Dwiki Dharmawan - 2018 - Rumah Batu

(78:15; Moonjune Records)

Track list:
1. Rintak Rebana 10:39
2. Paris Barantai 11:43
3. Impenan 8:20
4. Janger 5:59
5. Rumah Batu Suite, Part 1. Kaili 12:24
6. Rumah Batu Suite, Part 2. Perjalanan 14:14
7. Samarkand 7:40
8. Salamatkan Orang Utan 7:16

Line-up:
Dwiki Dharmawan - piano
Nguyen Le - guitars, soundscapes
Carles Benavent - bass
Yaron Stavi - bass
Asaf Sirkis - drums
with:
Sa'at Syah - flute, vocals
Ade Rudiana - percussion
Dewi Gita - vocals
Teuku Hariansya - percussion
Nyoman Windha’s Gamelan Jass Jegog - gamelan, percussion
Indra Maulana Keubitbit - percussion
Smit - vocals, flute


Prolusion.
Indonesian artist Dwiki Dharmawan has been a member and a creative force in a number of bands over the years, and he has also catered for his own solo career ever since the early parts of the 1990s. He has around a dozen albums to his name, all and sundry, with the most recent of his studio albums appearing back in 2020. "Rumah Batu" is an album that dates back to 2018, and was released by the then US based label Moonjune Records.

Analysis.
On this album, Dwiki Dharmawan's excursions strike me as having a quality that probably will have most impact among fans of jazz. This due to the jazz impulses being the most striking, dominant and recurring elements throughout this production. But as with many artists released by Moonjune Records there is a bit more to the story than just that.

Wandering piano motifs is an important part of the proceedings in these landscapes, and as Dharmawan has this as his main instrument on this production this does make a lot of sense. Melodic and harmony based motifs are provided with ease throughout, with many tasteful lead sections along the way, but with a little bit of space and room for a bit of a dramatic and theatrical free form inspired surge in one of the compositions too. The piano tends to stick to a more jazz-oriented mode of delivery throughout, with the bass and drums more often than not emphasizing this mood and mode.

But we get some vocals and quite a lot of flute at hand too, both of which have a tendency to provide details with more of a folk music and world music flavor. Tendencies that are given ample support by all instrumentalists, but also impulses that are mixed, blended and sometimes explored with contrasting elements. Hence we do get quite a few instances of world music flavored jazz, as well as jazz flavored world music along the way.

We do get some trips into the realm of jazzrock here too, of course. Most times with a few select passages that switch over to more of a jazzrock style of delivery, with the opening track 'Rintak Rebana' perhaps being the compositions where this trait is explored most in depth. As with everything else on this album, it is a creation that does feature some world music elements too.

Conclusion.
Mood, flow and atmosphere are key features of this production throughout, with inviting and compelling landscapes being the norm rather than the exception. With a word like elegant being very much appropriate to describe these different excursions. With the sole exception being a more chaotic instance of a free form jazz oriented peak developing in one of the songs. Other than on that particular song, this is a compelling blend of jazz and world music that does feature a little bit of rock music aesthetics thrown in here and there. A production to seek out by those who tend to be fascinated by world music flavored jazz albums that also include a bit of jazzrock along the way.

Olav "Progmessor" Björnsen, September 2024

Links:
https://dwikidharmawan.net/
https://moonjune.com/