Atmosphere as a Concept for Ethnomusicology: Comparing the Gamelatron and Gamelan

In this article I compare a robotic gamelan sound installation (the gamelatron) and traditional gamelan, as performed in the American gamelan subculture, in order to specify the concept of atmosphere for use within ethnomusicology. I argue that at the level of affect the gamelatron and gamelan afford similar experiences that I call “atmospheres of felt-relation.” At the level of comprehension they are registered as divergent because of their differential alignment to several discursive binaries: live/recorded, human/machine, individual/group, subject/object and body/prosthesis.