Ghost Gamelan

For their latest collaboration singer Susheela Raman and guitarist Sam Mills team up with Indonesian composer Gondrong Gunarto on this album, which was mostly recorded in Surakarta, Java. Back in London, further parts were added by percussionist Charles Hayward (of This Heat) and prime jazz bassist Dudley Philips.

The opening ‘Tanpa Nama’ reveals an innovative splicing of gamelan parts, chiming over a firm bassline foundation. Celebratory ensemble vocals are overlaid by Raman's solo lines, and there's a deft electro-warping of instrumental sounds, stretches of metallophone or gong ripples that creep towards sonic abstraction.

It's hard to point a finger at Raman's influences, as she has her own distinct stylistic delivery, although there is a disembodied aura of classic French pop on ‘Beautiful Moon’, despite it being sung in English. The retro flavour of the late 1960s/early 70s continues with ‘Annabel’; the multiple guitars of its floating dreamscape blend acoustic and electric strings, reverb and stark close-up tones. Sometimes, Raman's voice is a touch too dominant in the mix, towering over the ensemble. Such balance rests on a fine point, as she does ultimately need to be central. The eerie mystery of ‘Sphinx’ is revealed as a gamelan blues, with Philip Glass-like chorus voices, Raman telling of ‘papyrus scripts and mobile phones,’ as the Javanese metal creates riffing hooklines. This hazy, enigmatic exotica is veiled in glowing mists.