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Dewa Budjana: A noble, surprising karma
Night of music: Guitarist Dewa Budjana performs during the recent launch of his Hasta Karma album in Jakarta
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Night of music: Guitarist Dewa Budjana performs during the recent launch of his Hasta Karma album in Jakarta. - JP/Awo
Media and music critics at home and abroad have labeled him a guitar virtuoso, jazz guitarist, rock and even fusion guitarist, but Dewa Budjana pushes it all aside.
'I'm simply a guitarist,' Budjana said humbly.
The character of this Balinese musician might have helped prolong his stay in the industry over a few decades, as he sees his productivity in releasing solo albums every other year over the course of 15 years as merely a job.
'I don't think much about the music I make and am always as surprised as other musicians I have collaborated with once we play to record it. I guess my music comes from my blood,' said the lead guitarist and songwriter of famous pop rock band Gigi.
His musical proficiency must have come from a very pretty place that could impress the musical heroes he has collaborated with on his last four albums produced by New York-based MoonJune records for international release.
The recently released Hasta Karma has so far been the epitome of his life story and musical journey, a happy splice of the sounds of his roots and world music.
'Hasta means eight and karma means deed. The album title means that it is my eight works in this present life, or it could be seen as the eighth gift from my deeds in past lives,' he said during the recent album launch in Jakarta.
Either way, the album and the artist deserved a five-page review in Guitar Player Magazine and were included in the most prestigious jazz reviewer Downbeat's Editor's Pick.
'I'm weak at [playing on] rhythm, so I need help on that area ['¦] preferably from the best in the industry.'
Most-sought after American vibraphonist Joe Locke and Pat Metheny Unity Group's rhythm core acoustic bassist Ben Williams and drummer Antonio Sanchez lent their skills to the album.
Sanchez contributed to the score of Oscar-winner Birdman.
Hasta Karma was recorded at Kaleidoscope Sound Studios in New Jersey over about 10 hours in a single day in January last year.
The mixing took place at Ravenswork Studio in Los Angeles in the middle of that year.
Long-time friend, jazz keyboardist Indra Lesmana honed the arrangements of half of the album afterwards in Jakarta, giving a sleek common thread to the seams.
'The writing and production of the album took less than a month. I sent them the sheet music ahead of time, so when I arrived in New York we jammed for the recording,' said Budjana. 'And I was as surprised as them with the result.'
Budjana, a light sleeper who can only imagine the sound of his music as he writes it, mostly during flights, without having his guitar alongside him, found that his collaborators not only drove his tunes with finesse but also gave them new life.
'In Gigi, we put our heads together to make the music, so we had an idea on what to expect. But making my solo albums, I am always surprised, which I perceive as both new lessons and presents for me.'
For his previous solo albums, Budjana worked with world-celebrated drummers Peter Erskine, Vinnie Colaiuta, Chad Wackerman, Jack DeJohnette and Gary Husband.
Born I Dewa Gede Budjana on August 30, 1963, in Waikabubak, West Sumba, East Nusa Tenggara province, the father of two learned to play guitar from a construction worker and stole money from his grandmother to buy a guitar.
Although he briefly took a classical music score and learned to read musical notes while at school, Budjana is a self-taught musician who listens to all musical genres to shape his musical sensibility.
The six compositions in Hasta Karma profoundly depict Budjana's 'cosmopolitan' music.
'Saniscara' means Saturday ' the day Budjana always took a trip out of town ' and serves as a sharp opener that takes listeners on to the mythical 'Desember' (December) ' around the time he was in the mood to compose the album.
The next track, titled 'Jayaprana', was inspired by a Balinese folk tale, justifying the gamelan rhythm wedded to Locke's vibraphone.
'Ruang Dialisis' (Dialysis Room) was revived from Budjana's solo debut Nusa Damai in 1997 and was given a more ethereal touch emphasizing the traditional funeral song chanted by his late grandmother Jro Ktut Sidemen. The original composition was written at the time Budjana's late father was on dialysis.
In 'Ruang', Indra lent his electric piano for a strong end to the track, while in the groovy 'Just Kidung' ' a pun, as kidung means song in Indonesian ' his acoustic piano makes it powerful and delicate in turns.
'Payogan Rain' wraps up the album with Budjana taking to the fore, and although he has often said he is not a ripper, the power of the strumming is not from the wattage.
'I never think of bringing something new to the table every time I produce an album. I just think about how to keep playing my music,' said Budjana, who just finished recording in New York in January for his next two albums.
Other than putting his music out to the world, Budjana is also on a mission to open a museum of guitars in Ubud, Bali, where he plans to display his own 200 or so guitars, as well as those donated by fellow musicians such as the late Chrisye, dangdut king Rhoma Irama, Baron and Eross Chandra.
The museum would also exhibit the autographed instruments of international musicians, including Michael Landau, Ron 'Bumblefoot' Thal, Scott Henderson, Mike Stern, Dweezil Zappa, Guthrie Govan, Pat Metheny, Steve Lukather, Bill Frisell, Allan Holdsworth, Robby Krieger, Michael Angelo Batio, Steve Vai and John Frusciante.
