Space City Gamelan at TEDxHouston 2012

Space City Gamelan is a group of diverse musicians who have come together as keepers of an amazing collective of instruments known as a Gamelan. The origin is Indonesian, dating back as far as 230 AD (thank you Wikipedia) and the individual musicians are from many diverse backgrounds. We found their story to be a fascinating example that speaks true of the multicultural amalgamation that is Houston.
In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations)

[@learntaichi8980]

Thank you for loving and playing such a beautiful sound and composition of gamelan...Respect and love from West Java...

[@wina2047]

Respect and love from east java too

[@saepulpermana5378]

Wow, this is crazy, this is the first time I've seen our country's instruments being played by players from other countries. I thank this channel

[@JDSabre]

There is a group here in Buffalo, NY that has 16,000 pounds of instruments! Gamelan is taking over the world 😊

[@saepulpermana5378]

@@JDSabre amazing I'm still learning in the role of playing the gamelan

[@Mreto17]

Sebagai penabuh gamelan, saya tidak melihat mereka memainkan gamelan seperti orang jawa, tapi mereka punya bakat sendiri. Kreatifitas yang mereka racik ke dalam instrumen gamelan patut mendapatkan apresiasi. Salam Budaya

[@OmKonang]

Eto wong jowo ojo kosih ilang jowone, salam budaya rahayu

[@wahyudisuherlan2331]

Gamelan sunda... Musik mojang priangan.... Parahyangan... Rahayu...

[@zuhadmasykuri1747]

Itu ketukan ala Sunda mas .. tp di aransemen ulang .. judul lagunya mojang Priangan . Tp banyak kesamaan antara ketukan Jawa dan Sunda .. SPT tembang Kinanti gambuh pelog dandang gula dll .. dari keduanya tembang itu ada ..

[@anasrofan123]

Anggap ae campursari bosss

[@Julis9526]

Entahlah , yg saya tangkap seperti irama (?) Bali , tapi dimainkan pakai gamelan Jawa.

[@ardiashary9981]

Thank you for your interest in Gamelan, Space City guys. At least, by now we (Indonesian and especially Javanese people) knew that we still have Gamelan set somewhere in the different part of earth. So, when there is no more gamelan here we can SEE you guys playing Gamelan for us. (sing komen negatif kudune mikir, iki carane mas-mas mbak-mbak kuwi ngapresiasi senine dhewe. Malah dinyinyiri. mbok yen pinter ojo nemen-nemen, keminter kaya yak-yak o)

[@odelflynn9851]

wow as an indonesian i am so proud, the song is called Mojang Priangan.

[@rismaelang4650]

O yes 👍

[@goodnight2783]

I like it!! Cause I'm Gigi Pingky Prasetyo Javanese people from Lumajang, Jawa Timur. Gamelan is beautiful and Unix music! Thank very much for playing on the TEDx, you're smart people!!!

[@niag3233]

Amazing...always love Gamelan..

[@produksidenkos3858]

very nice, their musicality r great.. thank u

[@psychedelicpsychonaut28]

as a javanese, i appreciate your effort a lot... love and respect from me to all of you.. a good gamelan guru will make you guys play it better tho :)

[@muhidinudin4925]

thank you, every arrangement, or composer, have their own sense of art, please go on, you can mix, sundanese rhytm, java, bali, west rythm, together, up to u

[@suryasandinegara9689]

I love indonesia 💛💜💓❤💙👍👍

[@yesticherry4767]

Ha ha 😂...

[@beautifulmoon6891]

hi, i'm indonesian, thanks for Space City Gamelan for sharing our beautifull GAMELAN to the world. we appreciated of you. WONDERFULL INDONESIA, WONDERFULL WORLD.

[@differentanimal]

I recommend listening to actual gamelan music.

[@user-ix6fx1di3v]

Amazing, the Sundanese Gamelan always can be adapted in Diatonic Scale and Modern touch. It's the reason why Sundanese Music loved by everybody and foreigners. I am sure they can play the classic Numbers in slow beat as they presented on This Video. Bravo for all of you.

