Sumatra

Sumatra

Sumatra is an island in western Indonesia, westernmost of the Sunda Islands. It is the largest island entirely in Indonesia , and the sixth largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 with a population of 50,365,538...

 is a part of Indonesia

Indonesia

Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...

; its best-known musical output is probably dangdut

Dangdut

Dangdut is a genre of Indonesian popular music that is partly derived from Malay, Arabic, and Hindustani music. It developed in the 1970s among working-class Muslim youth, but beginning in the late 1990s reached a broader following in lower class Indonesians, Malaysia, and the southern...

, a rabab/saluang

Saluang

The saluang is a traditional musical instrument of the Minangkabau people of West Sumatra, Indonesia.It is similar to the flute in general and made of bamboo. It is related to the suling of other parts of Indonesia....

 instrumental style.

The Sumatran Toba

Batak Toba people

The Batak Toba people, also called Toba people or often simply 'Batak', are the most numerous of the Batak people of North Sumatra, Indonesia, and often considered the classical 'Batak', most likely to willingly self-identify as Batak. The Batak Toba people speak in the Toba Batak language and are...

 people are distinctive in their use of tuned drums to carry the melody

Melody

A melody , also tune, voice, or line, is a linear succession of musical tones which is perceived as a single entity...

 in their music; this practice is very rare worldwide. The Toba also use an instrument similar to the oboe

Oboe

The oboe is a double reed musical instrument of the woodwind family. In English, prior to 1770, the instrument was called "hautbois" , "hoboy", or "French hoboy". The spelling "oboe" was adopted into English ca...

 and several kinds of gong

Gong

A gong is an East and South East Asian musical percussion instrument that takes the form of a flat metal disc which is hit with a mallet....

s. Ensembles include the gondang sabangunan.

Films

• 2007 - Sumatran Folk Cinema (dir. Mark Gergis and Alan Bishop
  Alan Bishop
  Alan Bishop is an American musician, most famous for being the bassist and vocalist of experimental rock band Sun City Girls. He has also released solo material under the aliases Alvarius B. and Uncle Jim...
  
  ; Sublime Frequencies
  Sublime Frequencies
  Sublime Frequencies is a record label based in Seattle, Washington that focuses exclusively on "acquiring and exposing obscure sights and sounds from modern and traditional urban and rural frontiers," mostly from Southeast Asia, North Africa, and the Middle East...
  
  )