Suling

This 8-piece band consists of musicians with different musical backgrounds, but they are led by a guitarist/composer who loves progressive rock. Discus' music tends to mix prog, jazz, Indonesian pop, Gamelan, Zappa, swing, fusion, and even a bit of zeuhl to form a highly original, and diverse sound. These guys, for example, are not afraid of jumping from a progressive Gamelan section straight into something influenced by the 1940s jazz scene. The jump from style to style is fascinating, and refreshing to hear. Discus' debut CD serves as a great introduction to each of the musician's background (almost similar in concept to Yes' "Fragile"), but it isn't entirely progressive rock. The album begins and ends with two rather long prog compositions that mix Gamelan and local influences. Another track features smoking Zappa-esque fusion…

Indonesia and jazz? Not so far-fetched! Improvisation is a part of traditional gamelan, and modal playing goes back 1000 years; jazz began seriously delving into modes with Miles Davis in the 1950’s. Clarinet icon Tony Scott proselytized jazz during his six-year sojourn in Asia, and in so doing brought Asian music masters, including players on this album, into the jazz world.