[@myltoxez1390]

I love this music so it sounds so good I love it it sounds amazing

[@KatjaErtel]

Very nice comment

[@philippzeiler4995]

.

[@ak2tine]

Kagum dan salut ama mereka yg mau lebih. membudayakan alat traditional gamelan, sedangkan org kita sndiri blm mau yach..... Great work

[@appranayuda]

Physically this is gamelan, but not the original one. The original one using unique pentatonic scales such as pelog, salendro, and madenda. The gamelan shown here is using standard diatonic scale. It sounds like gamelan, but doesn't feel like gamelan.

[@Gt-Wind]

Hmmm .. I am sorry Ade I have to say that your statement is 100% wrong!! you are talking about pentatonic scale also it's not only pelog, salendro, madenda but there is mataraman, pelog degung, etc ( you knew it aren't you ), so please do not mixed between pelog as a tone scale with the term of gamelan pelog.. it totally different, this gamelan is Pelog in Degung range, you know that "javanese gamelan pelog" has 7 tones ! if you scale from hi to low its gone be like 5+(Leu), 1(Da), 2(Mi), 3-(Ni), 3 (Na), 4 (Ti), 5 (La) Sunda, 1(Ji), 2(Ro), 3(Lu), 4(Pat), 5(Mo), 6(Nem), 7(Pi) Jawa ( Tengah & Timur) (mohon maaf tuk seniman Jawa apabila ada kesalahan ejaan), so please be careful to gave a statement, please visit my you tube page " gatot winandar" to have more chatting with me. peace!!

[@appranayuda]

Hello Gatot, thank you for the correction! Something I want to explain here: - I'm a sundanese, and I'm not an artist nor musician, just love to play music. That's why I don't have so much knowledge about javenese gamelan, that's just what I learned in my Sundanese culture. So I accept the correction and it will be better if you're not judging me "100% wrong" :) - Those guys in this video plays "Mojang Priangan" in the beginning, which makes me automatically assume that they are trying to plays sundanese gamelan. - This kind of gamelan is also popular nowadays in sundanese (which has full 7 notes per octave, do re mi lah ya), but It's more like "contemporary" or "modernized" gamelan, giving more freedom to the composer and players to be more creative. Because the original traditional one is really strict with much rules.. (as far as I know, again, I'm not an artist or a professional musician, so I'm sorry for any mistakes here :)

[@zaenalasnari2329]

+gatot winandar wih hebat gamelan jawa mendunis

[@tananansad]

Patrick McLoughlin lmao no it doesn't, it just sounds diatonic. malaysian schools use diatonic gamelan and never have i ever thought of it as "white" :/ if anything, it sounds like foreigners are appreciating nusantaran music more than nusantaran themselves. grow up

[@parishutapeas]

thanks for enjoying playing gamelan, from Jogja, Indonesia :')

[@bayuww1417]

Eventhough not complete, this is fascinating

[@PEJALTAPAIMEYDIE]

terbaikkkk ah...korang buat aku suka dengan alat musik ni..

[@InspiirAnimar]

Thank you, I love this video.. ❤

[@sriyantahadi959]

That is gamelan from Central Java Indonesia, but that gamelan is not the complete set. But I do appreciate people who play the gamelan and off course the composer. I am Javanese and in my family my mom is one of percussion called 'kendang' in Javanese and Indonesian language. Thank you for posting.

[@sandyatmaja7276]

No, this piece is not from Central Java but from West Java, the song is mojang priangan, a Sundanese song.

[@fujiwaramisaki5244]

As a gamelan player , I'm proud of u guys :D

[@ami6996]

Fujiwara Misaki mengapa harus bangga...mereka maling nih...enak enaknya mencuri budaya kita..harus di laporan sama kedutaan nih

[@danditification]

kamu sehat?????? apa cuma karna mereka memainkan musik gamelan lantas kau sebut maling? harusnya kita bangga karna ada bangsa lain yg begitu menghargai budaya kita. Bahkan divideo mereka menyebut gamelan berasal dari Indonesia.

