I Wayan Sadra, one of Indonesia's most interesting and influential experimental composers. Working with musicians, dancers, poets and instruments from Java, Bali, Sunda, Sumatra and in the U.S.,Sadra combines a unique contemporary aesthetic with his early training in Balinese music and his knowledge of the varied regional traditions of Indonesia to create a compelling body of music that is both Indonesian and International.

Volume three of the Lyrichord New Music Indonesia series focuses on a single composer, 40 year old I Wayan Sadra, whose work on Mana 689 (volume 2) was the standout piece of the set. Here we get a full view of his innovative and powerful music. These seven pieces are performed by musicians from Bali, Java, Sunda, Sumatra and the United States, using instruments and tunings from many Asian and European styles, often blending together disparate tunings or rhythms in an effort to create a new, unified Asian music. He never hesitates to use the sound he needs, regardless of its source. Traditional gamelan, fiddles and reeds are comfortable next to electronic devices, avant garde vocals and other western devices. One track combines not only the musical but religious ideas of Buddhism, Islam and Hinduism. Sadra is a complex composer to record, because his work is as much about space as sound. His music is constructed to take advantage of the audience and performers relative positions and there is movement impossible to capture on tape. The fade-ins on the recording can only hint at these dynamics. But these recorded pieces hold high drama, rich textures and magnificent beauty. They are the embodiment of what new world music is supposed to be about; to have growth from the roots, but graft new branches and bear new fruit. - RootsWorld See also: Asmat Dream (Volume 1) Mana 689 (Volume 2)

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