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Discus — Live in Switzerland 2005
(GreenMusic no#, 2026, CD)

by Peter Thelen, Published 2026-08-25

Live in Switzerland 2005 Cover art

By the time Discus were invited to perform on a short European tour in 2005, they had already released two studio albums 1st and Tot Licht, in 1999 and 2003 respectively, both of which were well received in their native Indonesia and on both sides of the Atlantic. In fact two years on from their second album, the band did have some new material, and it was performed here at the ProgSol festival in Switzerland (where Discus was the headliner with two other bands opening), but due to the limitations of the CD medium, those three songs were cut. In fact this live album was available two years ago as a bonus disc in a Japanese box set of the band’s first two CDs, subtitled The Official Bootleg, but this is the first time it’s been available as a stand-alone disc; and regardless of that earlier subtitle, this is no bootleg – the recording quality and mix of the six tracks presented is nothing short of stellar, especially given the difficulty of recording some of the Indonesian native acoustic instruments (like rindik, suling, kaciping, kempli, as well as Iwan Hasan’s harp guitar) together with a full-on electric ensemble. It’s worth noting that the shortest track here Is fifteen seconds shy of ten minutes, with one “Anne” clocking in at nearly twenty-one. Two pieces from their first album bookend the set, “Contrasts” as the opener, with guest singer Fadly Arifuddin, and “Lamentation & Fantasia Gamelantronique” was performed as the encore, the latter around three minutes longer than the original studio version. From the band’s second album we get the aforementioned “Anne,” “Verso Kartini, Door Duisternis Tot Licht!,” “Breathe” and “System Manipulation” - all of their most progressive material, and powerful it is. If one hasn’t heard Discus before, their sound is progressive rock of the highest order, informed by elements of jazz, metal, and of course Indonesian traditional folk and gamelan, featuring guitar, bass, keyboards/electronics, sax/flute, violin, drums with male and female vocals, and for this set the band brought along a second guest guitarist. The good news is that the release of this album has brought Discus back together again, and although a couple of the original members have passed away, the remainder of the band is intact and performing, which is the first step before going back into the studio to record new material.

Filed under: New releases, 2026 releases

Related artist(s): Discus

 

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