Balawan

Balawan
Balawan at JavaJazz Festival 2012 on March, 2012. Using his amazing Rick Hanes double neck guitars.
Background information
Birth name	I Wayan Balawan
Born	(1973-09-09) September 9, 1973 (age 43) Gianyar, Bali, Indonesia
Genres	Jazz fusion, Jazz rock, Traditional music, folk rock, blues
Instruments	Double neck guitar, guitar, gamelan, bass guitar
Years active	1997–present
Labels	Sony BMG
Associated acts	Batuan Ethnic Fusion, Trisum, Bali Guitar Club
Website	www.balawan.net
Notable instruments
Rick Hanes guitar - Balawan Custom Series

I Wayan Balawan (born September 9, 1973 in Bali), better known by the single name Balawan, is an Indonesian guitarist and songwriter. He is best known as a Batuan Ethnic Fusion guitarist and his ability to play double neck guitar. Balawan has developed the 8 Fingers Touch Style technique, which also known as the Touch-Tapping Style. He is often regarded as one of the fastest guitarists in Indonesia. He is also called The Magic Finger guitarist among the musician community in the world.

Balawan listened to Balinese gamelan, a traditional music style from Bali, since birth. At the age of eight he taught himself to play guitar. He joined his first band when he was 14 years old. Although he grew up in a Balinese traditional culture, Balawan played more rock songs rather than gamelan. Some of his favorite bands were Scorpions, Deep Purple and The Beatles.

Eventually he became bored with rock music and decided to study jazz at the Australian Institute of Music in Sydney. During his studies towards a Diploma of Music, he was awarded a three-year scholarship. He studied in Sydney for about five years, during which time he also gained popularity for his exceptional talent of playing guitar and jazz music. After he obtained his Diploma of Music, he went back to Bali in 1997 and formed a band called Batuan Ethnic Fusion, which combined the traditional Balinese gamelan music with jazz / fusion style.

His first professional band is Batuan Ethnic Fusion, which is still active. Besides being a band member, Balawan is also working on his solo career and has released three albums. His first solo album was "Balawan", which released in 1997 by the Acoustic Music Label, a German company. Later, he worked with an Indonesian company, and with his band, he released his first band album, "GloBALIsm", under Chico&Ira production in 1999. Recently Balawan launched his second solo album, "Magic Fingers", under the Sony-BMG Music Indonesia label. Magic Fingers really showcases Balawan's abilities in arranging and composing and his ability to blend modern music with traditional Balinese gamelan.