Tuesday, June 22, 2021

Dewa Budjana - Naurora (June 2021 MoonJune Records)

Naurora is undoubtedly Dewa Budjana's most ambitious work yet. Progressive, fresh, engaging, technically brilliant. Budjana’s tunes consistently clasp his listeners in a drape of gorgeous melodies, showpiece guitar parts and astounding ensemble passages that have a spacious air. Naurora, has is an exhilarating mix of styles, it delivers a succession of memorable motifs. It melds East Asian music with progressive jazz fusion and some occasional elements of rock, but most of all it delivers an idiosyncratic sound that is instantaneously identifiable as Dewa Budjana’s own.

1. Naurora 11:03
2. Swarna Jingga 06:51
3. Kmalasana 07:05
4. Sabana Shanti 07:50
5. Blue Mansion 07:48

DEWA BUDJANA - guitars, soundscapes

with

BEN WILLIAMS - upright bass (Sabana Shanti)
CARLITOS DEL PUERTO - bass guitar & upright bass (Naurora, Kmalasana, Blue Mansion)
DAVE WECKL - drums (Swarna Jingga, Sabana Shanti)
GARY HUSBAND - piano, synth (Blue Mansion)
IMEE OOI - vocals (Naurora)
JIMMY JOHNSON - bass guitar (Swarna Jingga)
JOEY ALEXANDER - acoustic piano (Naurora, Sabana Shanti)
MATEUS ASATO - guitar intro & guitar solo (Swarna Jingga)
PAUL MCCANDLESS - soprano sax (Sabana Shanti)
SIMON PHILLIPS - drums (Naurora, Kmalasana, Blue Mansion)

Naurora was recorded remotely during the pandemic in 2020 and 2021.

All recordings were done by featured musicians, except:
Simon Phillips' tracks were recorded by Jason Mariani at Carbonite Sound, Ojai, CA, USA.
Paul McCandless' track was recorded by Dan Feiszli at What’s For Lunch Studio, San Fransisco, CA, USA.
Joey Alexander's tracks were recorded by Raymundus Dimas Daniswara at iCanStudioLive Jakarta, Indonesia.

All songs are composed, arranged, produced and edited by Dewa Budjana at Temple Island Studio, Jakarta.
Executive Producers: Dani Rahadian & Willawati for Mehsada.
Mixed & Mastered by Rich Breen at Dogmatic Sound, Burbank, CA, USA.

Photo Cover by Tompi. N Studio & Carly Bloom Team (Nesha Aurea Hanzdima Chritine Yuniarti)

Artwork by Aga Dilaga, Yogyakarta, Indonesia.

Dewa Budjana exclusively uses Kiesel guitars, D’Addario Strings, Palmer Musical Instruments.

Jopey Alexander appears courtesy of Verve Records.

International album release executive producer by Leonardo Pavkovic for MoonJune Records.