Vol. II in a five-disc series of 1928 Balinese recordings features Balinese vocal music, the first release of these recordings since they were first pressed to 78 rpm discs in 1929, the only commercially released recordings of music made in Bali before World War II. Originally recorded by a team from the German labels Odeon and Beka on a 1928-29 expedition to Bali and intended for a Balinese public that lacked any discs of its own music, many of these records have been reduced to single remaining copies by the ravages of time -- when the labels' (European) merchant in Bali destroyed the original discs in a fit of rage due to a complete lack of sales. Now, after a decade of global sleuthing, World Arbiter has located a surviving copy of every known vocal disc that escaped destruction, even one slumbering under a pile at an east Balinese raja's palace. The unaccompanied singing has been restored to the point that the listener is practically sitting inside the masters' throats to experience their microtonal miracles. The lyrics, fully translated, some from the archaic Old Javanese language and included in the liner notes, reveal intensely urgent erotic, mystical and romantic meanings. These extensive notes are supplemented with a 110-page PDF including an in-depth essay by Edward Herbst, contained on the disc and available online. Arbiter will continue to release its complete recovery of 111 three-minute sides, with five discs planned for the series, and a complete anthology to follow. Fully funded by a grant from The Andrew Mellon Foundation. Includes performances by Ida Bagus Oka Kerebuak, Ida Boda, Ni Dayu Madé Rai, Ida Bagus Ngurah, Ni Lemon, and the duo of Idu Bagus Wayan Buruan & Ida Madé Tianyar.
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