Senyawa and Stephen O'Malley collaborate on new LP, Bima Sakti

Indonesian band Senyawa have released an album with Sunn O))) founder Stephen O’Malley.

Bima Sakti was originally commissioned for choreographer Gisèle Vienne, who has worked with O’Malley several times in the past decade. The two traveled to Indonesia in 2018, where they met Senyawa member Wukir Suryadi and decided to work together. The LP features O’Malley’s guitar, Senyawa’s amplified bass, traditional instrumentation, vocals and the band’s custom-made bambuwukir instrument.

Last year, O’Malley released two albums with Sunn O))), and put out a solo LP through Editions Mego this past March. Senyawa, meanwhile, have released records on Rabih Beaini’s label Morphine Records in the past, as well as Sublime Frequencies and !Angrr! Read more about them in last year’s feature about Indonesian rave sounds.

Listen to clips over at Boomkat.

Tracklist
01. Dewi Hera, Part I

02. Bima Dan Ular Naga, Part I

03. Bintang Gemintang

04. Hakikat Kabut

05. Bima Dan Ular Naga, Part II

06. Dewi Hera, Part II

Bima Sakti is out now via iDEAL Recordings.