Dewa Budjana may not be a household name outside of his native country, Indonesia, but with MoonJune Records picking up this exciting guitarist and composer, all that could be about to change. He's already garnered some serious attention with his first recording for the label, Dawai in Paradise, released earlier this year (2013), but at home, he's nothing short of a pop star. Lead guitarist and songwriter for the multi-platinum, million-selling Indonesian pop/rock group Gigi, the fifty year-old Budjana has already experienced the buzz of playing in front of stadium audiences of 60,000 at home, despite playing to club-size crowds on the rare occasion that Gigi has made the lengthy trek to North American shores.

But while Budjana continues to make big selling pop music with Gigi—at last count over 20 recordings since 1994—his own recordings have reflected a more decidedly jazz-centric disposition, albeit oftentimes heavily influence by both the traditional music of Indonesia and the spirituality of his Hindu faith. "Dang Hyang Story," Joged Kahyangan's third track, was, in fact, inspired by the story of Danghyang Niratha, who brought Hinduism from India to Indonesia, and remains, for Indonesian Hindus, the equivalent of Islam's Mohammed. Even the album title means "Dancing Heaven," or "Dancing Nirvana."

Budjana's music may reflect his faith, but on Joged Kahyangan it's less overt than on previous albums, including the four albums released by the guitarist prior to signing with MoonJune, beginning with 1997's Nusa Damai. With an all-American cast that includes keyboardists

Larry Goldings

organ, Hammond B3
b.1968