Anthology II

Nearly a decade after the release of 2017's Anthology, Irama Gema returns with a second collection drawn from the project's expanding catalogue. Spanning material from the Experiment series, standalone releases, EPs, and related sessions, Anthology II gathers thirty-one selections that trace the evolution of the project from its early industrial and post-rock foundations toward increasingly atmospheric, ethnically infused, and exploratory forms.

Where the first anthology drew primarily from Experiment I through Experiment V, this follow-up casts a much wider net, incorporating material from Experiment VI, the Non-Sequitur Analysis EP, the Yellow Omm / Irama Gema split collaboration, and numerous works that originally appeared outside the framework of the first anthology.

Across its two programs, subjects wander freely through archaeology, astronomy, geography, mathematics, biology, medicine, spirituality, and cross-cultural encounters. Ancient figures such as Ambiorix sit alongside prehistoric discoveries from Ledi-Geraru in Ethiopia. The cosmological drift of Circling the Stars (Clouds of Dust) and A Study of Lunar Research Flights shares space with references to consciousness, microbiological life, and the continuing search for meaning beyond familiar horizons.

Several works retain strong connections to Southeast Asia and Indonesia, a recurring influence throughout Irama Gema's catalogue. Tracks such as Ombak bagus! Banyak angin, Makasih Abang, and Space to Pondok Kelapa reflect locations, language, and observations gathered through travel and lived experience. Elsewhere, pieces such as Ramanujan acknowledge the legacy of Indian mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan, while Within the Four Gates of the Mandala references the Buddhist and Hindu concept of the mandala, whose four gates symbolize kindness, compassion, sympathy, and patience.

The anthology also revisits material connected to earlier Irama Gema releases. Qualms (ethical disinclination mix) and Grasp (Outer Himalayan Mix) return to themes first explored during the Experiment I period. Ethno Molecular Entities and In the Kingdom Protista reflect the biological and scientific interests that emerged more strongly in later works. The complete presentation of GAIA, previously divided across releases, appears here in its uninterrupted album form.

Visually, Anthology II takes inspiration from the painted floorboards seen in photographs from Syd Barrett's The Madcap Laughs, using the motif as a frame for a collection concerned with memory, movement, and return. Like the project itself, the anthology drifts between places, ideas, and disciplines, following echoes wherever they resurface.