The Bali Mountain Suite

Four new songs named after Balinese mountains -  Gunung Agung, Gunung Batur, Gunung Catur, Gunung Kawi - are now on my Jamu Bali Meditation album. Relax and soak them up.

Strength and Kindness

Every day for more than 10 months I drove past the site where eight East Timorese police were shot dead and another 20 or more people wounded in the worst atrocity of the 2006 unrest. The side road where they fell had been blocked off with stones and logs. Small shrines of candles and flowers were maintained by friends and relatives at the exact spot where each one died. No one disturbed the shrine or attempted to open the road. The strength and resilience of the survivors was amazing. Their suffering put many aspects of life in perspective. Perhaps as a result of witnessing such things you find yourself being less harsh on yourself about your own shortcomings, and trying to be kinder to and more understanding of others... 

Evacuate!

You are in a country where gunfire breaks out sporadically, the security forces are fighting each other, and rock throwing gangs roam the neighborhoods burning down houses. Your home government offers to fly you out on an airforce plane. What do you do? You take up the offer! This song depicts the feeling of driving flat out to the airport in army vehicles, while all the time wondering whether a stray bullet or rock is going to fly by, or an illegal road block prevent or delay you reaching your goal.

Sniper Patrol

When civil unrest broke out on a massive scale in Timor Leste in late May, 2006, Australian, New Zealand, Portuguese and Malaysian peacekeepers arrived to try to calm the situation. It was a common sight to see Australian soldiers patrolling the dusty streets of the city on foot. They would usually patrol in groups of four, strung out in single file, about 20 metres apart, presumably to minimize the potential impact of snipers. I imagine that it was tense, tedious and nerve-jangling work. This piece reflects the pulsating and suspenseful feeling I think many of those young soldiers felt as they patrolled unfamiliar streets in a volatile, unpredictable environment.

Buff Enough at the Caz Bar

When we lived in Dili we used to hang out on the weekends at the bars and eateries at the beaches east of the city. The place was hugely popular with the expatriate population, even when the security situation was precarious. We found one group particularly entertaining - the buff, fit men from the various peace keeping forces who paraded around in their budgie smugglers playing soccer and volleyball and generally relaxing in the sun. This song is for them with gratitude for all their efforts. 

Tear Gas Situation/ Blood in the Sand

This song is about Major Alfredo Reinado, who led an armed rebellion in East Timor (Timor Leste) from 2006-8. In the resulting chaos, euphemistically referred to as the "situation", thousands of people were displaced and their homes destroyed. Reinado died on 11 February 2008 in a gun battle at the President's house, in which the President, Dr Jose Ramos-Horta, was seriously wounded. The remaining rebels surrendered soon after Reinado's death. 

It's the Climate, Stupid!

Back in 1992 when he was running for President of the USA, Bill Clinton was trying to emphasize the state of the economy. One of his staffers wanted to remind the campaign workers of this and put a big note up in the campaign office saying "It's the economy, stupid!". This became a bit of a catch cry for the campaign. Nowadays, global warming and climate change are the big issues facing the world. Unless we fix those problems, a lot of other things are going to get worse, including the economy, poverty, land degradation and so on. Yet there are still a lot of world leaders and people in big business who want to procrastinate, delay and obfuscate. This song is for them.

Note to Dictators: On Your Bike

There's a lot of problems in the world and Bali is a good place to forget about them. Still, they aren't going to go away. I wrote this song with one particular mad crazy dictator in mind. But in fact the message is the same for all of them. Go away and leave the people alone. Your oppression of the people and abuse of power is totally unacceptable. Get on your bike.

Bali

Bali is a beautiful island. Despite being somewhat over-developed and commercialized in the south around Kuta, there are many wonderful places, generous people and fascinating sites. My favourite area is up around Ubud, where the cluster of villages is merging into a town, while retaining ample charm. The village of Penestanan has a plethora of art galleries and little cafes selling the delicious Balinese coffee. It is a calm and soothing place to hang out for a day or two or a week or two or a month or three.

The second time I went to Bali, I stayed in a sweet little bunch of bungalows in the southeast corner of town, in an area called Padangtegal. The bungalows looked out over a gorgeous green series of rice paddies, and the swimming pool had an infinity edge that made you think you were right there in the paddies themselves. It was a great spot to while away the hours.

Out in the east of Ubud is a place called Peliatan. On the mountain side, what they call Peliatan Kaja, the road snakes down into a little valley, where a gurgling creek winds its way among the tropical vegetation. From time to time, the rice fields go almost down to the stream. The bird scarers spin and clatter in the breeze, and the farmers pick their way along the tops of the narrow paths atop the mid walls of the paddies.

In the main street of Ubud is the temple Pura Taman Saraswati. A big pond with water lilies graces the front, and at night dance performances are held. The trick is to get a seat in the adjacent Cafe Lotus to view the evening performances, while dining on some delicious Balinese specialties such as sate lulit (mince satays) or babi guling (spit roast pig).

Pura Marajan Agung is the temple for Ubud's royal family. It's just up Jalan Suweta from Jalan Raya Ubud. It has an impressive gate, and the restaurant next door is a little gem.

Up in Bobonaro

Bobonaro is a beautiful mountain town in the west of East Timor. You drive out along the coast until you nearly reach the Indonesian border. Then you go up into the mountains to Balibo, where the western journalists were murdered by the invading Indonesian troops in 1975. You go down into a big wide river valley, then up into the mountains again to Bobonaro. Up there the mists hang on the mountain tops and the air is cool and crisp after the humidity and heat of the coast.

Panic on the Streets

I remember clearly the day the trouble really started. We'd gone for lunch at an Indonesian restaurant across the road from the barracks. We were heading out the door, when suddenly a strange wind blew up the road, and everyone out there began to run towards the hills. The restaurant proprietor quickly locked the grilled front gate, and we all waited anxiously for about a half hour. We could see a big plume of black smoke rising up from somewhere in the direction of the parliament building. The rebels, who were protesting at the parliament, had broken through police lines and started smashing and burning cars and motorbikes. Somehow news of this reached the people on the street, and they ran.

Hot Pursuit

The international security forces came in and tried to sort out the mess. They did a good job of stabilizing the security situation. The place has few street names, so at first it was hard for the peacekeepers to find their way around. They'd chase offenders, but their hot pursuit would soon turn cold as their prey easily disappeared into the narrow alleys of Dili's neighborhoods.

Rebel Mind (Remix)

In East Timor, the rebels had defected from the army and found a leader and hero in one of the local army commanders. Unfortunately, this supposed hero was quite unstable. His pronouncements were erratic, and his behavior was dangerous. This song reflects his confused state of mind.

Dili Rock

I lived in Dili in East Timor for about 15 months. Sometimes at night there was not much to do, so we hung around the apartment playing with Garage Band. Looking back on the stuff I made then, it reflected some of the exciting things that happened when civil unrest broke out in May 2006. This song, Dili Rock, anticipates the adrenalin rush of living in a city where you never know where the next gang of rock throwers is going to strike.