“Growing up as a Malay Singaporean, society taught you about gamelan [Melayu] only in relation to Kuda Kepang [a traditional Javanese dance localized by Malay performers in Singapore] and it was all about dance and trance. My family and I watched their performances frequently.”
When I spoke with Rose, she pointed out similarities in instruments between Malay and Javanese gamelan, including differences in tempo and distinct musical structures common to each style. Gamelan Melayu is said to be of Javanese origins. The bronze instruments were supposedly brought from the Riau islands to accompany royal events and weddings. The music adapted and evolved such that simple melodic structures, tuning, functions and style of playing in Malay gamelan are discernible in the musical layers and structures of its Javanese counterpart. Exposure to Malay traditional arts informs Rose’s appreciation of other cultural forms, including Javanese and Balinese gamelan.
Rose was immediately attracted to Indonesian gamelan. While she approached gamelan Melayu as an appreciative listener and member of the audience, it was Javanese gamelan that she ventured to learn and play. In fact, she was part of the earliest incarnation of – and remains an active member of – Gamelan Naga Kencana (GNK), an Indonesian gamelan co-curricular activity (CCA) at Republic Polytechnic (RP) where in 2007 she first learned to perform Javanese gamelan. Since then, Rose has directed several projects including Sang Lear – A Story of Power and Inner Struggle (2014), a theatrical production related to Balinese philosophical ideas of good and evil.
Photos compliments of Haiqal Tahir
The CMIO in Gamelan
“Most of the reactions I get to my playing gamelan are race based, [and] often explicitly. Thus either the clichéd surprise that a Chinese person plays the “Malay” thing, or the clichéd angst that a Chinese person plays the “Malay” thing. It gets tiring dealing with the same issues over and over, and really shows up how unimaginative Singaporeans can be when talking about arts and culture, because of the CMIO boxes.”
A masters student and a former Darmasiswa scholar at Institut Seni Indonesia (ISI) Surakarta, Xin Wei currently leads the Gamelan Singa Nglaras rehearsals at NUS. It is one of the few Javanese gamelan groups in Singapore.
“The emcee was speaking in Chinese [Mandarin]. We were given a ‘wow so interesting, Chinese people play Malay music’ kind of introduction. The next act was a Malay person known for playing guzheng. The emcee was all like ‘wow look Malay people trying to play guzheng. Can he do it? It’s a very difficult instrument! Let’s find out!’ Such is playing ‘traditional’ music in Singapore.”
Though this surprises many Singaporeans unfamiliar with gamelan, the diverse membership of gamelan students and artists is not unusual. On being a Singaporean Chinese playing Indonesian music, BronzAge founding member and manager Anne Choo opines that it is increasingly common for foreigners to learn gamelan, especially with the widely offered Indonesian government scholarship to learn their traditional arts. “Being Chinese, Western music is technically not my own culture so learning gamelan feels the same way [as] learning a different musical soundscape.” Although she feels this way, she still receives mixed responses in Singapore.
“The first reaction I get from most Singaporeans is, ‘Are you Indonesian?’ And sometimes that annoys me in a way that I’d like to retort that they aren’t Europeans so why do I get questioned for learning gamelan while no one asks why they want to learn to play the piano or the violin.”
“Generally, Indonesians are really happy and respect the fact that foreigners want to learn about their culture. I’ve never met an Indonesian person who was opposed to it before. But with Singaporeans, the issues are much more complex.”
Embracing the fact that foreigners are curious about traditional arts can compel culture bearers to seek more knowledge of their own cultures. Comparatively, learning another artform of a different ethnic group in an ethnically diverse setting may also lead to uninformed presumptions and misconceptions. Zachary explains:
“In Singapore, without a doubt, there’s definitely Chinese privilege… As a Chinese person participating in what is regarded as part of the Malay cultural identity in Singapore, it can be easily interpreted as another thing that Chinese people are trying to colonise or appropriate. Those are some of the reactions that I’ve gotten from fellow Singaporeans before, although [these] are a minority. [Meanwhile] Chinese people are only convinced that I’m interested in learning this music because my family is partially from Indonesia. They don’t understand that Pontianak and Java are different islands, and that Pontianak has a majority Chinese population anyways.”
“I think that if I never actually played gamelan [nor got] attracted to explore more in the region, I probably would have [had] a very similar understanding – I know I made similar comments in the past when I started out. So I guess my main gripe is the dull repetitiveness of the assumptions and questions I get in Singapore, though I try to be appreciative of compliments and empathetic towards complaints.”
