BACKGROUND

After collaborating on the 2004 Macha record,“Forget Tomorrow” producer and performer Kai Riedl (Macha) and recording engineer/performer Suny Lyons (pacificUV), made several trips to the island of Java in Indonesia and produced an epic genre spanning 12-Album Traditional Music Series

The quick backstory: Riedl started field recording in Turkey and Egypt. Then, in the late 90s Riedl traveled to Indonesia (with former bandmate Josh Mckay) to make field recordings of the Indonesian soundscape, many of which the two later released as a bonus disc alongside the first Macha album. After a solo recording trip in 2001, Riedl returned with Lyons in the later 2000s to undertake what eventually became a majestic and definitive exploration of the rich musical culture of the Indonesian island of Java.

Making several trips to Indonesia over the next few years together, the two recorded everywhere from bustling city nightclubs to bamboo huts way off the grid - and everywhere in between. Together they produced hundreds of hours of music of a variety of styles, featuring some of the country’s most beloved stars to virtually unknown musicians.

Javasounds:

All the best of all these performances have been compiled into 12 definitive albums of unparalleled recording quality. Each record in the Javasounds series introduces one of many musical genres found on the island of Java, sometimes highlighting legendary musicians, and in other cases, showcasing the range of a single style across multiple regions. Gongs, zithers, hand drums, drum machines, reverb drenched vocals and so much more make up the ocean of music here, giving any listener a renewed sense of musical wonder with the unmatched quality of these recordings.

Volume One is a dynamic collection of traditional gamelan songs performed by members of the internationally renowned Jugula Group, in a dark and angular style of gamelan known as Jaipongan,featuring one of the legendary voices of Java renowned, singer Idjah Hadidjah. Volume Four features traditional songs performed by a variety of Gamelan orchestras, in both Sundanese (West Java) and Javanese (Central Java) styles, and filled with timeless performances of the spacious, lumbering metallphones, echoing everything from age-old popular songs to traditional Javanese wedding music. Volume Three captures the rare and entrancing ritual music of the two- stringed instrument the tarawangsa, while Volume Four and Eight capture bustling nights at late night traditional and popular music dance clubs. And there is so much more, the series is a wonderful introduction to those unfamiliar, and an unexpected and rare treat for the newly curious to the devout listener of music from Java.

BIOS

Kai Riedl is an ethnomusicologist, festival director, curator and producer as well as a 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.

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.