After two trips to Indonesia doing solo recording i was hooked and Knew I’d return to make proper records. So In the later 2000’s, Suny Lyons and I made multiple trips to the island of Java, to record the music that I (and many before me) had loved for years. We captured everything from children’s songs and solo string players to full 30-member gamelan orchestras found all over the island. We recorded everywhere from darkly-lit nightclubs in bustling cities to bamboo huts way, way off the grid. Our love of soundwaves (and a little luck) had us tracking everyone, from the country’s beloved stars to virtually unknown street musicians and everyone in between. Those trips were wild and beautifully noisy rides! ~ Kai Riedl

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BIOS

Kai Riedl is an ethnomusicologist, festival director, curator and producer as well as a musician and music producer. He is the founder and director of the Slingshot festival of music, electronic art and tech in Athens, Ga. and Durham, NC. In 2016, Kai took the role as the executive producer of Moogfest and has also held roles as the Head of Curation at Moogfest and has curated numerous events. Kai is a founding member of the highly regarded asian-influenced band Macha, has created a variety of interdisciplinary projects, and has produced/recorded numerous records in Java, Indonesia under Javasounds. He’s also contributed to many releases out of Athens, Ga. including those by R.E.M., The Olivia Tremor Control and more.

Riedl is currently working on reworking/remixing some of the sounds in the Javasounds series with artists all over the globe. An initial record of songs by electronic musicians reworking Vol. 1 came out on Hive Mind Records during the pandemic. Kai Riedl on IG

Suny Lyons is an audio engineer, producer and performer based in Athens, Ga. Suny has co-written and performed with pacificUV, Cindy Wilson of the B52s and many more. He is the engineer of the Indonesian music series, Javasounds, and has produced and contributed to dozens of records from his studio, Pop Heart, based in Athens. He is also a web designer, programmer and app developer.