Bali 1928: A Musical Journey Back in Time at Desa Potato Head

Bali’s extraordinary and otherworldly culture was once the island’s most enticing allure. Before beaches and resorts, it was dance, art, music and ceremony that captured the imagination – a vibrant way of life that intertwined nature and ritual into the everyday.

The year was 1928, and such was this cultural fascination that German record labels Odeon and Beka sent engineers to Bali to capture a sound quite like anything they had heard before: the rhythmic reverberations of the gamelan, and the ethereal voices of Balinese song. Around this time, pioneering researchers like the ethnomusicologist Colin McPhee, artist and author Miguel Covarrubias, and art collector Rolf de Maré captured silent film footage of ceremonies, dancers and everyday life. For decades these lay in archives, unseen and unheard by those depicted. 

Fast forward to 2013. Dr. Edward Herbst, Arbiter of Cultural Traditions New York, together with ITB STIKON Bali, began a repatriation project, Arsip Bali 1928, scoping the world for these recordings and bringing them back to Bali.

As a celebration of this cultural homecoming, Desa Potato Head presents ‘Bali 1928: Live Score Cinema,’ an event series that brings these archives to life. Set inside Klymax, rare archival footage and black-and-white images of Bali’s past are screened, accompanied by live performances from Balinese composer and musician, Putu Septa; Potato Head Music Director, Dea Barandana and other guests. Witness history alongside tradition-inspired, experimental sounds, designed to bring the past into the present.

Journey back in time through ‘Bali 1928: Live Score Cinema,’ screened monthly at Klymax, Potato Head’s sound Centre & Music Venue.

Next sessions are:
• Sunday, 15 November 2026 – 8pm to 9pm
• Sunday, 13 December 2026 – 8pm to 9pm

For programme schedule and tickets, visit seminyak.potatohead.co/experiences .

Desa Potato Head
Jl. Petitenget No.51B, Seminyak
@potatoheadbali
potatohead.co