Resource Spotlight | Aural Archipelago: Field Recordings from around Indonesia
Aural Archipelago is an online repository for the musical sights and sounds of Indonesia, the most musically diverse country on the planet. Part digital archive, part blog, Aural Archipelago mixes field recording, video, photography, and in-depth articles compiled from years of travels across the archipelago. The project is the work of Palmer Keen, an American DIY ethnomusicologist based in Yogyakarta, together with a huge network of collaborators and musicians across Indonesia. With this project, the hope is to allow audiences (local and foreign) free access to music that is often difficult or impossible to hear otherwise.
All music is shared with permission of the artists featured. When performances are explicitly commissioned for documentation, artists are compensated appropriately.
Click the image below to watch Palmer Keen: An American Who Gets Hooked on GAMELAN.
Selections from the Aural Archipelago Archive
Click the images below to experience the sonic wonders of Indonesia.
Location: Ciater, Subang Regency, West Java
Sound: Bangpret (also called bangpet, gemyung jaipongan, or simply gembyung)
Location: Jannaya Village, Tanah Toa, South Sulawesi
Sound: Kacapi Kajang (also called kacaping)
Location: Subang/Karawang, West Java
Sound: Bajidoran
Location: Talang Anau, Lima Puluh Kota Regency, West Sumatra
Sound: Talempong batu (literally "stone talempong")
Location: Engkurai Village, Melawi Regency, West Kalimantan
Sound: Kadedek
Location: Ds. Tosoa, Kec. Ibu Selatan [South Ibu],
Kab. Halmahera Barat [West Halmahera], Maluku Utara [North Maluku]
Sound: Yanger (sometimes spelled yangere), once called tali dua, gumi romodidi, or orkes
Special thank you to Palmer Keen and the Aural Archipelago community.