Java

Personnel: Neng Dini Andriati (vocals); Yadi "Piteuk" Cahyadi (violin, background vocals); Asep Yana (suling, background vocals); Ismet Ruchimat, Budi Sofyan (kendang, background vocals).
Audio Mixer: Colin Bass.
Recording information: Grenzland Tonstudios, Bocholt, Germany.
This is something a little different from SambaSunda. It's a commissioned work that sees them stripped down to a five-piece -- four instruments and voice, with the ethereal, seductive singing of newcomer Neng Dini Andriati. As always, the music is focused on the zither-like kacapi, and many of the compositions are based on traditional Sundanese form, but this is music from Java with a difference, playful as well as lulling. There's even a trip into Celtic music on "Paddy Pergi Ke Bandung," which sees the flute taking the lead and creating a very different cross-cultural fusion (one that works remarkably well and seems curiously natural). For the most part, however, this disc is firmly based in Java, adding new textures through the use of percussion. There's a strange, exotic beauty to it all that transports the listener. ~ Chris Nickson