GDA COLLABORATIONS
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GDA/Firetail live performance at Melbourne Recital Centre, featuring Ria Soemardjo & Keshav Yoganathan
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“A new–and thoroughly beguiling–musical language”, “wooden hammers dancing in perfect “A mind-boggling polyrhythmic avalanche of shifting pulses…This was a music fusion like no |
Gamelan DanAnda (GDA) is a Balinese gamelan orchestra based in Naarm, learning and perform traditional repertoire with our diverse community of all ages, backgrounds and levels of musical experience. We also present groundbreaking contemporary fusion works everywhere from Australia’s leading festivals to community gatherings. With a strong professional practice, we blur the lines between community and professional art, tradition and modernity, and Australia and Indonesia. Recent performance highlights include Melbourne Recital Centre, Brunswick Music Festival, OZ Asia, Port Fairy and National Folk Fest.
The GDA studio in Thornbury houses an extraordinary collection of Balinese gamelan instruments, from different styles of ensemble. We regularly invite our master teacher, Pande Mardiana from Bali, as guest teacher and performer for special events. Our Balinese members provide cultural consultation for our intercultural projects, to ensure that we respect the cultural and spiritual origin of this artform. Our musical director and founder, Jeremy Dullard, draws on his training and experience as a professional percussionist as well as many years of immersion in different forms of Balinese music, in his arrangements and compositions. Open to public membership, GDA is dedicated to increasing awareness of the unique features of Balinese Gamelan music, for audiences to enjoy, performers to understand, and composers to be inspired.
Recent Highlights - Projects & Shows
Anglayang - Gamelan DanAnda x Firetail vinyl LP Release 2025
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Collaborative album with Carnatic-jazz-fusion band Firetail. Anglayang was released at Brusick Music Festival. Supported by Creative Victoria Music Works program, Artist Assembly Grant, The Boite. The album has received airplay from Gilles Peterson on BBC6, and was Album of the Week on PBS.
LISTEN/BUY on Bandcamp>> |
Saudara Sound System: GAMELAN MEETS BEATS
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A live on-stage Balinese gamelan percussion orchestra, soulful vocals, and hip-hop/electronic beats accompanied by hypnotic live Balinese dance. This was Saudara Sound System at OzAsia Festival 2023. Shimmering cascades of metallic sound, virtuosic rhythms and breathtaking crescendos of Gamelan DanAnda with the ethereal vocals of Balinese- and Javanese-Australian vocalists Komang and Ria Soemardjo, visiting Balinese master artists Yande King’s and Putu Ayu, all pulled together by the masterful production of Joelistics (Joel Ma) and JIWA (Jocelyn Tribe and Liam Budalasia).After a sold-out show at OzAsia Festival in Adelaide, Saudara Sound System featured at Brunswick Music Festival.
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What if music... Collaboration with electro-jazz-fusion band Firetail - Jun 2023
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Gamelan DanAnda and Mahindra Bali created a series of collaborative works with Firetail which explore the place of multicultural music in Melbourne’s contemporary music scene. The results fused the sounds, timbres and techniques of Balinese gamelan with the electro-jazz-fusion sounds of Firetail and received a 4 star review in The Age and a feature on ABC Radio National’s The Music Show.
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Gathering of the Gamelans - 2023
READY NEW GANG
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READY NEW GANG performing at the Quadraphoinc Club in Brunswick, Naarm (MEL) Australia. Ready New Gang is gamelan music like you’ve never heard it before! Inspired by Bali’s Wayang shadow-puppet theatre, RNG’s sound mixes a range of western styles with traditional repertoire. Aiming to introduce Bali’s wonderful music to an audience more familiar with pop, rock and jazz, RNG embraces many fascinating characteristics of gamelan music while keeping one foot in the western sound world.
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Gathering of the Gamelans |
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Bringing together 8 gamelan groups from around Victoria representing styles from various parts of Java, Bali and Sumatra to share music and culture in a free, day-long community event. Produced by John Cheong-Holdaway GDA. Supported by Victorian Government Department of Families, Fairness and Housing
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Komang x Gamelan DanAnda at the Art Gallery of Ballarat - 2024
Gamelan DanAnda and Balinese/Australian singer/producer Komang bringing together traditional gamelan and dance with ambient soundscapes, sonic healing and pop bangers.
Gamelan DanAnda and Balinese/Australian singer/producer Komang bringing together traditional gamelan and dance with ambient soundscapes, sonic healing and pop bangers.
Quotes from our collaborators and supporters
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'I believe audiences of all ages and backgrounds are hungry for music that weaves the ancient and the futuristic and GDA are proponents of this at the highest artistic level whilst simultaneously operating at a grassroots community level. I also believe that, given their members’ facility with Indonesian language and their deep knowledge and expertise in both western and Balinese musical forms, they are uniquely placed to facilitate authentic and respectful cross-cultural collaborations.' Joel Ma (Joelistics) - Independent artist and producer, 2021 Artist in Residence, participant in Saudara Sound System at OzAsia Festival 2023 and Brunswick Music Festival 2024 'Gamelan DanAnda’s aspirations to develop capacity in creating works that explore new contemporary composition build upon the space of community activity that intersects with their currently high-quality public performances… The diverse membership of the community orchestra demonstrates that Gamelan DanAnda already provides a one-of-a-kind opportunity for all Australians to engage deeply with Indonesian culture'. Antony Hamilton, GDA Member, and Artistic Director and Co-CEO of Chunky Move 'What sets GDA apart is their ability to present a refreshing and culturally immersive experience, transcending cultural boundaries and captivating listeners. Gamelan DanAnda actively engages in outreach programs, educational workshops, and collaborations with local artists, schools, and community organizations. Their dedication to fostering cultural exchange and enriching the artistic fabric of our community is invaluable. They have consistently demonstrated their commitment to promoting inclusivity, diversity, and cross-cultural understanding through their music' Zulya Kamalova, Former Director, The Boite Our collaborations with Gamelan DanAnda have represented a profound opportunity for us to connect simultaneously with our peers in Australia and Indonesia, and have allowed us to build upon the core of collaboration so integral to JIWA’s artistry. We have seen the ability of John and Gamelan DanAnda to create spaces for Indonesian-Australian artists like us, and see them as a great platform to build greater engagement between Australia and Indonesia. The skills we have acquired through our collaborations with Gamelan DanAnda have allowed us to continue to develop and share our practice of working with Indonesian arts and artists. Liam I Made Budalasia and Jocelyn Tribe, Independent artists and frequent collaborators with Gamelan DanAnda 'The inspiring aspect of Gamelan Dananda’s projects is that they explore beyond the classical aspect of Balinese Gamelan and endeavour to collaborate the music with other musical genres to achieve amazing new music… It is commendable what has already been achieved by Gamelan Dananda with very little funding.' Eka Poedijono, GDA Board Member, and member of local Melbourne Balinese community 'I feel so privileged to be able to gain from the knowledge and experience of Gamelan DanAnda through being part of this beautiful sharing of music. At its core Balinese music is communal and inclusive to all and these values are felt among the organisation. It’s been a truly rich and rewarding endeavour for me and I look forward to what’s to come'. Scott Owen, GDA Member and double-bassist in The Living End Gamelan DanAnda is a unique organisation…known for their commitment to artistic development and engaging audiences of all ages. Kane Forbes, Executive Producer Festivals, Merri-bek City Council 'I have been deeply impressed with Gamelan DanAnda’s ethos of openness and inclusion, and I know this will be a valuable opportunity for Victorians of all backgrounds to come together to share in and celebrate Indonesian culture.' Kat Theophanous, State Member for Northcote |
