Jalan Jalan

The Japanese project called Jalan Jalan returns with the follow-up to their haunting debut of ambient gamelan music, Bali. Like its predecessor, Bali Dua continues to use samples of Balinese gamelan instruments, along with metallophones and gongs, deploying slow-motion melodies against swirls of synthesizers that move like clouds. This time out, however, Yasufumi Yamashita, the main composer of Jalan Jalan, has added a subtle lushness to the proceedings. The simple acoustic guitar cycle of "Sekar" frames the stately melody of the gamelan. Yamashita uses wood chimes to accent the terrain on some pieces, while Balinese traditional singers pop up on others. Like Pachebel's "Canon" and Brian Eno's "An Ending (Ascent)," Jalan Jalan's compositions seem like they could go on forever, melodies spiraling in minor key refrains that point towards infinity. And like all titles on the Pacific Moon label, it even comes with a couple of sticks of incense to set the mood. But with Jalan Jalan, you won't need it as they take you into their own virtual Bali. --John Diliberto
A gamelan is a kind of musical ensemble of Indonesia typically featuring a variety of instruments such as metallophones, xylophones, drums, and gongs; bamboo flutes, bowed and plucked strings, and vocalists may also be included. The term refers more to the set of instruments than the players of those instruments. A gamelan as a set of instruments is a distinct entity, built and tuned to stay together — instruments from different gamelan are not interchangeable.
The word "gamelan" comes from the Javanese word "gamel", meaning to strike or hammer, and the suffix "an", which makes the root a collective noun.
Balinese Gamelan music is very similar to Javanese Gamelan music. The music is in cycle too, however, it is usually faster. One of the characteristic of Balinese gamelan music is that, it has a lot of sudden changes in tempo and dynamics. Like the Javanese gamelan, the instruments in Balinese gamelan includes metallophones and gongs. However, there are more metallophones than gongs in Balinese gamelan. The metal keys in Balinese metallophones are ticker than those of Javanese. These Balinese metallophones produce very bright sound. Another characteristic of Balinese Gamelan music is the used of cymbals. These cymbals create fast rattling sound that usually cannot be found in Javanese Gamelan music.