Ensemble Nist-Nah

HYBRID GAMELAN PERCUSSION DRUMS ENSEMBLE

Nist-Nah is a new gamelan/percussion ensemble led by Will Guthrie, an Australian drummer and percussionist currently based in Nantes. 

As a solo artist, Guthrie uses different combinations of drums, percussion, amplification and electronics. With Nist-Nah, Guthrie finds a new musical direction, using the metallophones, hand drums and gongs of Indonesian gamelan ensembles, along with traditional drum kit, classical percussions and other found objects.

The music presented by the ensemble is based on Guthrie’s travels in Indonesia and his study of various forms of gamelan music, from the majestically suspended temporality of the Javanese courtier Gamelan Sekatan, through the delirious repetition accompanying the Javanese trance ritual Jathilan, to the shimmering acoustic glitch of contemporary Balinese composer Dewa Alit and his Gamelan Salukat.

The Ensemble Nist-Nah lineup includes, in addition to Guthrie, Satyavan Beduneau, Mark Lockett, Thibault Florent, Charles Dubois, Amélie Grould, Sven Michel, Colline Grosjean, and Arno Tukiman.

Guthrie has released music on labels such as Black Truffle, Editions Mego, Ipecac, Erstwhile, Clean Feed, Gaffer Records, Hasana Editions, 23five, iDEAL and his own label Antboy Music.

Org: Grémio Caldense and UNESCO Chair in Arts and Culture Management, Cities and Creativity (IPL/ESAD.CR)