The loud sound of waves crashing onto the shore reverberated as a greeting and ambient setting as one walked into the Actors Studio Box. The small space made the audience huddle together, like pigeons perched on outside ledges of buildings, with an overview of the gamelan set, Chinese and Malay instruments, electric and acoustic guitars. A mercurial blue glow lit the scene for Gamelan Club's "Suara". The lights faded down to quiet darkness. The shamans broke the silent moment in the mortal coil as they appeared, one of them playing a mystical drone on a harmonium. The raw earthy sound of a shaman’s serunai accompanied the powerful voice of Mother Earth while she sung the word "Suara" which lead into a Bulgarian folk tune calling the apsaras.

The lights faded up to a glow of oil lamps as the apsaras arrived accompanied by the God of Wind with his flute. They answered Mother Nature by taking their places at the bronze instruments and began playing their gamelan music. The God of Wind danced around whilst he accompanied the apsaras and shamans by playing his flute. The apsaras played sweetly and gently, their motions and gestures in a dance as they invited the audience to play a part in their music making.

The concert evolved into a story involving gods, apsaras, shaman and mortals as performed by various actors and dancers, whilst Gamelan Club played their music. Descriptions of the apsaras as nine different 'rasas' or emotions from the Hindu pantheon unfolded and were represented by members of the Gamelan Club. Their costumes created from different elements of Chinese, Indian and Malay dress made a subtle statement about an ideal Malaysia. There were no racial barriers; they made music along side one another. Their make-up, hair-dos and attire made the apsaras an enchanting sight to behold.

The interaction between gods of the various elements, apsaras and shamans stepped up a notch as the tempo spiraled upwards. This exploded into a percussion exchange between shamans, apsaras and Gods of the Earth. The sparks built into a percussive firework display leaving the audience screaming for more at the end of finale. Here is a concert that is entertaining and fun, sprinkled with little mythical vignettes that at times were slightly overplayed. And an outdoor setting would have been more appropriate than the small confines of the Actors Studio Box.

Suara's dealing with themes such as gods, apsaras and shamans is totally appropriate for Gamelan Club. It follows the Javanese traditional belief that the gamelan is of divine origin. The first gong is used as a kind of signaling system among the gods. It was unfortunate that the music became trapped by the space. And it is a shame the impact was not stronger when the theme became lyrical and dealt with gods and heavenly beings. Finally, the use of polyrhythmic passages and melodies created with the different instruments would be a welcome development in Gamelan Club's repertoire.

Gamelan Club was formed 6 years ago by Sunetra Fernando, Terri Skillman and Shahanum Shah. Their aim was to create a fresh innovative approach to the traditional ensemble and gamelan music. Over the years members have changed but the spirit of its origin is alive. Here are a group of people, a club, a community that could really do with cooperate sponsorship and deserve funding. Here are a group of ambassadors that can help to inspire and encourage others to take part in making music. Give them your support by attending their concert and being part of their music. It would also help them purchase their own gamelan set and make waves of music into the future.