The many islands of Indonesia are rich in classical and popular music. Electric guitars and synthesized beats mingle with traditional forms in the major cities; local cassette shops are filled with listeners hungry for the dance-friendly hybrid of electric rhythms and ancient scales known as dangdut. Jaipongan is another mixture of old and new: the form was created in the early 1970s (as part of a government-sponsored Indonesian identity drive) by injecting some rock 'n' roll energy into an old village dance known as "ketuk tilu." The percussive, polyrhythmic music is played on two-stringed fiddle, double-headed drum and gongs. Meanwhile, the alluring, layered tones of traditional Gamelan orchestras have caught the ear of westerners eager for the fresh sounds of unique musical philosophies. Indonesian music can fill a dance floor with perky beats or hypnotize the ears with repetitive, hammered gongs.
Genre Guide 2000 · World/Folk › Asia › Far East