Magic Bali

From the Playasound sub-label of Auvidis, one of the French releases bearing bare-breasted women on the cover in order to sell albums, comes a good deal of well played gamelan music. As is often the case in gamelan, the primary piece is a rendition of the Ramayana. One of the greatest presents on the album, though, is the Kecak portion -- a form of group vocals that originated vaguely within trance traditions in Bali, but was quickly transformed into a high powered group work for tourism purposes, often involving up to 100 or so performers, each often with a single note, dancing wildly as the monkey troops of Hanuman fight against the evil Ravana in portrayals of the Ramayana. If you haven't heard the Kecak formations of the Ramayana before, try and pick this album up. There might be other worthwhile renditions out there as well (one on Celestial Harmonies, among others), but this one isn't bad either. Pick it up both for the virtuosic gamelan and for the Kecak work. ~ Adam Greenberg|