[@Usahadulu]

+hang tuah GOBLOK... KEBANGETAN

[@imedrick4213]

hang tuah typical indonesian

[@imedrick4213]

hang tuah yall stole our culture a lot

[@ramasyahrulromadhon5972]

This so beautyful

[@Composeyourselfcare]

Psychotropic jungle lullaby 🥹😂😍 I love Gamelan music! Thank you for sharing more info about the art form after your performance.

[@yayisuryatin]

very good, with etnic sunda-jawa-bali, ....something interesting for me..

[@NBNchanel]

WOW amazing beautiful piece of art im goosebum.. thank you for playing gamelan :)

[@indonesiabagus]

Amazing.. !! Good job my friend.. weldone ..!!! Nice video my friend 👍👍

[@triokuntoadi6353]

really ....so ..amazing...

[@hanzalee3818]

I love it... Terima kasih banyak untuk dedikasinya ^^ Love from Indonesia!

[@abufathi75]

the 1st song is: Mojang Priangan (Priangan girl).. nice and attractive performance.. beautiful

[@wiwitsuryani5531]

I like the way they enjoy the music of the gamelan . Thanks so much ...

[@Blockistium]

based on the other comments i can't tell whether or not this is sarcasm

[@argababy]

Mendengarkan musik tradisional sepwrti gamelan ini seperti terkena sihir. Manakjibkan seakan dibawa kealam bawah sadar

[@budiwaluyo4480]

Sangat bagus sekali , terimakasih banyak

[@worldfamily5379]

Thanks ....my world family

[@Bimo552]

her hand is screaming "IM NERVOUS, GET ME OUTTA HERE" but her face is like "i can do this, im awesome"

[@BambangCahyonoMaudyDwiCahyani]

Woooow...amazing....❤

[@BambangCahyonoMaudyDwiCahyani]

Wow.,..wow.... ..gamelan iki nggo nyedake awak nang sing kuoso nggawe urip iku sing diajarne sunan kalijogo....ono ning uni nong luwih dicedake neh malah disampekne iku ajarane syeh siti jenar....dadi nek mulai ning mulai zikiran sampai ketujuan nong....makane wong sak ndonyo iki akeh sing seneng soale ancen langitan gamelan kuwi....

[@mnaimhabib2770]

this is gamelan as music instrument, good

[@satyananda4389]

Nice, New compotition of gamelan💪,

[@herys6540]

2019, Nice performance, Wonderful Indonesia

[@pmfnr]

This seems more like my toddler playing on his xylophone than the complex harmonics involved in traditional gamelan music, the sort of which had a massive influence on composers such as Debussy, Satie, and Ravel. Also, the tuning of the instruments is too precise, which robs the music of an important part of its ethereal quality.

[@jka7814]

+pmfnr this x1000000000000000.....

[@RichardASalisbury1]

Not to mention Colin McPhee (Canadian) and Benjamin Britten.

[@esterhammerfic]

I think that's an overly critical comment. The performance is too good to go comparing it to a toddler on a xylophone. That's mean spirited. The tuning does seem closer to diatonic though, I think you're right about that, I wonder what the origin of this set is. Really, gamelan didn't have a massive influence on Debussy, Satie, or Ravel. It had very little influence, which gets very overstated. They saw one Javanese gamelan performance and thought it was great, but their music before and after was pretty much the same. That story gets told a million times whenever someone prints a program to a gamelan concert... McPhee and Glass are better examples of gamelan influencing Western music, they studied it very consciously and applied lessons to their own music

[@pmfnr]

@@esterhammerfic Even taking away the microtonality that is central to Balinese and Javanese gamelan music, this is nowhere near the level of something like American Gamelan by Lou Harrison. But as mentioned, you're better off listening to McPhee, who spent years living in Bali with his anthropologist wife. It's well-documented, though, that Ravel and other members of "Les Apaches" frequently discussed and explored gamelan music. Ma Mère L'oye shows the influence quite explicitly, particularly on Laideronnette, Empress of the Pagodas, but you could also hear it in places like the pizzicato of his String Quartet in F Major. When you put this performance in the context of this history of "Orientalism," it simply sounds childish. And when you compare it to actual gamelan performances, it doesn't even dilute the sense of appropriation and exoticism of the Impressionists with at least the same seriousness of purpose.

