A monumental double-album of epic ambition, Badjuna's Indonesian heritage invests several cuts, notably the vox on ‘Lake Takengon’ or the gamelan intimations of ‘Rerengat Langit’. But, as you'd equally expect from Steve Vai's Favored Nations label, the emphasis is on Badjuna's love, devotion and indeed surrender to the jazz rock ethos of the likes of McLaughlin, Holdsworth and, indeed, Vai himself. Nice to see Nick Meier getting a namecheck too, and it's intriguing to compare this release with the altogether airier and decidedly less porky Meier/Oxley project reviewed later on these esteemed pages. Badjuna plays with a guileless indulgence (in the best, one more mince pie than you really need, kind of way) that veers between the boggling to the, whoops, boring. You can't deny his enthusiasms or the quality of the sidemen but there's almost too many ideas, an over-egged pudding indeed, and you crave to hear Badjuda's voice liberated from the layered production values.