Golden Dragons Online: How Do We Keep Resonating?

This article recounts how Gamelan Naga Mas in Glasgow adapted to pandemic restrictions by exploring online music-making through live coding. With rehearsals and performances canceled, the group experimented with platforms like Estuary and the coding language MiniTidal, using digital samples of their instruments. Members collaboratively learned coding, reinterpreted traditional pieces such as Ladrang Wilujeng, and created new improvisations, culminating in a performance at the 2020 Network Music Festival. Reflections from participants highlight both challenges and discoveries, from latency issues and the resistance of gamelan structures to coding, to the creative potential of merging coding and gamelan practice as a means of sustaining community, creativity, and connection during lockdown.