[@esterhammerfic]

@@pmfnr I think there's issues that are valid that you mention but I also think you're being overly critical of this particular performance. Gamelan players from Java and Bali don't have this kind of protectionism, they're almost always happy when their music is shared abroad. It's never going to have the same nuances because the American performers didn't grow up in that intensive culture. As for the performance in the video, it seems to take American and Latin influences. Nothing wrong with that. That leads to less shifting tempos but a stronger backbeat, a little like Sundanese gamelan. As for Les Apaches, they met from about 1903 until 1910 as far as I've read. I don't think there were any recordings available in the west until about ten years after that, so if the idea is that they just kept analysing from memory a single performance in 1889, I don't know if that's very realistic. Regarding Ravel's String Quartet, when Ravel saw the Paris Exposition performance, he was only 14. And he didn't write that string quartet until 13 years later... so maybe it had an influence, or maybe he was being influenced by the hemiolas of gregorian chant and the plucked guitars of spanish music. No way to tell, and I haven't seen any account of him mentioning gamelan as an influence himself.

[@damarpanuluh3418]

amazing..

[@Jenniferspartner]

Great gamelan sound... Was that a cajon drum and other western percussion in the rhythm section as well? What great complimentry sounds.

[@Composeyourselfcare]

I saw a djembe, and definitely hear cajon. It’s interesting to hear a mix of east meets west in this.

[@pytheus]

This is awesome! Tank you for sharing!! Chuck is a star!

[@brainandatalydeppaalirahma4786]

when between traditional one and modern one meet, here's one of the result; I know traditional one must be keep for eternity, but how can you not made a branch from the root? and create a new genre out of there? I'm more ashamed as Javanese, if they alone will create a new style to play Gamelan before us as native Javanese or even Indonesian; because, even in a certain country has also traditional modern one without neglecting the traditional one; Proud of you guys!!

[@Nikotile]

Actually, a lot of people in Java still listen to and play gamelan.

[@esterhammerfic]

@@Nikotile I think Brainanda is expressing frustration at the lack of innovation in Java pushing the genre forward. Sometimes gamelan is treated as something to do only in the traditional way.

[@Nikotile]

@@esterhammerfic I see. It was my bad. If it's regarding the lack of innovation, I have to agree as well

[@sarahzue899]

Keren ya.. thanks to all player 👍👍👍

[@pujijaya3779]

Iki alate gamelan. Ning nganggo tanda nada dan cara main variasine dewe. Lumayan,, apik..

[@AlamsyahBermanno]

Wow... great...!!!

[@cgjavanezia8335]

This is the keywords for anybody who want to search in internet to listen some javanesse musics: langgam jawa, gendhing jawa, campursari, gamelan, karawitan, keroncong, pagelaran wayang kulit, dangdut, or may be anybody want to add more?

[@terbukabaru2199]

it is very wonderfull, like 100%

[@kushermawan5571]

Amazing

[@puguhsantoso8646]

Wow....amazing..👍👍👍

[@jooyee91]

Can I use the material from your video for documentary that I made for assignment purpose? This is a non commercial project.

[@raragaga2983]

amazing

[@trimomundur119]

very nice instrumental..

[@hanydian940]

good job! nice..

