The Gamelan Conspiracy
Here's my take on the Steve Reich/Tortoise/Balinese Gamelan connection.
I first discovered Tortoise in 1996 when friends (thanks Mike!) recommended
to me Millions Now Living Will Never Die. It took me awhile
to get into but "DJed" soon became (and still is) my favorite Tortoise
song, especially the marimba parts. Then I heard an excerpt of a
song, "Indonesia Maharddhika", performed by Guru Gypsy in the gamelan section
of a 3-CD Worlds of Music compilation given to me by a friend (thanks
Fred!). The music was surrprsingly reminiscent of Tortoise bass lines
and rhythms (not to mention some pretty cool breakbeats). The circle
was completed when I heard Music For 18 Musicians with the dueling
marimbas and metallophones a la "DJed" and "Glass Museum"; it turns out
that Steve Reich studied Balinese Gamelan music at Berkeley in the 1970's.
See below in The Spoken Word for more information regarding this connection.