Jalan Kopo

In the mid-'90s, Sabah Habas Mustapha, once a member of the legendary group of world music plunderers 3 Mustaphas 3, recorded his dangdut--or Indonesian pop--album. Called Denpasar Moon, the title track became something of an international hit. Jalan Kopo takes him back to Java, specifically to Bandung, to record with local musicians, and the result is every bit as delightful as its predecessor. Of course, since this is a project involving a former Mustapha, humor is inevitably a part of the equation. Nobody's taking it to the fridge, but we do have a pidgin Javanese tribute to the great English comedian, Arthur Askey, here known as Artur Asaki. It's all good fun, and there's also some great dangdut from the Mustapha pen, songs that are wonderful pop, no matter what category you put them into. And, to top it all off, there's even Mustapha with a Javanese orchestra. If this doesn't give you a taste for something slightly more exotic--and maybe something in peanut sauce--then nothing will. --Chris Nickson