Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
MODERN BALINESE MUSIC
The last fifteen years has seen an explosion in the popularity of modern Balinese music
- in Bali itself, throughout Indonesia, and even abroad. Uniquely in Indonesia, Balinese
musicians no longer need to go to Jakarta to make their name, but can use Bali as a
gateway to national and international recognition. More and more relatively small local
bands are now playing overseas without first hitting the big time in the Indonesian cap-
ital.
There are two main genres of modern Balinese music:
Balinesia
, in which the Balinese artists
sing in Indonesian, and
Balibali
, in which they sing in Balinese. Albums by musicians from
both genres outsell their Western competition in Bali (though piracy has severely dented
all markets), and concerts are often as well attended as those of the major national (mainly
Javanese) bands. The cultural impact of this boom has been significant. Instead of feeling
marginalized and crowded out by Java, Balinese youth now have a channel through which
they can express themselves and their disappointment with the political elite and endemic
corruption. There is also a renewed pride in the Balinese language, whose “cool” status has
been given a big boost by artists singing in Balinese.
The growing
indie scene
actively encourages creativity, especially in the young (a big con-
trast with the repressively conformist years under Suharto's rule), and has opened people's
eyes to the possibility of doing something different from the Balinese norm. This is reflected
in the trend for all things rockabilly and punk, from independent clothing shops (
distros
)
selling original fashion and music-related paraphernalia, to chopper-style motorbikes and
low-rider pushbikes.
Meanwhile, the increasingly high-profile
OneDollarForMusic (ODFM) foundation
(
onedollargb.massa.netivity.nl
)
, funded by the Indonesian and Dutch governments, is sup-
porting youth participation in Bali's music scene, and on Lombok as well, holding workshops
at schools, training young musicians, staging concerts, and even releasing a compilation al-
bum of the bands they've mentored,
Young Sounds of Bali
.
