Āman (Indonesia)
A clairvoyant in Jakarta gave the name ‘Amandari’ to Amandari exactly 35 years ago this month (April 1989). In the same month, architect Peter Muller designed the Amandari font with all letters of the alphabet in lower case and each letter enclosed within a circle of the same diameter. The same set of fonts would later be used for the logos of Amandari, Amankila, and Amanusa.
Opened in October 1989, Amandari remained the only luxury resort in Ubud until 1998. The design of Amandari takes inspiration from Balinese villages and was first drafted by architect Peter Muller in 1972. The Balinese village-style approach has been copied countless times by numerous resorts in Bali.
Amankila, opened in 1992, was the first cliff-side resort on Bali island. At that time, the Jalan Raya Ida Bagus Mantra didn’t exist yet. The main road from Denpasar to East Bali was narrow, and the East Bali coastline was mostly still covered with vast coconut groves. In 1992, Taman Ujung Water Palace, the main inspiration behind the architecture of Amankila, was still in ruins until a restoration project took place in 1998 and was completed in 2001.
When Amanusa was opened in 1992, BTDC (now known as ITDC — The Nusa Dua) was only occupied by eight large resorts. Amanusa marks the first collaboration between Aman and architect Kerry Hill who would then design Amansara (2002), Amangalla (2004), Amankora (2004), Amanwella (2005), Aman New Delhi (2009), Aman Tokyo (2014), Amanemu (2016), Amanyangyun (2017), and Aman Kyoto (2020).
After four years of design and construction, Amanwana on Moyo Island was opened in 1993 as one of planet earth’s first luxury tented camp resorts. Today, Moyo Island is part of Moyo Satonda National Park, and the concept of a luxury tented camp has been replicated multiple times across the globe. Amanwana marks the first collaboration between Aman and architect Jean-Michel Gathy who would then design Aman-i-Khas (2003), Amanyara (2006), Aman Sveti Stefan (2008), Aman Summer Palace (2008 — with Jaya Ibrahim), Aman Venice (2013), Amanoi (2014), and Aman New York (2022).
In 1997, Amanjiwo was opened as the fifth Aman in Indonesia and is among the most physically recognisable Amans in the world. Architect Ed Tuttle and first GM Francois Richli learned about Javanese architecture and culture for years before designing and opening Amanjiwo to great acclaim.
Founded by Indonesian hotelier, Aman opened five resorts in Indonesia within the time frame of eight years (from 1989 to 1997), most of which are architectural landmarks and are the first in their respective destinations. This playlist was put together as if it were compiled by a fictional Aman guest who frequently travels to all five original Aman resorts in Indonesia within that time frame or era.
This playlist is a reminder to how slow our lives were back then when the roads were less jammed, air routes were less travelled, the world wide web was still in its infancy (just two years younger than Amandari), the camera was bulky and heavy and took days to transfer the negative film into real picture, and of course, mobile phones weren’t as ubiquitous as today.
In the context of Bali, the island had 2,000,000 less inhabitants with an average of only 1,000,000 international tourist arrivals per year, interestingly, with direct flight access from and to John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) in New York City and Los Angeles International Airport (LAX).
Open (1988)
Written by Peter Gabriel and Shankar Lakshminarayana
Produced by Peter Gabriel
Performed by Peter Gabriel and Shankar Lakshminarayana
Sung in n/a (scat singing)
Open is taken from Passion, a soundtrack album for Martin Scorsese’s The Last Temptation of Christ, which received Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Original Score — Motion Picture in 1988 and Grammy Award for Best New Age Album in 1990.
Le Départ (1997)
Written by Erick Benzi
Produced by Erick Benzi
Performed by Anggun
Sung in Bahasa Indonesia
Le Départ is the second song in Anggun’s first international album Snow on the Sahara. Born in Jakarta, Anggun is the daughter Javanese artist and writer Darto Singo, with Dien Herdina, a housewife from the Yogyakarta Royal Family.
ファム・ファタール～妖婦 (1978)
Written by Haruomi Hosono
Produced by Haruomi Hosono
Performed by Haruomi Hosono and The Yellow Magic Band
Sung in Japanese
The Yellow Magic Band was named as a satire of Japan’s obsession with black magic at the time. The band, that included another Japanese legendary musician Ryuichi Sakamoto, changed the name to The Yellow Magic Orchestra in late 1978.
Lovely Day (1977)
Written by Bill Withers and Skip Scarborough
Produced by Bill Withers and Clarence McDonald
Performed by Bill Withers
Sung in English
Toward the end of the song Bill Withers holds a note for 18 seconds, the longest of any Top 40 hit in the United States.
