Raja Kirik / Phantasmagoria of Jathilan
Album: Phantasmagoria of Jathilan   Collection:General - Electronic
Artist:Raja Kirik   Added:Oct 2023
Label:Yes No Wave  

Album Review
Diego Aguilar-Canabal
Reviewed 2023-10-31
Experimental electronic/industrial/Indonesian neo-folk. Raja Kirik’s dark, heavy percussion features various distorted instrument samples and haunting, operatic vocals. Tracks were recorded as accompaniment to experimental dance performances paying homage to the Javanese horse dance tradition Jathilan, which serves “to unite people against oppression.” For fans of Cut Hands, Muslimgauze, OOIOO; every track is excellent. FCC clean, no English lyrics.

1. (14:56) Soaring woodwinds and somber Javanese arias build slowly into a throbbing onslaught of heavy industrial beats
2. (9:42) Spastic vocal improv, hypnotic gamelan gongs, builds over 2 minutes into an acid techno club banger filtered through sultry Javanese folk and vice-versa
3. (8:50) Techno/trance beats over what sounds like a distorted Tibetan Buddhist horn or dying elephant and laughing hyenas
4. (9:15) Gamelan gongs and meditative oboe over dark industrial beats
5. (16:45) An odyssey of folk-pop fusion with heavy jungle/breakcore grooves, like Venetian Snares remixing a Javanese puppet show

Track Listing
1. ACT I. Sigra Sigra   3. ACT III. Perangan
2. ACT II. Budhal Gumuruh   4. ACT IV. Slompret Slompret
  5. ACT V. Waru Doyong