Dharmawan turned heads with his 2CD Pasar Klewer (MoonJune Records), one of the best albums of 2017, whose conception and execution marked the pianist as someone to watch. Thus expectations were raised for Rumah Batu, perhaps unreasonably, because the previous album set the bar impossibly high. Maybe this latest collection tries too hard, takes on too much, pushes in too many directions. In contrast, the singular focus of Pasar Klewer created a momentum that was compelling. Dharmawan is not short of ideas, but there is a lot of mixing and matching of jazz and world, world and jazz, without finding a singular voice that combines them to best effect to realise the potential of his compositions. Individually there are some good performances – Dharmawan and the brilliant Asaf Sirkis leading the way, Stavi and Benavent too, but Nguyên Lê seems a bit apart from the music. An original voice, he retains his singular identity when the music demands he becomes part of it. This is music that is both conceptual and compositional, and simply playing, however brilliantly, is not enough. It demands you surrender a part of your individuality and immerse yourself in the composer's conceptual intent.