Rama Parwata is a Naarm-Melbourne based musician, composer, curator, and sound artist who has a distinguished reputation for his audacious and technical aural explorations in sound, texture and rhythm on the drum-kit, drawing influence from Jazz, Extreme Metal, and Gamelan music from his Balinese and Indonesian heritage. As a composer, his works involve sonic investigations within the realms of post-free-jazz and experimental electronics, navigating the liminal spaces between rhythm and noise, structure and chaos.
Since graduating from the Victorian College of the Arts/University of Melbourne in 2016, Rama has become a considerably active figure in Melbourne’s burgeoning underground music scene and he has been at the very forefront of Australian underground music both as a performer, composer and a curator.
In 2021, Rama released his sonically experimental debut solo album, Tekanan, on Cassauna / Important Records. Rama performed Tekanan in it’s entirety at 2023’s Dark Mofo festival for Room40’s Borderlands concert series. Tekanan’s follow-up, Ceases, was released in April 2024 on Cassauna / Important Records.
In 2021, Rama co-founded the experimental Metal/Gamelan outfit Rinuwat with Karina Utomo and Mike Deslandes of High Tension fame. Their debut album, Dua Naga, was released in late 2021 on Heavy Machinery Records to critical acclaim, including a nomination for ‘Best Heavy Work’ at the 2022 Music Victoria Awards . Rinuwat performed for the first time to a sold-out audience at 2022’s Dark Mofo festival in Hobart, Tasmania. In addition to Dark Mofo, Rinuwat have made appearances at Soft Centre in Sydney and OHM in Brisbane.
Additionally to Rinuwat, in 2021 Rama co-founded the Black Metal trio Kilat, with Rinuwat band-mate Karina Utomo and Ben Andrews of MY DISCO and Agents of Abhorrence ilk, as a means to explore and celebrate their shared interest in raw Black Metal from the 90’s underground. Kilat released their debut album Rantai Penjinak in 2022 via AR53 Records. Kilat‘s short career has included major festival appearances including Mona Foma, Dark Mofo, and Blacken. Kilat has embarked on extensive domestic Australian touring, in addition to international tours in South-East Asia and New Zealand.
Since 2017, Rama has been a member of the seminal Melbourne-based Doom Metal outfit, Whitehorse, who have toured extensively internationally and in 2019 released a collaborative EP with the internationally-renowned American Metal duo, The Body. In 2021, Whitehorse released their latest full length album Death Weight on Heavy Machinery Records.
From 2019 to 2024, Rama was a committee member and co-curator of the legendary Make It Up Club, one of the world’s longest-running experimental concert series (starting in 1998), which hosts weekly improvised music and sound performances.
Rama has worked on various projects with choreographers / companies Stephanie Lake (Manifesto), Melanie Lane (PULAU, Phantasm), and Chunky Move (Phantasm).
In 2022, Rama was nominated for a Music Victoria Award under the “Best Experimental or Avant-Garde Work” category for his solo and collaborative musical endeavors within the Victorian experimental music community.
Rama has performed at some of Australia’s biggest art festivals including Dark Mofo, Mona Foma, Rising, Asia TOPA, Adelaide Festival, Brisbane Festival, Sydney Festival, Perth Festival, Soft Centre, and Falls Festival.
Rama Parwata 