- Minimalist techno that nods to Indonesia's gamelan music.
- As a producer, Indonesia-born, Singapore-based Jonathan Kusuma typically focuses on slow, zigzagging techno with industrial and psychedelic tinges. On his new EP for Hong Kong label 宀, he goes even slower. The first track is an exercise in layered sounds that evokes the meditative tones of gamelan, the traditional music of Kusuma's motherland. There's a good minute of soft pitter-patter percussion before staccato rhythms come into play followed by the gentle vibrations of gong chimes. It's only around the three minute mark that Kusuma introduces the first sign of dance music—acid ripples—but even then, there's no major change in tempo. An array of background noises such as wind, flowing water and reverberating synths add texture but Kusuma ensures these don't interrupt the track's zen-like mood. Recreating the feel of gamelan's blended melodies using experimental electronics is no easy task but Kusuma executes it perfectly.