Suarasama will perform North Sumatran (Malay and Batak) folk songs as well as new compositions that draw on a range of musical traditions from around the world.
The duo formed in 1995 and is based in Medan in North Sumatra, Indonesia. Irwansyah Harahap and Rithaony Hutajulu are both teaching staff in the Ethnomusicology Department at the University of North Sumatra in Medan.
Irwansyah Harahap is the main composer, and his compositions have explored various musical concepts and aesthetics from countries around the world, including Africa, India, Sufi Pakistan, Eastern Europe, Southeast Asia, as well as North Sumatran traditional music.
Suarasama’s first album Fajar Di Atas Awan was reissued in 2008 and named one of the five best world music albums of the year by the San Francisco Chronicle and one of the ten best world music albums of the year by London’s UNCUT magazine.