Embark on a journey to South-East Asia with Arsenal of Sounds!

For the May appointment with our first-Friday-of-the-month music series at Woolwich Works, we will be travelling to the South-Eastern region of Asia to discover its music and traditions.

From Nepal and Bangladesh, we set sail across the Indian Ocean to reach Indonesia and the Philippines for another inspiring double-bill rolling on smooth and soothing sound waves.

The evening will sally forth in Java, where we will “meet” with members of The Southbank Gamelan Players, an ensemble founded back in 1987 and offering a “very London” perspective over the warm and reverberating sound of gamelan.

Throughout their 25-year career, the group has joined forces with a variety of musicians, like Björk (MTV Unplugged), Alec Roth and Salvatore Sciarrino (ISCM World Music Days), and has gained a global repute for its traditional Javanese music performances and for its championing of new music for gamelan.

For the second part of the evening, we will cross the Java and Celebes Sea, to land in the Visayas Region in the Philippines where the family and cultural roots of British-Filipino singer, songwriter, and sound healing practitioner Ruhiya lie.

Her music, which focuses on topics such as nature, spirit, dreams, femininity, and love, is a captivating synthesis of her Filipino ancestry and more jazzy, soulful and folk-inspired arrangements.

If you fancy exploring the alluring and nourishing sounds coming from South-East Asia, Woolwich Works is the place to be on the 5th of May, as Arsenal of Sounds will guide you on a journey of discovery of Javanese gamelan and far-reaching Filipino repertoire with The Southbank Gamelan Players and Ruhiya.

– Get your ticket/s for the gig following this LINK –