by Peter Dawson

Created on: July 21, 2008

Artist: Tommee...
Album: Kachampo...

Indonesian-Australian multi-instrumentalist Tommee has put together an album of traditional sounds from his homeland.

"I was born in the heart of the jungle, in a village called Bima on Sumbawa Island, which lies on the eastern side of the Indonesian archipelago," Tommee explains. "My musical journey began in my mother's kitchen, with an orchestra of instruments including pots, pans, plates and buckets."

He was twelve when one of his school teachers recognised his talent and introduced him to a drum kit. Guitar, piano, and traditional instruments the kecapi, gambo and kenong soon followed. After living on various islands in the archipelago Tommee migrated to Australia in 1984, settling in Sydney.

Tommee supported the John Butler Trio at Bendigo's Schweppes Centre a couple of years ago to great acclaim. He has also played major venues and festivals with the likes of The Wailers, Jimmy Cliff, Ziggy Marley, Steel Pulse, Paul Simon and UB40. His first album released in 2004 was No Added Sugar, a reggae inspired effort. But as he says, "I speak five different native dialects within Indonesia, and English. It's only natural that I wish to include all of these languages into my songs." So his second album Kachampo features Tommee's expertise on the 20-string kecapi and the percussive kaleng arumanis. It mixes up the sounds of Sunda with East Java and language of Bima.

The eleven tracks are all self-penned and sweetly recorded with supplementary western instruments including electric bass and guitar. Io Ariku heads up the CD and has a nice blend of rhythm and melody. Similarly with the following two tunes. Track 4 eases back and features the reggae-like dangdut feel so loved by Indonesians. The tile song contrasts Tommee's gravely voice with a cascading flow of notes from the zither style playing of the kecapi.

Lantika gives Tommee a chance to display his superb guitar picking, while the lazy beat on Kiri Pu Amae is hypnotic and the plucked strings ooze the blues. Moti Lembo has R'n'B sensibilities with Tommee groaning out the lyrics. A flowing harp-like crescendo introduces Soba, which has a tight bassline and a tingling solo. The final cut Kawarra Angi canters along musically with Tommee's voice deep and mysterious. More tasteful guitar shining light a beacon here.

This is the sort of music which educates about the myriad cultures of Indonesia as well as being a pleasant listen.

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