Takkak Takkak’s “Abu” Welds Gamelan, Taiko, and Industrial Pressure

Johanes “Mo’ong” Santoso Pribadi lives in Vilnius. Shigeru Ishihara lives in Berlin. Their album Abu was recorded across three countries and released through Uganda’s Nyege Nyege Tapes. That scattered geography is audible not as dislocation but as deliberate fusion.

The project brings Pribadi’s background in Javanese traditions and DIY instrument building together with Ishihara’s electronic production. Gamelan percussion and taiko rhythms interlock with guttural shouts and abrasive noise. The title track arrives like a pressure release, pushing the record’s early tension into full rhythmic force. “Hai no uta” starts with small bells and a wailing flute before grinding low-end enters. “Palau” sits on deep bass and volcanic rumble, while “Wujud” works through stuttering industrial steps. The sharp turn comes with “Hino Tori,” which snaps into a techno pulse and shows how naturally these