Counterpoint (1987)
Written by Anne Dudley and Jonathan Jeczalik
Produced by Anne Dudley and Jonathan Jeczalik
Performed by The Art of Noise
Sung in Latin
Djanger Bali (1967)
Written by unknown (traditional Balinese music)
Arranged by Bubi Chen and Tony Scott
Performed by Tony Scott and the Indonesian All Star
Sung in n/a (instrumental)
Djanger Bali is a hybrid jazz album performed by American jazz clarinetist Tony Scott with a group of Indonesian jazz musicians, the Indonesian AllStar. The group consisted of Jack Lesmana, Bubi Chen, Benny Mustafa, Maryono, Kiboud Maulana, and Jopie Chen, who would later become jazz legends in Indonesia. Combining western diatonic scales with Javanese and Balinese pentatonic scales, Djanger Bali preceded Guruh Gipsy as the first Indonesian-international fusion album by nearly a decade.
Seven Days (1993)
Written by Sting
Produced by Sting and Hugh Padgham
Performed by Sting
Sung in English
The song’s odd time signature (5/4) is rendered smoothly by legendary drummer Vinnie Colaiuta, an alumni of Frank Zappa’s backing band. Vinnie has won over fifteen Drummer of the Year awards from Modern Drummer magazine’s annual reader polls. These include ten awards in the Best Overall category.
I Couldn’t Love You More (1992)
Written by Sade Adu, Andrew Hale, Stewart Matthewman, and Paul S. Derman
Produced by Sade
Performed by Sade
Sung in English
Like a Tattoo (1992)
Written by Sade Adu, Andrew Hale, and Stewart Matthewman
Produced by Sade
Performed by Sade
Sung in English
Planet Earth (2009)
Written by Michael Jackson
Produced by Michael Jackson
Performed by Michael Jackson
Sung in English (spoken word)
Michael Jackson originally wrote Planet Earth in 1990 as the intro to Earth Song. Both songs were recorded in 1990 for his album Dangerous but never released until 1995 (Earth Song) and 2009 (Planet Earth).
Cowboys and Angels (1990)
Written by George Michael
Produced by George Michael
Performed by George Michael
Sung in English
Cowboys and Angels is written in both jazz and waltz style. The song is the fifth single from his second solo album Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1, known for its anti-marketing marketing approach.
When Poets Dreamed of Angels (1987)
Written by David Sylvian
Produced by David Sylvian and Steve Nye
Performed by David Sylvian
Sung in English
Lopi Penge (field-recorded in 1997)
Written by unknown (traditional Sumbawanese music)
Arranged by Husen Jambe and Siti Asmah
Performed by Husen Jambe and Siti Asmah
Sung in Nggahi Mbojo
The song Lopi Penge tells the story of a prince from Reo on the north coast of Flores who travels to Bima to propose to a princess there, but he is rejected because the princess loves someone else. The song was recorded by Philip Yampolsky and assisted by a research team from the Indonesian Performing Arts Society at night on the veranda of a private house in Tambe Village, Bolo District, Bima Regency, Sumbawa Island in November 1997.
I (1992)
Written by Aphex Twin
Produced by Aphex Twin
Performed by Aphex Twin
Sung in n/a (instrumental)
Violet (1991)
Written by Seal and Guy Sigsworth
Produced by Trevor Horn
Performed by Seal
Sung in English
Violet is one of four songs co-written by Seal and musician Guy Sigsworth who was relatively unknown by then. Following the success with Seal, Guy became more well-known as the collaborator and live musical director for Björk, before breaking into the mainstream with future collaborations with Madonna, Imogen Heap, and even Britney Spears.
Matte Kudasai (1981)
Written by Adrian Belew, Bill Bruford, Robert Fripp, and Tony Levin
Produced by Adrian Belew, Bill Bruford, Robert Fripp, Tony Levin, and Rhett Davies
Performed by King Crimson
Sung in English and Japanese
Advice for the Young at Heart (1989)
Written by Roland Orzabal and Nicky Holland
Produced by Roland Orzabal, Curt Smith, and Dave Bascombe
Performed by Tears for Fears
Sung in English
Amlapura (1991)
Written by David Bowie and Reeves Gabrels
Produced by David Bowie, Hugh Padgham, Hunt Sales, Kevin Armstrong, Reeves Gabrels, Tim Palmer, and Tony Fox Sales
Performed by Tin Machine
Sung in English
Amlapura is the fifth song on the second Tin Machine, David Bowie’s band, album. The song was named after a small town on the east coast of Bali. The name derives from amla meaning fruit, and pura meaning place, and the town Amlapura is the capital of Karangasem Regency where Amankila is located. David Bowie visited Bali several times and was among the very first visitors of Amandari when he visited the construction before the opening of the resort in October 1989. Although he never owned a property in Bali, his home on Mustique in the Caribbean was decorated in Balinese style and the landscape was designed by Made Wijaya, the landscape designer of Amandari.
