Guitarist Dewa Budjana is one guy I want to catch in concert. His albums are always exciting, complex and accessible. This one has him with a core team of Jordan Rudess/key, Marco Minnemann/dr, Mohnini Dey/b-voc and guests John Frusciante, Mike Stern and Soimah Pancawati on a collection of hard hitting fusion moods.
Budjana creates rich soundscapes on intricate and rockish pieces like the spacy “Crowded” (with earthy voice and extra guitar work by Frusciante) and “ILW” which features Stern soloing over Minnemann’s frantic sticks. Soimah Pancawati adds South Asian voices to “Hyang Giri”. Budjana’s guitar is gorgeous along with Rudess’ piano on the lyrical “Jung Oman” and does some intricate work on “Mahandini.” A saucy mix of textures and grooves, putting the “fuse” back into fusion.