Say Hello to My Chromatic Saron

Growing up in Malaysia, I was drawn to the gamelan. The gamelan is my favorite traditional instrument. I love the mesmerizing and hypnotic sound. 

Now that music is my career, I've been on a mission to incorporate the gamelan into my songs, allowing others to experience its beauty.

It was a dream come true when I had a custom chromatic gamelan saron built for me some time ago. This was truly a labor of love, as the process was long and challenging. Finding the right builder, navigating communication barriers due to their remote location, and then shipping the heavy instrument all the way from Indonesia to Malaysia proved to be no easy feat.

Before I received my gamelan saron, I had to rely on recorded samples rather than live instruments, which made it difficult to seamlessly blend the gamelan's unique tunings and modes with my Western-influenced pop music. I've been called crazy many times! But I was determined to find a solution, as fusing traditional and contemporary sounds was central to my artistic vision.

When the custom-built saron finally arrived at my home in Kuala Lumpur, the journey was far from over. I then had to carefully transport this precious instrument halfway across the world, from Malaysia to Los Angeles. It was an East-meets-West odyssey, but one that was well worth the effort.

My musical dreams were finally coming to fruition as I was able to play, record, and incorporate my chromatic gamelan saron into my song "You Are My Land." It was a surreal experience, and I had to keep reminding myself that this was real. Despite the many challenges and naysayers along the way, I persevered, driven by my unwavering passion for this instrument and my vision of blending cultures through music.

I hope that by sharing the story of my gamelan saron, I can inspire others to embrace their unique artistic passions, no matter how unconventional they may seem. As Steve Jobs once said, "The ones who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do." I may have been called "crazy" at times, but I'm proud to be a misfit, a rebel, and a changemaker in the world of music.

I invite you to listen to the captivating tones of my gamelan saron in "You Are My Land" and fall in love with this beautiful instrument, just as I have. I can't wait to share more of this East-meets-West fusion with you in my upcoming tracks.

"Here's to the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers, the round pegs in the square holes… The ones who see things differently – they're not fond of rules. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them, but the one thing you can't do is ignore them because they change things… Because the ones who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do. Think different." - Steve Jobs.

#EastMeetsWest