Dangdut Analysis

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Option 2: Dangdut

Dangdut is a genre of Indonesian popular music played with lower class and developed in Indonesian capital city of Jakarta in the early 1970s. It represents the desire and aspirations of the people among the lower class of the political and economic structure. They are often described as common people, underclass group or little people who have been out of attention. In the late 1980s, dangdut became a powerful social tool as it extended its extent into social geography through mass media and middle classes. Dangdut became the representation of Indonesia’s national music as it is regarded as an easy music that everyone could sing and dance as well as nearly everyone could have the feelings of connection with the music. Also, it represented the ‘soul of Indonesian people’ with its massive popularity in Indonesia, government and military officials. However, dangdut in the 20th century began with its formation period of adopting new characteristics and aesthetics of other styles of popular music like other forms of popular music. This essay will provide an understanding of the hybrid, blended musical elements of dangdut in relation to its relationship at local and national levels within changing social, religious, historical events of modern Indonesia.

Dangdut is rooted in “Malay band music” which influenced by Indian music from 1950s and 1960s. Rhoma Irama became an iconic figure of dangdut through the 1970s. In the early 1970s, the most famous dangdut musician called Rhoma Irama also known as “king of dangdut” carried the western style sound and performance into dangdut (Wallach and Clinton 2013, p4). He is one of the most significant artists of dangdut and made the music popular through live concerts and re...

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Irama, Rhoma (2011) Music as a Medium for Communication, Unity, Education, and Dakwha. In Islam and Popular culture in Indonesia and Malaysia, ed. Weinstraub, A., pp.185-192. New York: Routlege.

Wallach, J. & Clinton, E. (2013) Asian Music: History, Modernity, and Music Genre in Indonesia: Popular MusicGenres in the Dutch East Indies and Following Independence, vol.44, No.2, Summer/Fall 2013, pp. 3-23,University of Texas Press.

Weintraub, A., N. (2006) Dangdut Soul: Who Are the ‘People’ in Indonesian Popular Music? Asian Journal of Communication vol.16, No.4, pp.411-431.

Weintraub A., N (2010) Dangdut Sotires, A Social and Musical History of Indonesia’s Most Popular Music, Oxford University Press.

Widodo, A. (1995) The stages of the state: The arts of the people and Rites of hegemonisation. Review of Indonesian and Malaysian Affairs, 29, pp.1-35.

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