Experiences are coming day by day here in Sumatra. Andy (Photographer) arrived last Thursday.

 The first group that we worked with was an all women Talempong group. They play a family style – that is to say the rhythms are passed down through a line of people and that is the music they play – where a group is 6 people on Talempong and one on drum.

 They play hand held Talempong and a double ended drum. The eldest member and leader of the group was 78 and very sharp indeed. She is the holder of the music and all the other members - with an average age of about 55 - have been her students since they were schoolgirls.

 The music was really tight the intricately woven together. Each part was quite minimal with 1-2 talempong per person. A larger gong like talempong called ‘canang’ was used as a bass. The women were excited for the visit and got me to join in on some of their pieces. After being satisfied that I could pick up quickly enough, they took great joy in giving me some trickier bits and all laughed heartily as I stumbled through the crash course. It was heaps of fun for all of us.

 Another night we were in a village area where the roads were small and used more by walkers and animals than cars. It was a hilly region and the road wound through layers of rice paddies, dotted with palm trees and the odd water buffalo.  

With directions to a ‘Dikia Rebano rehearsal - Islamic style of musical prayer and drumming - we found ourselves clambering down slippery dirt stairs in the dark, following the distant drone of frame drums and men singing. We could barely see a thing, the grass was long, the tree's more apparent than path but the sound was getting louder. We came to the place but still couldn’t see any lights or people.

 Eventually we found the stairs up into the bamboo abode and made our way up into a totally foreign world of the ‘Dikia Rebano’. On entry it was a large group of men on the floor wearing mainly sarongs and old clothing. The oldest were leading the youngest in Islamic chants accompanied by large frame drums. It was done in a dimly lit bamboo bungalow come house and was very much a scene from the past.

 The drumming was simple but hypnotic and the singing tones remarkably abrasive though the hospitality warm. When they stopped playing hot water and 3 drums were brought out for Andy, Admiral and myself to drink and join in. We were honored for the invitation.

 They play 6 nights a week and when invited to perform it is from 9pm till 4am non-stop……………..

 Hope all is cool in Oz.

 Cheers, Rendra.

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