Meeting I.M. Harjito feels like meeting an uncle that you haven’t seen for awhile.
His welcoming presence and open arms welcomed me at the Wesleyan University’s World Music Hall in Middletown, Connecticut.
It was a pleasant surprise to learn that the Gamelan studies had been practiced there since the 1970s. That’s 50 years ago, about half a century from when you’re hearing this in 2026.
In 1964 Wesleyan acquired their first Gamelan, and even around that time, I.M. Harjito has been playing the Gamelan.
Wesleyan University Javanese Gamelan in the Center for the Arts’ World Music Hall, 1975-1976. Source
The gamelan ensemble consists of multiple instruments:
Bonang, Gong, Kenong, Rebab, Saron, Gender, and many more.
As a young boy, he remembered how his mother would host Gamelan practice every night. She would take out the Grammophone and vinyls that was acquired from the nearest town, and everyone, as a community, will learn the Gending (song) and rhythmic pattern together.
“I was assigned a special duty to clean up the needle of the Grammophone, along with, of course, playing the Gamelan!” he said cheerfully, mentioning it just as if the rehearsal was last night.
An inheritance from his grandfather, the Gamelan set would rotate between his mother and his mother’s sibling every two years. “But we all live nearby; so we just walk over there and still play every night”
Although, to get the vinyl records, he needed to walk for 12 hours.
"There's no vehicle. So we walk from my house to the city, we need to walk. From the Southern Beach to Trenggalek"
This communal approach is a second nature to the Gamelan, which brings me to Kusuma Laras, a Gamelan Ensemble based in New York City.
Anne Stebinger, one of the founder, had been leading Kusuma Laras since 1984. She had organized the ensemble for 42 years through ups and downs. What you're hearing right now is their playing. She speaks fluent Bahasa, and also sings in traditional Javanese singing technique called Sinden.
Seeing the intersectionality of every member’s age, race, backgrounds, and skills, united by the love of Gamelan sounds, created a scenery in my head that maybe wars and conflicts can be replaced with musical jams so no death due to greed and ownership is ever necessary.
Who's in?
-Jimmy
ambisonic audio recorded in Manhattan, NYC
all other audio recorded in Middletown, CT
performer: I.M. Harjito, Kusuma Laras
produced by: Jimmy Lim
demo: Josefina Ugarte