While this stellar compilation kind of falls outside of my usual mandate of attempting to post albums and songs that are not available from the North American/ European markets (to my knowledge, that is!) I feel as if this album warrants me breaking (or rather, only half breaking--it's quite out of print!) my own rules.
Released in 1990 by the label Original Music, Street Music of Java is an joyous romp through various infectious forms of music played by small street ensembles in Java. Not all the styles are strictly Javanese but the music consistently fun and beautifully performed, full of hoarse female voices, scratchy violin, buoyant drumming. There's also plenty of that very Indonesian-sounding guitar playing. Those of you who have listened to any of the super asli keroncong or the Smithsonian Indonesian Guitars compilation can attest that there's a very uniquely Indonesian style of guitar playing (often sort of a blend of old Portuguese colonial influences with kacapi playing).
Featuring various ramshackle forms of familiar Indonesian popular and folk styles, each song on this compilation feels like a hit single albeit minus any studio frills. You'll hear the Bollywood-informed dance music known as dangdut whittled down to an acoustic ensemble with near-shouted vocals, replete with gleeful outburst of laughter. There's also some languid kerocong (very Portuguese-sounding) numbers with enough of grit to them to differentiate them from the myriad adult-contemporary recordings of keroncong out there. Dry throated crooning voices sing sweetly weaving themselves "pitchy" yet quite ornate violin lines, atop the trademark interlock plucked parts.
The vocals in the Melayu guitar-tunggal ("solo guitar") style track "Hinam Himam" displays a Islamic influence you frequently hear in Indonesian and Malaysian musics. While the vocals have an Arabic music flavour, the strummed guitar almost evokes South American folk styles.
The highlight for me is the folksy dangdut track "Kuda Lumping". With a lilting bounce in the drums, the loosely-strung twang of a cheap guitar and tambourines offer some rapid rhythmic propulsion. Meanwhile the shrill squawking vocals dance along the line of the songs ridiculously catchy and playful melody. Strangely I'm left with the thought that you could almost hear an Indonesian version of the Slits covering this song plugged-in!
Later you get some coarse examples of langgam jawa, both in a more authentic and a kerocongified format before some particularly spare vocal & drum treatments of the dangdut rhythm.
Near the close of the album you get a taste of some ronggeng-based music, which feature some of the familiar gamelan instruments which accompany some yearning male-female vocal exchanges. There's also a short processional recording (also labelled "Kuda Lumping") before a lengthy final cut which features the siter (a zither), percussion, clapping and woozily soulful singing.
It's a damn shame that this album is out of print and, like a number of excellent rare early 90's releases fetches a king's ransom on Amazon marketplace!
Here's the link!
