Mickey Hart

Mickey Hart

THE GONG SHOW
On THE BALI SESSIONS, Mickey Hart Gets Lost in a World of Ringing Bronze
As drummer for the Grateful Dead, Mickey Hart indulged his passions for percussion and travel with tours to Egypt and guest artists like Babatunde Olatunji and Zakir Hussain. With his ongoing percussion group, Planet Drum, Mickey's continued his quest for the heart of the beat, exploring traditions from Cuba and Africa to the tuned gong ensembles of Indonesia, the gamelan. Although he compiled the essential document of gamelan, MUSIC FOR THE GODS, for the Library of Congress, Hart had never been to Bali -- until he hatched the plan for THE BALI SESSIONS, a landmark 3-CD set of digitally recorded ensembles from all over the island. Finishing up his third book about drumming, Hart took a beat to talk with Mark Schwartz about the role of gamelan in his musical life.

barnesandnoble.com: How would you describe this music, for the uninitiated?

Mickey Hart: For those who love adventure in music, and the romancing of the ear, it doesn't get any better than this. This is music to love by. It's spirit music. It's a rare opportunity to get a view of this culture -- don't pass it up. It's my finest moment in the field.

bn: As an artist, what have you taken away from gamelan?

MH: It's always been a model for me of the perfect ensemble. It's all about layers interlocking and overlaying. It's what the Grateful Dead was all about, and it's what all great ensemble playing is all about. And it's metaphorical. It shows in sound how a community of instruments, just like a community of people, can interact harmoniously with their own personalities, and ultimately serve the greater good. It's the perfect metaphor in music.

bn: Did you find it was a metaphor for Balinese society?

MH: Absolutely. Filled with art, instruments. The people were as kind as could be, the children were loving. It's a big family culture. Even though the country was in turmoil politically, the people couldn't be nicer. To each other, and to guests. Since [1976's] DIGA, I've been chasing the 20th-century gamelan. That's the prize. It's the working model for my greatest vision.

So this was more than just another session, this was a dream. I recorded 12 hours of it. I arranged with my ethnomusicologist friends to have the best gamelans brought to the institute for the recording. It's not like a field recording. I didn't have weeks, and it's not like the old days where I could just go off into the desert for a month finding it. I have a family now, and responsibilities. So I had to make a clean hit.

bn: What was the atmosphere like at the sessions?

MH: Supercharged. Once they found out that I was responsible for MUSIC FOR THE GODS, that changed everything. The word had reached them that I was a serious recordist, and this music would see the light of day and the world would hear their sound. So they came literally with bells on.

bn: What first interested you in this music?

MH: I was first hit by the [David] Lewiston recording, MUSIC FROM THE MORNING OF THE WORLD, on Nonesuch. That was the early '70s or late '60s. As soon as I heard it, I was entranced. Because it's trance music, and that's what I do. It was a natural attraction.

bn: And you knew it was right for the Grateful Dead?

MH: Immediately. All the guys loved the gamelan. Gamelan was what we were doing, only we were doing it with electric instruments. The interlocking parts, the sound over sound&all that stuff was what they called psychedelic in those days. It expanded the mind; it wasn't exactly what it seemed to be. Sounds didn't exist alone in the universe, but were changing with other sounds around them. It was a blur that went on forever. And that's gamelan. It was also the Grateful Dead. And also the community thing was very much like the Grateful Dead; the music was a part of the community, the music was the community.

bn: And you've pursued this music with Planet Drum and your other solo projects?

MH: All gamelan. It's all gamelan music, they're all tuned percussion orchestras. They're just using different instruments, and not in the classical Balinese forms. But the larger truths, the metaphors, are there.

bn: What are working on now?

MH: I'm finishing my third book, "The Magic of Music: Spirit Into Sound." It's a collection of the greatest quotes about music, which I've been collecting for about 18 years now. And there's a narrative running through it as well.

bn: What are you listening to?

MH: This morning I listened to the new Jamiroquai. Sounds like Tower of Power, Stevie Wonder, and "Saturday Night Fever." Also some Library of Congress recordings from the Lomax collection, ANGLO AMERICAN BALLADS.

bn: How is THE BALI SESSIONS different from your first gamelan production, MUSIC FOR THE GODS?

MH: That was archival material. It was prewar, recorded on the machines of the day, at 78 rpm. It was rare music which the war really destroyed. This was an attempt to make a modern recording of the best music of Bali. I had the opportunity and I seized the moment, using digital technology. I recorded the less-familiar gamelan and also the new music of Bali, which is on the third disc, composed by younger, modern musicians on old instruments. Which is really exciting, like jazz. Plus the old Selonding iron gamelan, which you never get to hear. And this 50-minute monkey chant, which is the absolutely the finest recording of a monkey chant in existence. All in all, it's a gem.

Mark Schwartz