A creative and at times meditation-like, this is an ethereal fusion of Balinese, Javanese, and Indonesian vocals with jazz and new acoustic guitar styles.

9 MP3 Songs
WORLD: Asian- Southeast, NEW AGE: Ethnic Fusion

Show all album songs: Asmarandana Songs


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Asmarandana

Emiko Susilo â Vocals
Rob Levit â Guitars and percussion


Asmarandana is a form of Javanese macapat, a traditional poetic form that is sung rather than recited. Macapat were used to tell stories before prose became more widely used. There are several possible interpretations of the word âasmarandanaâ. The word âasmaraâ means passion or love. âDanaâ can be interpreted as the abbreviation of the word âdahanaâ which means âfireâ or âdanaâ can also mean âto giveâ or âvalue/priceâ. Thus Asmarandana can be interpreted to mean âThe fire of passionâ, âThe price of loveâ or âTo give love.â Whatever the interpretation of the word âasmarandanaâ, when sung this form of macapat is full of tenderness and often longing or deep sadness.

UCLA Summer 2006 â A lonely time in my life but a time of immense spiritual and artistic growth because of my friendships and work with Emiko Susilo, Leonard Cruz, Greg Acker and the many wonderful artists I had the opportunity to work with as part of visionary Judy Mitomaâs APPEX program at the Center for Intercultural Performance (CIP). I had the deep sense that my journey into cultural collaboration and understanding was just beginning, not ending, when I left LAX with tears filling my eyes. The result of those salty tears is the sweetness of the music that flows on this compact disc. What a deep pleasure and homecoming to be reunited with my sister, Emiko Saraswati Susilo, in the creation of this music for you, our listener. Wishing you peace and inspiration!

Rob Levit

This CD was born under a tree on the grass of UCLA during a warm summer afternoon at Asia Pacific Performance Exchange (APPEX). The birthday of Sanjib Bhattacharya, fellow APPEX artist and dear friend, inspired us to put together our voice and guitar for the first time and Asmarandana was born, appropriately filled with love for our arts and a longing for our dear friends.

Emiko Susiilo