[@arjunahideung250]

Thnk you i love to music gambelan west java is beatuful..👌👍👍👍💖

[@TheWalangsangit]

original heavy metal..love it

[@akumakumakuma1]

More like progressive rock

[@adielistyo1]

Saya sangat apresiasi

[@nengivha1703]

sumpah merinding gue liat n dnger.ny......ampek netesin aer mata. profesional bgt mski wrga negara asing main.ny........ salut skaligus bangga gue jd org indonesia n mski yg gue bisa cm maen kendang n kenong kempul ajh.

[@yuliyanto871]

kita harus bangga jadi bangsa indonesia. terutama Jawa... kondang to

[@mabadrie4298]

Kita harus berterima kasih kepada mereka di barat yang berminat dalam seni musik Gamelan. Memang benar ia jauh dari yang aslinya, tetapi mereka bukan orang Jawa atau Bali. Juga harus di terima saja komen yang negatif dari mereka yang mungkin buta huruf musik timur atau sudah pasti dengan sifat prejudis.

[@RizalBudiLeksono]

I think this gamelan lost it roots. The sets of the gamelan is Javanese, but played as Sundanese. I don't know what scale that used in the performance, but I think it was standardized nearly to western scale, not both of Sundanese or Javanese.

[@substatikvideos]

That because is not a classic gamelan but a evolution of it. And in my opinion it doesn't sounds bad. It is pretty awesome.

[@etunyunyu]

No problem. Gini mas, kaya musik2 barat (kaya lagu pop, metal, reggae dll) itupun sebenernya musik tradisionalnya orang barat, tapi seluruh dunia memainkan dengan caranya masing2. Namanya inovasi, bukan berarti meninggalkan akar.

[@RizalBudiLeksono]

@@etunyunyu Mereka juga punya musik tradisional. Sementara pop, metal, dan sebagainya juga merupakan hal yang baru.

[@kasrinkasrin4702]

taiwan hadir. keren pa le mbak le trs semangat trima kasih.😍😍😍

[@herisgames2866]

Istimewa...

[@suriptomanukerto6273]

bagus sekali kekompakanya.... ship lanjutkan, agar lebih fasih dalambermain gamelan..he,he.

[@supriyantocico6018]

Excellent 🙏👍

[@qiforrunia9810]

Saya bangga banget jadi orang Jawa.... I LOVE JAWA

[@rizaljolle678]

awesome

[@yaniani8110]

Woow,,,amazing,,,,

[@ajaypoetraseobang9291]

Mojang priangan

[@herroeza8911]

Iya , .betul budaya gameullan kita di ibaratkan seperti pohon tercabut dari akarnya,.sallam seni budaya sunda..

[@videokliktv8600]

Very nice

[@soehsoehsoeh]

Wow..cool

[@SaipulIpul-zj1eh]

terimaksihhh

[@ichsanhanis7859]

Bravo...

[@zona9tv414]

Yoi bro

[@mamonpret]

secara karakter memang beda banget dengan musik gamelan yang dimainkan org Jawa. ga usah jauh2x org bule, afrika, arab, atua latin mislanya. org Batak main musik gamelan pun pasti ada terasa beda dibandingkan kalo dimainkan oleh org Jawa. lain juga rasanya didengar kalo dimainkan orang Dayak, org Papua, org Maluku. ga beda seperti misalnya kita org asia main musik metal, jazz, blues, orkestra. tentu ada karakter yg terasa beda. disinilah indahnya perbedaan, karena disitulah yg memperkaya budaya dunia. mari saling menghargai pertukaran budaya seperti ini. saya orang Jawa bangga dgn adanya penampilan seperti ini

[@apokilahas407]

Wow !!! Uenak e suarane rek...

[@aznierahim]

i think a culture needs to be appropriated for the sake of its own longevity. However, Malaysian has gamelan too. It's more appropriate to call it a Nusantara music. Good work, guys.

[@Lundy.Fastnet.Irish_Sea]

There are different varieties of Gamelan. It's better to identify them to be specific, because each of them is different. Balinese gamelan, Javanese gamelan, Sundanese gamelan, Surakartan gamelan, etc. I'm sure Malaysia also has unique varieties. Calling them all Nusantara is too broad.

