An Ethnographic Approach to Balinese Music Resilience: Adaptive Strategies in a Globalized Tourism Landscape (A Case Study of Kuta, Bali)

Ni Wayan, Ardini and I Nyoman, Cahyadi Wijaya and I Ketut, Astawa and I Gede, Mudana (2026) An Ethnographic Approach to Balinese Music Resilience: Adaptive Strategies in a Globalized Tourism Landscape (A Case Study of Kuta, Bali). Malaysian Journal of Music, 15. ISSN 2600-9366

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Abstract

This article examines how musical practices are negotiated within Kuta, Bali’s changing tourist soundscape. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork, interviews with musicians, venue managers, community leaders, and policy actors, as well as participant observations in beaches, bars, hotels, and temples, the study analyzes how traditional Balinese music and Pop Bali are positioned in everyday acoustic life. Traditional Balinese music is understood here as ritual and community-based performance rooted in temples, banjar (sub-village), and ceremonial contexts, while Pop Bali is treated as a moderntraditional hybrid genre that blends Balinese language, melodic and rhythmic elements, and global popular music styles. The findings show that Kuta’s soundscape is dominated by amplified global pop, electronic dance music (EDM), and commercial advertising. Yet, Balinese musical forms persist through strategic placement, temporal scheduling, and targeted programming for both residents and tourists. Stakeholders use Pop Bali and curated performances of traditional Balinese music to negotiate cultural visibility, economic survival, and identity in a competitive tourist market. Rather than a simple story of loss or preservation, the article argues that Kuta’s musical life is characterized by ongoing cultural negotiation and hybridity in which collaborations between musicians, businesses, and local authorities reshape what counts as “traditional” and “modern” in Bali’s premier tourism hub.

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