Contemporary Music in Indonesia

Contemporary Music in Indonesia: New Voices from the Archipelago provides insights into the evolution of Indonesian contemporary music in the 2000s. This comprehensive collection examines how gamelan, noise scenes, and experimental composition have transformed within Indonesia's diverse cultural landscape. The volume features seven scholarly articles exploring key developments across the archipelago. Essays analyse the Yogyakarta music network, document the Indonesian noise scene's evolution, examine Papuan musical transformation, investigate new gamelan composition methods, timbre exploration in contemporary gamelan music, study innovative instrument creation, and highlight women composers' contributions during the pandemic era. Each chapter combines socio-historical overview with detailed musical examination, revealing how Indonesian musicians navigate between tradition and innovation. Essential reading for scholars and researchers of contemporary music, Southeast Asian studies, music composition, ethnomusicology, contemporary composition, and cultural studies, this book will also provide valuable insights to musicians and cultural practitioners interested in Indonesian musical innovation. The essays in this volume were originally published as a special issue of Contemporary Music Review.

Septian Dwi Cahyo is an Indonesian composer whose works have been performed by international ensembles including Orkest de Ereprijs, Spóldzielnia Muzyczna, Mondrian Ensemble, and Talea Ensemble. He has also served as a guest editor for the journal Contemporary Music Review.

Introduction: 'Newness' Reconsidered: Reflections on New Music from Indonesia 1. New Music Activity in Yogyakarta, Indonesia 2000-2020 (History and Network) 2. Digging Through the Network of the Indonesian Noise Scene 3. Voicing Papua: The Resonance of Rituals 4. Searching for the Unusual: New Methods of Composing for Gamelan 5. Tradition in Suspension: Timbre in Contemporary Gamelan Compositions 6. The Role of New Instruments in the Musical Works of Composers/Sound Artists in Indonesia 7. Becoming Women Composers in Contemporary Indonesia: Music and Collective in the Pandemic Era