This release claims to contain gamelan music that "has been praised by Indonesian critics for its authenticity", and even with my limited knowledge of the genre I know there is no way that's true. What we have here is the Javanese gamelan interpreted from an American viewpoint, with very Western pop/rock rhythms and touches of the studied weirdness of 1970s avant garde. This melding makes for a record that sounds unlike anything I've heard before, and a compelling and enjoyable listen from front to back. If you're not hung up on authenticity, and aren't immediately put off by a presentation of "ethnic" music as filtered through the lens of a bunch of SoCal academics, give this one a shot. It's quickly becoming one of my favorites.

agreed that it's a western take on the art, most apparent in the pacing, vocals and relative lack of soloing. very nice arrangement and pretty decent recording though, and for being a bit slower it's very sampl-able for anyone borrowing from gamelan wax

Thank you very much for the info! . . .