Irama Nostalgia

The angklung – Indonesia’s traditional bamboo rattle originating from West Java – is synonymous with folk culture, festivities and music education. Since the early 1960s, it has gained a strong footing in Singapore, thanks to the legendary Pak Kasur from Jakarta, who was invited to teach the instrument to children in schools. Two decades later, the former student conductor of Raffles Girls’ School Angklung Orchestra, Miss Faridah Jamal, was inspired to become a pioneer in full-time angklung teaching. In 2022, as founder and director of Ethnique Musique Connections (EMC), she collaborated with Miss Chan Mei Yin, the chief executive officer of Gamelan Asmaradana Ltd (GA), to form Angklung Empire – comprising former angklung students, GA musicians and members of the larger community.