I Wayan Balawan
Encyclopedia
I Wayan Balawan better known by the single name Balawan, is an Indonesia
n guitarist
and songwriter
. He is best known as a Batuan Ethnic Fusion guitarist and his ability to play double neck guitar
. Balawan has developed the 8 Fingers Touch Style technique, which also known as the Touch-Tapping Style. He is often regarded as one of the fastest guitarists in Indonesia.
gamelan
, a traditional music
style from Bali, since birth. At the age of eight he taught himself to play guitar. He joined his first band when he was 14 years old. Although he grew up in a Balinese traditional culture, Balawan played more rock
songs rather than gamelan. Some of his favorite bands were Scorpions
, Deep Purple
and The Beatles.
Eventually he became bored with rock music and decided to study jazz at the Australian Institute of Music
in Sydney
. During his studies towards a Diploma
of Music, he was awarded a three-year scholarship
. He studied in Sydney for about five years, during which time he also gained popularity for his exceptional talent of playing guitar and jazz music. After he obtained his Diploma of Music, he went back to Bali in 1997 and formed a band called Batuan Ethnic Fusion, which combined the traditional Balinese gamelan music with jazz/fusion style.
member, Balawan is also working on his solo career and has released three albums. His first solo album was "Balawan", which released in 1997 by the Acoustic Music
Label, a German
company. Later, he worked with an Indonesian company
, and with his band, he released his first band album, "GloBALIsm", under Chico&Ira production in 1999. Recently Balawan launched his second solo album, "Magic Fingers", under the Sony-BMG Music Indonesia label. Magic Fingers really showcases Balawan's abilities in arranging and composing and his ability to blend modern music with traditional Balinese gamelan.
As Balawan is considered as the only Indonesian guitarist who able to develop and use the "Touch Tapping" style, he often plays in Germany and Norway. In 2000, Balawan collaborated with many international guitarists at "East Meet West Gitarren Festival Edekoben Germany
2000 Tour". He also has had a tour in 20 cities in Germany in 2001. In the same year, Balawan played at "Hell Blues Festival" in Norway
in September.
In 2011 Balawan appeared at the 16th Other Minds
festival in San Francisco.
, an American
jazz/fusion guitarist. Balawan developed the same progression with Stanley Jordan, that he is able to produce a piano
, bass
and guitar
at the same time using just one instrument.
Usually Balawan uses all four fingers of his right hand to create the melody progressions and his left hand to create the bass and rhythm
ic sounds. Another unique thing is that there is no pattern or repetition whatsoever between the left and right hand. Thus Balawan has a very exceptional skill of playing guitar.
Balawan also plays drums, both to fill the tracks on his albums and to develop the "Touch Tapping" style.
at the same time, he uses a special guitar with two necks made by Julius Salaka, who also created a guitar model for another Indonesian guitarist, Dewa Budjana
. Balawan's guitar called stephallen guitar has a double neck with six strings
on the upper neck and seven strings on the lower one, which utilises MIDI pickups to translate the notes he plays into midi notes played via off-board synths and samplers.
Balawan uses Ibanez
SA series and Laney
amplifiers exclusively.
Trisum
Bali Guitar Club
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
n guitarist
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
and songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
. He is best known as a Batuan Ethnic Fusion guitarist and his ability to play double neck guitar
Double neck guitar
A multi-neck guitar is a guitar that has multiple fingerboard necks. They exist in both electric and acoustic versions. Although multi-neck guitars are quite common today, they are not by any means a modern invention...
. Balawan has developed the 8 Fingers Touch Style technique, which also known as the Touch-Tapping Style. He is often regarded as one of the fastest guitarists in Indonesia.
Personal life
Balawan listened to BalineseBalinese people
The Balinese population of 3.0 million live mostly on the island of Bali, making up 89% of the island's population. There are also significant populations on the island of Lombok, and in the eastern-most regions of Java The Balinese population of 3.0 million (1.5% of Indonesia's population) live...
gamelan
Gamelan
A gamelan is a musical ensemble from Indonesia, typically from the islands of Bali or Java, featuring a variety of instruments such as metallophones, xylophones, drums and gongs; bamboo flutes, bowed and plucked strings. Vocalists may also be included....
, a traditional music
Traditional music
Traditional music is the term increasingly used for folk music that is not contemporary folk music. More on this is at the terminology section of the World music article...
style from Bali, since birth. At the age of eight he taught himself to play guitar. He joined his first band when he was 14 years old. Although he grew up in a Balinese traditional culture, Balawan played more rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
songs rather than gamelan. Some of his favorite bands were Scorpions
Scorpions (band)
Scorpions are a heavy metal/hard rock band from Hannover, Germany, formed in 1965 by guitarist Rudolf Schenker, who is the band's only constant member. They are known for their 1980s rock anthem "Rock You Like a Hurricane" and many singles, such as "No One Like You", "Send Me an Angel", "Still...
, Deep Purple
Deep Purple
Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in Hertford in 1968. Along with Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, they are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal and modern hard rock, although some band members believe that their music cannot be categorised as belonging to any one genre...
and The Beatles.
Eventually he became bored with rock music and decided to study jazz at the Australian Institute of Music
Australian Institute of Music
The Australian Institute of Music is a private not-for-profit institution originally founded in 1968 by Dr Peter Calvo, and then known as the Sydney Guitar School...
in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
. During his studies towards a Diploma
Diploma
A diploma is a certificate or deed issued by an educational institution, such as a university, that testifies that the recipient has successfully completed a particular course of study or confers an academic degree. In countries such as the United Kingdom and Australia, the word diploma refers to...
of Music, he was awarded a three-year scholarship
Scholarship
A scholarship is an award of financial aid for a student to further education. Scholarships are awarded on various criteria usually reflecting the values and purposes of the donor or founder of the award.-Types:...