Amlapura is also available in Bahasa Indonesia version with lyrics co-written by Surakarta-born Indonesian businessman and musician Setiawan Djodi.
I’ll Remember (1994)
Written by Madonna, Patrick Leonard, and Richard Page
Produced by Madonna and Patrick Leonard
Performed by Madonna
Sung in English
Drift (1986)
Written by The Edge
Produced by The Edge and Michael Brook
Performed by The Edge
Sung in n/a (instrumental)
Drift is taken from the album Captive, the soundtrack album for the film of the same name. The album is the only solo album by The Edge, and remains the only solo album by any member of the band U2.
Come Undone (1993)
Written by John Taylor, Nick Rhodes, Simon Le Bon, and Warren Cuccurullo
Produced by John Taylor, Nick Rhodes, Simon Le Bon, Warren Cuccurullo, and John Jones
Performed by Duran Duran
Sung in English
Come Undone’s main riff was created by the band’s guitarist at that time Warren Cuccurullo, also an alumni of Frank Zappa’s backing band. Eleven years earlier, Duran Duran shot the music video of their song Save a Prayer, in some locations in Sri Lanka, including the New Oriental Hotel that would eventually renamed to Amangalla in 2004.
Breath After Breath (1993)
Written by John Taylor, Milton Nascimento, Nick Rhodes, Simon Le Bon, and Warren Cuccurullo
Produced by John Taylor, Nick Rhodes, Simon Le Bon, Warren Cuccurullo, and John Jones
Performed by Duran Duran and Milton Nascimento
Sung in English and Portuguese
Gita (1997)
Written by Anggun and Hervé Teboul
Produced by Erick Benzi
Performed by Anggun
Sung in Bahasa Indonesia
Ketawang: Puspawarna (field-recorded in 1971)
Written by Prince Mangkunegara IV of the House of Mataram
Arranged by Kanjeng Pangeran Haryo Notoprojo
Performed by Javanese gamelan orchestra of the Pura Pakualaman
Sung in Javanese
This field-recording of the song by Robert E. Brown was included on the Carl Sagan-initiated Voyager Golden Record, which was sent on the Voyager 1 spacecraft in 1977 as a greeting to whatever, or whoever, extraterrestrials may find it. According to the note by Brown in the reissued version of that recording, the song was one of Carl Sagan’s favourites on the record.
Yogyakarta (1990)
Written by Katon Bagaskara and Adi Adrian
Produced by Jan Djuhana
Performed by Kla Project
Sung in Bahasa Indonesia
In 2009, Yogyakarta is ranked #16 in the Rolling Stone Indonesia’s list of 150 Best Indonesian Songs.
Miss Sarajevo (1995)
Written by Adam Clayton, Anna Coleman, Brian Eno, David Evans, Larry Mullen Jr., Paul Hewson
Produced by Adam Clayton, Brian Eno, David Evans, Larry Mullen Jr., Paul Hewson
Performed by Passengers and Luciano Pavarotti
Sung in English and Italian
Miss Sarajevo was written about a group of women who held a beauty pageant during the siege of Sarajevo as an act of defiance. Lasting for nearly four years, the siege of Sarajevo during the Bosnian war remains the longest siege of a capital city in the modern warfare. A total of 13,952 people were killed during the siege, including 5,434 civilians. The city’s population endured up to six months without gas, electricity or water supply during certain stages of the siege.
Return to Innocence (1993)
Written by Michael Cretu, Kuo Ying-nan, Kuo Hsiu-chu, and Led Zeppelin
Produced by Michael Cretu
Performed by Enigma, Kuo Ying-nan, Kuo Hsiu-chu
Sung in English and Amis
The Wedding Song (1992)
Written by David Bowie
Produced by David Bowie and Nile Rodgers
Performed by David Bowie
Sung in English
The Wedding Song was written for David Bowie and Iman Abdulmajid’s wedding celebration in Florence in Italy in June 1992 which was attended by celebrities including Bono, Brian Eno, and Yoko Ono, and commemorated over 23 pages in Hello! magazine. David and Iman honeymooned at Amandari shortly after the wedding.
In 2023, Iman visited Amandari and posted a picture of herself posing in the resort’s Pool Suite, replicating the picture of her and David Bowie’s honeymoon picture in 1992. Throughout his life, David Bowie retained a fascination with Bali and his will requested that his ashes were scattered on Bali.
Tabuh Gegilakan Penutup (field-recorded in 1991)
Written by unknown (traditional Balinese music)
Arranged by Werdi Sentana
Performed by Werdi Sentana
Sung in n/a (instrumental)
