My interest in music as a force for social change is reflected in a book I co-edited with Bell Yung entitled Music and Cultural Rights. As the founder and lead singer of the Pittsburgh-based Dangdut Cowboys, I aim to bring this joyous dance music to audiences outside its home base. The book traces the history of dangdut from a denigrated form of urban popular music to a prominent role in Indonesian cultural politics and the commercial music industry. Dangdut Storiesis a social and musical history of the genre within a range of broader narratives about class, gender, ethnicity and nation in post-independence Indonesia (1945-present). In 2003, I began to explore a genre of Indonesian national popular music called dangdut. ĭuring the last decade, my research has expanded well beyond the region of West Java. Several digital media projects grew out of this work including a cd-rom that accompanies Power Plays and a 6-cd recording of one wayang golek performance. ![]() ![]() In my first book Power Plays, I wrote about the art of Sundanese rod-puppet theater wayang golek and its adjustment to political pressures and economic opportunities in a rapidly modernizing society. Indonesia is a major focus of my research, particularly the musical, narrative, and theatrical practices of Sundanese people in West Java. Music of Southeast Asia Sundanese Performing Arts Gamelan Wayang Golek Puppet Theater Music and Cultural Theory Popular Music.
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