Journey of Taro is readying his long awaited Gamelan Sketches for release later this summer via Enfant Terrible‘s more ambient-leaning label Vrystaete. The work of Adrien L’Honoré Naber, the musician has been studying and recording music in Indonesia for over a decade. Combining his interest in Gamelan music with contemporary electronic music practices, dub-inspired methods meet the more traditional forms percussive array to create a music that blurs the line between past and future.
For a peek into Adrien’s method, you can view some YouTube videos he posted in 2019 as he was developing his technique and the tracks that would eventually comprise this upcoming release. Part of that playlist also includes two videos he made using footage he shot at Kraton Palace in Yogyakarta. Here, Javanese dance takes center stage as Journey of Taro’s rippling percussive patterns and resonant sonic space becomes a perfect soundtrack for the dancers’ precise and mannered movements.