As a result, musicians like Xin Wei hope that the gamelan communities can continue to collaborate and gather, at the same time putting more focus on learning and making music from each other. Xin Wei adds,
Zachary expresses similar thoughts:
“I’ve been part of this mistake before where I’ve participated in appropriating (in a shallow manner) Javanese instruments and music as part of some CMIO or some racial harmony event. But I think I’m trying to learn from my mistakes and build a clear conscience for myself by taking a more sincere and serious approach to the study of Javanese gamelan.”
In many ways, gamelan is not just the act of engaging with music or learning a new cultural art form. It is a space where prejudices and preconceived notions about race are confronted, by musicians and audience.
On Fusion and New Compositions
The tensions brought on by the CMIO do not inhibit music creation. Like many gamelan ensembles across the world, the musicians who lead the groups are dedicated to learning and working with the music in serious and creative ways. Zachary, who frequently composes for gamelan highlights the need for proficiency in gamelan techniques.
“I think good contemporary pieces understand the capabilities and capacities of gamelan instruments and what they’re meant to do… Of course, you can push these boundaries, but as a composer at the very end I think these qualities that make gamelan music gamelan should be kept in mind.”
Interestingly, Zachary composes creatively this way when he approaches Balinese gamelan:
“It’s just because of the way I was introduced [to] this music that I take a more creative approach to it, I guess. I love it very much and I still listen to mostly gong kebyar on my mp3 player, but I think because of the direction Gamelan Singamurti [is heading], I take more of an artistic rather than a craftsman approach to it. So, because of that, I’ve taken writing music for Balinese gamelan really seriously and I can say that I’ve really written music that I’m proud of for Balinese gamelan.”
Together with Rose, Zachary composed songs for a four-track EP, Nunas Taksu (Seeking Guidance), that was recently released on Insitu Recordings. The album contains vocals, clarinet, cello in addition to drawing major influences from Balinese gamelan instruments and textures.
Rose is also part of several experimental and fusion projects, including an experimental arts collective called Kaizen X Sound Lab. Partnering with Gamelan Asmaradana, the group consists of four musicians from different musical backgrounds and genres “to experiment and create sound”, with various instruments drawn from their own field of expertise. In March 2017, Kaizen X Sound Lab performed at the Centre 41 Blackbox in a piece that explored the rhythmic pulse inspired by the everyday routines of working people in the busy city of Singapore. Rose describes the projects as opportunities to incorporate “gamelan elements […] and [present] it in a non-traditional way”, adding that they are working on more projects together including an upcoming stint in Singapore in early December.
New projects in gamelan can also be a way of correcting and addressing the lack of information about gamelan in Singapore. Rose points out that working on new compositions has an effect on the perceptions of the group – even its funding. She explains that educating people about gamelan is important because some companies who engage with these groups know little about gamelan as compared to other traditional music in Singapore. This means they do not provide enough funding for logistics, such as transporting instruments. In response, the group has had to adjust to changes and innovate to work within the system. “For my Singamurti ensemble, going contemporary allows me to strategize in terms of performing in a smaller group, hoping that when they have a smaller budget, we are still able to perform.” Gamelan, in the end, is as much an opportunity to educate Singaporean businesses as it is an opportunity for individuals to learn how gamelan music works as a whole.
Meanwhile, Xin Wei observes that fusion music involving gamelan in Singapore is still in the making. “In the Singapore context, I feel that a lot is performance or outcome driven and so there isn’t really a long and continuous engagement to make a genuinely ‘fused’ music.” The most exciting fusion project he worked on was between Singapore-based Indian performing arts group, Bhaskar’s Arts Academy, and visiting Indonesian artists. He felt “there was a genuine effort to forge something together” even if fleeting.
“In the less satisfying [projects], you get the sense that difference is a gimmick to tick an NAC [National Arts Council] box, or add a cheap veneer of multiculturalism. In the worst, you can sense a hierarchy between parties that can feel downright neo-colonial.”
Gamelan has influenced Xin Wei’s approach to his other musical interests, though he is able to keep them separate. “I would say that playing gamelan has made me more musical – [that is,] more willing to play without notation and tinker with chords and singing in a way I didn’t really do when I was younger and learning piano.” With regards to Javanese gamelan, Xin Wei states, “Personally I find the music – well, specifically the more classical Javanese repertoire – subtle, deep and beautiful: there are moments playing or listening to it when I can feel my heart lift.”
Conclusion
Liani MK
Learn more about Gamelan Asmaradana:
Check out Gamelan Singamuriti’s music on Bandcamp:
About the author(s)
Liani MK
People and organizations mentioned in this article
Zach Chan
