Ghost Gamelan

As part of the Melbourne International Arts Festival (MIAF), Melbourne Recital Centre (MRC) will present three of the many fine performances included on this year’s line-up.

Among them will be Ghost Gamelan. Gamelan is traditional ensemble music from Indonesia. Erik Satie, Sonic Youth, Philip Glass and Miles Davis have all shared a fascination with the genre.

British-Australian singer Susheela Raman has spent the past decade exploring the spiritual music of Asia. She and her guitarist Sam Mills will present an enthralling concert Ghost Gamelan at Melbourne Recital Centre on Saturday, October 18 at 8pm.  The resulting album of the same name is exquisite with the Financial Times in London describing it as “leaving the listener wanting more. By letting the songs breath, this album and her concert delivers precisely that.”

Sam Mills travelled to Java to transform their songs with contemporary Javanese gamelan composer Gondgrong Gunarto. Ghost Gamelan is full of ancient echoes but achieves something unique, thrilling and contemporary.  “Mesmerising” according to the Financial Times, while The Guardian (UK) labelled it as “Wildly Original.”

The other two performances that MRC will also present in association with the MIAF include Stalin’s Piano featuring pianist Sonya Lifschitz who will perform this electrifying new work conceived by Australian composer Robert Davidson. The performance will take place on October 17 at 7.30pm Elisabeth Murdoch Hall.

The other show will see the stunning Australian flautist Lina Andonovska return home after performing around the world. A name that you’ll discover on both the pages of Rolling Stone and the Australian Chamber Orchestra line up, audiences will be quick to recognise why Andonovska is a rare breed in the flute world. She will perform in the Primrose Potter Salon for one hour on October 18.

Melbournerecital.com.au