. He studied in Sydney for about five years, during which time he also gained popularity for his exceptional talent of playing guitar and jazz music. After he obtained his Diploma of Music, he went back to Bali in 1997 and formed a band called Batuan Ethnic Fusion, which combined the traditional Balinese gamelan music with jazz/fusion style.
Career
His first professional band is Batuan Ethnic Fusion, which is still active. Besides being a bandBand (music)
In music, a musical ensemble or band is a group of musicians that works together to perform music. The following articles concern types of musical bands:* All-female band* Big band* Boy band* Christian band* Church band* Concert band* Cover band...
member, Balawan is also working on his solo career and has released three albums. His first solo album was "Balawan", which released in 1997 by the Acoustic Music
Acoustic music
Acoustic music comprises music that solely or primarily uses instruments which produce sound through entirely acoustic means, as opposed to electric or electronic means...
Label, a German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
company. Later, he worked with an Indonesian company
Company
A company is a form of business organization. It is an association or collection of individual real persons and/or other companies, who each provide some form of capital. This group has a common purpose or focus and an aim of gaining profits. This collection, group or association of persons can be...
, and with his band, he released his first band album, "GloBALIsm", under Chico&Ira production in 1999. Recently Balawan launched his second solo album, "Magic Fingers", under the Sony-BMG Music Indonesia label. Magic Fingers really showcases Balawan's abilities in arranging and composing and his ability to blend modern music with traditional Balinese gamelan.
- "It's always exciting to find new things in art and Batuan Ethnic Fusion is a perfect example of artist who explore into the great spectrum in art with passion, love, beauty and freedom..." - Indra LesmanaIndra LesmanaIndra Lesmana is an Indonesian jazz pianist.- Background :He was introduced to jazz music by his father, Jack Lesmana, who is also a jazz musician. His musical career with keyboards instrument started at age 10...
As Balawan is considered as the only Indonesian guitarist who able to develop and use the "Touch Tapping" style, he often plays in Germany and Norway. In 2000, Balawan collaborated with many international guitarists at "East Meet West Gitarren Festival Edekoben Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
2000 Tour". He also has had a tour in 20 cities in Germany in 2001. In the same year, Balawan played at "Hell Blues Festival" in Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
in September.
In 2011 Balawan appeared at the 16th Other Minds
Other Minds
Other Minds is a San Francisco based private 501 not-for-profit organization, founded in 1992 by Charles Amirkhanian and Jim Newman...
festival in San Francisco.
Technique
Balawan has developed and expanded a technique called "Fingering Tapping" style. The technique enables the guitarist to play two or even three different music progressions at the same time using the same instrument continuously. Another notable player of this technique is Stanley JordanStanley Jordan
Stanley Jordan is an American jazz/jazz fusion guitarist and pianist, best known for his development of the tapping technique for the guitar....
, an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
jazz/fusion guitarist. Balawan developed the same progression with Stanley Jordan, that he is able to produce a piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, bass
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
and guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
at the same time using just one instrument.
Usually Balawan uses all four fingers of his right hand to create the melody progressions and his left hand to create the bass and rhythm
Rhythm
Rhythm may be generally defined as a "movement marked by the regulated succession of strong and weak elements, or of opposite or different conditions." This general meaning of regular recurrence or pattern in time may be applied to a wide variety of cyclical natural phenomena having a periodicity or...
ic sounds. Another unique thing is that there is no pattern or repetition whatsoever between the left and right hand. Thus Balawan has a very exceptional skill of playing guitar.
Balawan also plays drums, both to fill the tracks on his albums and to develop the "Touch Tapping" style.
Equipment
Since Balawan needs to play rhythmic progression and melodyMelody
A melody , also tune, voice, or line, is a linear succession of musical tones which is perceived as a single entity...
at the same time, he uses a special guitar with two necks made by Julius Salaka, who also created a guitar model for another Indonesian guitarist, Dewa Budjana
Dewa Budjana
I Dewa Gede Budjana or Dewa Budjana is an Indonesian guitarist, songwriter and composer. He is the lead guitarist and songwriter of the band Gigi. Budjana’s style changed dramatically to jazz as he got to know John McLaughlin, Pat Metheny, Jeff Beck, John Abercrombie, Chick Corea and Weather Report...
. Balawan's guitar called stephallen guitar has a double neck with six strings
Strings (music)
A string is the vibrating element that produces sound in string instruments, such as the guitar, harp, piano, and members of the violin family. Strings are lengths of a flexible material kept under tension so that they may vibrate freely, but controllably. Strings may be "plain"...
on the upper neck and seven strings on the lower one, which utilises MIDI pickups to translate the notes he plays into midi notes played via off-board synths and samplers.
Balawan uses Ibanez
Ibanez
is a Japanese guitar brand owned by Hoshino Gakki. Based in Nagoya, Aichi, Japan, Hoshino Gakki were one of the first Japanese musical instrument companies to gain a significant foothold in import guitar sales in the United States and Europe, as well as the first brand of guitars to mass produce...
SA series and Laney
Laney Amplification
Laney Amplification is a British brand of guitar/bass guitar amplifiers and cabinets, and also public address systems.-History:Laney Amplification officially began on September 1st, 1967....
amplifiers exclusively.
Discography
Solo- 1999: GloBALIsmGlobalismGlobalism can have at least two different and opposing meanings. One meaning is the attitude or policy of placing the interests of the entire world above those of individual nations...
- 2001: Self-titled
- 2005: Magic FingersMagic FingersChopsticks hand game for two players. It is commonly played in India, Canada, Ireland and the United States...
- 2009: See You Soon
Trisum
- 2007: 1st Edition
Bali Guitar Club
- 2008: 1st Anniversary Album