Gamelan Bike Bike
Gamelan Bike Bike draws its musical inspiration from Bali, Indonesia and its raw materials from the scrap metal bins of Vancouver. Founded as a community-based project, the ensemble brings together a diverse group of artists to materialize and animate new experimental instruments. They transformed over 100 discarded bicycle frames, along with other scrap metals, into a range of tuned metallophones and gongs that form the foundation of their sound. The ensemble is dedicated to performing new music for gamelan, including compositions from guest composers I Putu Gede Sukaryana (Balot) and I Putu Swaryandana Ichi Oka from Bali. The ensemble has presented performances with the Western Front, Vancouver New Music, Vancouver Folk Music Festival, and in 2024 released Teka-Teki, an album of original works with the Indonesia-based label Insitu Recordings. Gamelan Bike Bike is currently based at the Hadden Park Fieldhouse as part of the Publik Secrets fieldhouse residency with the Vancouver Park Board and regularly offers workshops and performances to the community.
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Teka-Teki (2024)
Gamelan Bike Bike’s second release with Insitu Recordings. Since forming in 2012, the group’s creative instrument making has been driving force behind their process, inspiring original music and attracting a community of supporters who share in their DIY ethos. The five kaleidoscopic compositions on this album capture a moment in their evolution and showcase their unique contributions to contemporary gamelan music. Teka-Teki [puzzles] refers to the intricate puzzle-like nature of the resulting music as well as the challenges the composers faced assembling it. Each is a unique exploration that bridges sonic imaginaries between Bali and Vancouver