Latent Sonorities

Gamelan instruments to be recorded at the Morphine Raum, Berlin.

Project Description

Latent Sonorities invites international and Berlin-based trans-Asian artists to create works bridging traditional Indonesian instrumentation and tuning systems with contemporary electronic music production techniques.

Thanks to cooperation with Haus der Indonesischen Kulturen – Rumah Budaya Indonesia – (RBI), select instruments from their Javanese gamelan ensemble will be sampled to create Berlin’s first publicly accessible sonic archive of Indonesian instruments and temperaments for electronic musicians.

This dynamic sonic archive will provoke and stimulate public discourse around the complexities and nuances of trans-Asian identity, musical rematriation, and its political expression through non-Western temperament and tonality.

Following the creation of a gamelan sample pack and tuning files, a short residency, open studio and final performance series of new work will be produced in collaboration with Morphine Raum. A sample pack, tuning files and user guide of Javanese gamelan for experimental, electronic musicians.

This sample pack – consisting of audio samples, tuning files, and a booklet with cultural information on the instruments and a user’s guide – will be made free and publicly accessible online via Berlin label L-KW and inaugurated into the library of RBI.

The sample pack will also be accompanied by a digital album of the concert recordings from artists commissioned to create new improvised works using the newly created archive.

Latent Sonorities aims to create a blueprint for developing transcultural tools that rematriate musical knowledge. Through careful and transparent curation, collaboration, and documentation, the project aims to build a solid foundation for further collaborations with local and international artists, researchers, labels, and public institutions.

(Text from Latent Sonorities page)

Latent Sonorities

Performance at the Morphine Raum with Mo'ong Pribadi. Photo by Eunice Maurice

Latent Sonorities Website: more information about the project, involved artists, as well as location of the sample packs and resources.

Latent Sonorities Album: a release by Yes No Wave Music containing music by Pinky Htut Aung, Cheryl Ong & Khyam Allami, Tusa Montes & Morgan Sully, Bilawa Respati & Mo’ong Pribadi, as well as Wanton Witch.

Inherent Possibilities: slide presentation for the talk I gave during the open studio session at the Haus der Indonesischen Kulturen, Berlin, on the 14th of September 2023.

Acknowledgment

During the total duration of the project from May to September 2023, I learned and received help from many individuals. While it is impossible to list everyone, I would like to express my personal gratitude for the explanation and support given by the following people: Priadi Dwi Hardjito, Bram Palgunadi, Bambang Sadarta, Ki Sigit Toto Carito, and Mas Mo’ong Pribadi on the topic of Javanese Karawitan music.

Team

Curator and Project Lead: Morgan Sully

Co-curator & Project Management: Taïca Replansky

Project Administration & Management: Jan Thedja

Sample Pack Consultation, Recording & Digitization:
Bilawa Respati
Khyam Allami
Rabih Beaini
Morgan Sully
Marcioz

Researcher and academic liaison: Emma Lo

Institutional liaisons:
Bilawa Respati
Ibu Wawang
Birgit Steffan

Technical Assistance: Ghaliz Filkhair Haris

Visual Identity & illustrations:
Morgan Sully
Cindy Putri

Graphic Design: Tina Lehnhardt

Photography:
Eunice Maurice
Jan Thedja

German Grant Translation: Maximilian Kupi