[@learntaichi8980]

Definitely agree 🙏

[@bungachetahanastasia1400]

mas bro, mba sist! kalian keren bangett 👍👍👍

[@arjunasastrabahu7751]

Its West Java Gamelan, and song Mojang Priangan

[@2000mrhir]

Ingin lebih? Buka youtube saya (dwija laras SMPN 6 Kediri). Lebih dari 70 video berisi gending-gending mulai dari yang sederhana semacam lancaran dan langgam hingga yang sulit sperti palaran, ladrang, ketawang dan jineman lengkap dengan vokal dari para sinden, dimainkan langsung oleh anak-anak seusia SMP. Beberapa merupakan proses penggarapan iringan tari (tari Gladen, tari Karonsih, dsb) dan wayang kulit. Semua merupakan permainan gamelan secara langsung/live, baik di sanggar ataupun ditempat-tampat lain saat tampil/lomba. Selamat menikmati.

[@alibabaganteng2263]

Moh. Tohir luar biasa

[@zuhadmasykuri1747]

Siap mas .. ini ketukan gamelan versi Sunda dengan judul mojang Priangan ..

[@edgeofugly]

Ko cakap bahasa indo, orang bulek tak faham la haha

[@adiputraofficial3013]

Nuwun sewu..nderek mirsani nggeh pak..

[@Tstore1574]

Saya selaku wong jowo asli Jawa timur, sangat terharu 😢😢.

[@aguspujobroto7205]

Try play metropolis 1 of dream theathre with gamelan....will be interesting😁

[@dondofko]

sae pisan euyy

[@yayisuryatin]

ooh...flute with jazzzzzzz....okay..okay..!

[@bigdaddy1833]

traditional vs modern composer.. why not.. good luck brader

[@nisrinakhoirunnisa7808]

you guys did it well!!!

[@oscarmilne9078]

nissa nisrina the music was great

[@ami6996]

maling...mereka maling...mencuri budaya indonesia!!!dasar maling

[@madut5217]

gila keren bangeeeeeetttt...

[@Rose-km9fd]

Wow Amaz

[@kubricanmani2981]

Mojang priangan, ingt dlu wktu jdi marching band suka bawain lgu ini

[@kosongdelapan1932]

Nice

[@bbrosseau]

Mantap!

[@azzisarswendo6919]

saya sedih banget, saya sebagai pemuda indonesia tidak bisa memainkan gamelan, saya bisa memainkan gamelan hanya pada waktu saya masih duduk dibangku SD.. malah orang luar yang memainkan dan mengembangkan gamelan, saya malu.. saya tidak mau kalah dari orang orang yang ada di video, dan saya juga suatu saat akan bisa lebih dari orang orang yang ada di video.. i love nusantara..

[@Gt-Wind]

Mantabsss!! that what i am talking about .. the spirit of Indonesian youth..!

[@apokilahas407]

Podo mas... aku yo sedih

[@hamsterhitam4432]

Azzis Arswendo Podo mas,,, Aku yo isin... T_T" Buapak ku tiap malem senin dan rabu selalu rutin main gamelan sama kelompoknya, tp kenapa cuma buapak-buapak yg minat? Ada apa dengan ku? wong jowo ra mudheng jawane...

[@caturilham3430]

Bagus, Apik, Cakep, Nice, Liánghǎo, Yoidesu, Khorosho, Khayr, Apa maning kae lah, akeh banget......

[@bambangirawan8239]

ohh great tenan......................................

[@blueguys2431]

konfigurasi multi sound .. nan elok Indonesia tanah air pusaka tercinta ....

[@saifularif659]

baguss.. apikk..

[@syaripudinaziz5680]

Urang ge urang sunda ..te bisa nakol gong2 acan....suling ker letik di ajar...sekarang poho dei....👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻🇮🇩🇮🇩🇮🇩🇮🇩🇮🇩🇮🇩❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤TERBAIK👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

[@sinyokiki6949]

cool