The soundscapes and musical worlds of Indonesia are very diverse, if only because of the size of the island nation. As an archipelago consisting of more than 17,000 islands, Indonesia is the fourth most populous nation in the world with hundreds of ethnic groups and great cultural diversity. This project aims to introduce traditional Indonesian music in Germany, especially in the federal state of Thuringia.

Under the title “The Sound of Indonesian String”, four Indonesian musicians will present their string instruments in Thuringia. Dijtron Koriyon Pah and Jeagril Pah present the bamboo tube zither Sasando. The sasando comes from the east of the archipelago and is used in both traditional and pop-cultural contexts. Musicians Dadan Budiana and Endang Sukandar, on the other hand, present the Tembang Sunda genre from West Java. This courtly singing style is always accompanied by the zither kacapi and the bamboo flute suling. Each performance will not only provide the opportunity to experience the traditional musical instrument live, but will also provide knowledge about the historical and social context of the musical instrument for each ethnic group from which the instrument originates.

The project was initiated by the Indonesian cultural working group of KuKo e.V. and supported by the Indonesian Ministry of Culture and Education.