Unlike many artists who attach themselves to a particular ethnic sound, Loren Nerell has actually spent time in other lands, learning other musical cultures first-hand, specifically Gamelan (pronounced Gah-Meh-Lahn) music of Indonesia. Created with an arsenal of exotic instruments and field recordings from Java and Bali, lilin dewa immerses the listener in an exotic soundworld.
Galungan, which manifests itself as discordant, repeating drone/tones may prove too much for some listeners... On the other hand, the 20-minute-long Hiasan (Ornamental) takes a particularly minimal/ambient route via usage of the soft, bell-like tones of thekempuls (small knobbed gongs generally used only as musical punctuation). Borobudur 4 AM includes atmospheric Javanese ambience (roosters, crickets, distant ceremonial wailing) as a backdrop for its hazily droning musical stirrings. For me though, the standout track is Bamboo, Iron, Resin, Bronze, a lively, yet somewhat eerie, tune titled after the four primary elements of gamelan instruments.
