Dalang Ki Suparman - Semar Murca
I found this other tape along with the Khusus Tabuh Joged tape (which has already been posted) at a local thrift store. This one is more of a mystery to me than the other tape. The recording is of a conversation or storytelling or both (I'm not sure which since Indonesian is the only language spoken on this tape.) interspersed with musical performances by gamelan. No liner notes are included. Does anyone know anything about the label Gong who released this tape? Hopefully, more information and background of this recording's contents will be brought to light.
Note: While the time of tracks on both sides are the same, the contents of sides 1 and 2 are different.
Tracklisting:
Side 1
1. Semar Murca side 1 {28:54}
Side 2
1. Semar Murca side 2 {28:54}
(1)
The music sounds like it is of Java. That's my educational guess.
ReplyDeleteI haven't listened to it, but I'd guess it's a story from a shadow puppet play (Wayang Kulit).
ReplyDeleteThe "Dalang" mentioned in the title .. that's a title given to an expert puppeteer in Java or Bali.
As Dan already mentioned, its a Wayang Kulit play from Central Java.The puppeteer is Ki Suparman who comes from Bantul, near Yogyakarta.The story is about Semar, one of the five Pendawas and quite a popular figure in Indonesia.(The guy on the cover). He is actually a god in human form who always acts very silly,makes even dirty jokes etc.but posseses a lot of wisdom and always hits the point.Murca is the name of a candi (small Hindu temple) where the story takes place.The language is of course not Indonesian but Javanese,partly also Bahasa Kawi (ancient Javanese)which is a bit similar to Sanskrit. ( The Mahabarata was introduced to Indonesia from Indian Hindus during the Sriwidyaya kingdom,but Semar and the five Pendawas is a typical indonesian invention, doesn`t exist in India) Hope this info was a bit helpful...By the way,I would be very grateful for more uploads of indonesian music, especially Degung Sunda music from West Java, its such a lovely music...
ReplyDeletecheers,
You prompted me to look around for more info about Aneka Records the other day and I didn't find much, though Aneka Records is represented on Facebook, though no one has answered my friend request : (
ReplyDeleteAnywho, I did see a brief mention in an academic article stating that Gong and Aneka were the two big cassette distributors in the 1980's and 1990's. I'll keep my eyes out for more info. Maybe MADROTTER could be of help?
BTW I envy your thrift store experience, thanks for sharing!
One other thing, my understanding is that cassettes are still considered a superior format to buy recordings of, and are considered in no way inferior to cd's in Indonesia. I could be wrong about this and/or opinions could have changed, but that is what a couple of Indonesian friends had told me.
ReplyDeleteBTW I'll take Santai's request and post some Degung Sunda music soon. Cheers!
@vaubu
ReplyDeleteThat'll be great !!Looking forward to it..Have you got also some Kecapi Suling music ? You are actually quite right that cassettes are still popular in Indonesia,but the main reason is the price; they cost about 30 cts a piece and are so affordable for a lot of people.
BTW The above posted cassette is only Volume 5 of a whole set of cassettes.A Wayang Kulit play goes on all night,so the copmplete set should consist of around 8-9 cassettes.Maybe you're lucky and your local thrift shop has got the rest stacked somewhere....
To all a nice weekend !!
Thanks so much for your eclectic postings. Any other Gamelan or Gong based music would be very appreciated.
ReplyDelete@santai
ReplyDeleteBTW The above posted cassette is only Volume 5 of a whole set of cassettes.A Wayang Kulit play goes on all night,so the copmplete set should consist of around 8-9 cassettes.Maybe you're lucky and your local thrift shop has got the rest stacked somewhere....
Wow! This thrift store is over an hour's drive away from where I live. It will be a few days before I can go back. I bought that tape and the other one about a few weeks ago. I hope the rest of them are there although the chances of those other tapes being there are very slim.
Thanks for all of the knowledge you've provided. It was very helpful, more so than the many sites Google retrieved.
@vaubu
ReplyDeleteIt's nice to know that cassettes are still appreciated somewhere today. I grew up with listening to cassettes, more so than the vinyl record and the CD. I eventually started to reluctantly listen to CDs at the beginning of the 1990s (although more expensive), but I still have a fondness for cassettes.
A while back, there was a small conversation between two employees at one of the Salvation Army thrift stores I frequent (this was not the same store where I bought this cassette and the Aneka cassette). They were both putting stuff out on the floor. One of them came upon a pile of cassettes, stunned that such things still exist and he asked, "Do people still listen to tapes?"
The other employee said something like, "Yeah. There are people who buy tapes. Unbelievable, huh."
At the time, I had a few tapes in my hand. I was thinking "Yes, there are people who still listen to tapes."
I remembered picking up a couple of more tapes. Among the pile of tapes I had were the Ken Nordine albums I posted recently and a tape of Chinese music on the Everest label. I went to pay for my tapes at the register and the other employee was there. She had a bewildered look on her face during the transaction. I paid 49 cents plus tax for each tape. I got a great deal, of course, except for the fact that unfortunately the Chinese music tape got stuck after half a minute of playing. I couldn't get the tape to play anymore.
I know- the size of the cassette package is magical. I too am of the generation of cassettes (even cassingles). And of course cassettes are recordable. O' the hours spent making mixes, rewinding, pulling the cassette out, cranking it an extra sixth of an inch to get the segue just so. I'm just starting to take part in a mix-tape trading project and I chose to do it in CD format instead, and now you got me thinking otherwise. I admire your ease at posting anything analog. I've got some rare cassettes that I've been meaning to post but I never trust my ears when I'm importing them into digital. It's foolish of me really. Ugh. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and anecdotes Calyx Grey.
ReplyDeletere cassingles: I remember those too. I couldn't really bring myself to buy those as I thought albums (with more songs) were a better deal as they cost only a few more dollars.
ReplyDeletere mix tapes: I can't say there is anything wrong with doing mix tapes in CD format. I've done mix CDs myself. But if you did reconsider, I think that you're doing it the right way. ;)
Here's an update pertaining to this post: I went back to that thrift store last Friday. There were no other tapes in the Wayang Kulit set. There were no Indonesian tapes there at all. I do not know if someone else bought any other tapes or the thrift store did not have these other tapes. I believe the latter is more likely. The only thing I found that is remotely interesting is an LP explaining wine. I may post it on my other blog. Otherwise, there was not anything worthwhile in that thrift store.
I am glad to know someone is enjoying my thoughts and anecdotes.
By geesh, this is absolutely superb. Closet strikes again, thank you!
ReplyDeletemerci
ReplyDelete