Dangdut () is a genre of Indonesian folk music that is partly derived and fused from Hindustani, Arabic, and, to a lesser extent, Javanese, Malay, Minangkabau, Sundanese and local folk music. Dangdut is the most popular musical genre in Indonesia and very popular in other Maritime Southeast Asian countries because of its melodious instrumentation and vocals. Dangdut features a tabla and gendang beat. Modern dangdut incorporates influences from Middle Eastern pop music, Western rock, reggae, disco, contemporary R&B, hip-hop, house, and electronic dance music.
The popularity of dangdut peaked in the 1970s and 1980s, but emerged in the late 1960s. By 2012, it was still largely popular in Western Indonesia, but the genre was becoming less popular in the eastern parts, apart from Maluku. Meanwhile, more regional and faster-paced forms of dangdut (as opposed to slower, Bollywood-influenced dangdut) have risen in popularity.
Development
The term dangdut is an onomatopoeia for the sound of the tabla (also known as gendang) drum, which is written dang and ndut. Modern Minangkabau music is also the forerunner of dangdut, along with Malay music.
The transformation of Malay music by M. Mashabi (1932–1967) and Munif Bahasuan (1935–2021) with the Orkes Kelana Ria in the 1960s with several songs such as Ya Mustafa, Ya Mahmud and Patah Kasih which, according to ethnomusicologist Andrew N. Weintraub, are considered "proto-dangdut" and pioneered the form of dangdut as it is known today.
Orkes Melayu singer Ellya Khadam switched to dangdut in the 1970s, and by 1972, she was the number-one artist in Indonesia. Her success, along with that of Rhoma Irama, meant that by 1975, 75 per cent of all recorded music in Indonesia was of the dangdut genre, with pop bands such as Koes Plus adopting the style.
Culture and controversy
alt=en undersøgelse af indonesiske musikkulturers forhold til islam og kulturelle rettigheder|thumb|Dangdut band at Purawisata, [[Yogyakarta, 2011 (from Simon Høeg Jensen's 2012 book)]]
Dangdut has become "contemporary folk music" in Indonesia. Its popularity surpasses that of other music genres:
Most major cities, especially on Java, have one or more venues with a dangdut show several times a week. Concerts of major dangdut stars are also broadcast on television. and few popular music genres around the world are more focused on women's bodies than dangdut, whose lyrics often portray women as sexual objects.
On the one side, within dangdut, a religious current (spiritual dangdut) emerged. While most dangdut songs tell about relationships with boyfriends/girlfriends, spiritual works are directed to God. The main contribution to the emergence of spiritual dangdut was made by Rhoma Irama (albums Hak Azazi, Judi, Takbir Lebaran, Haji, Haram, Baca, and Shalawat Nabi), who made dangdut as a tool for his preaching, which can be seen from the lyrics of the songs he created and from the statements he issued himself.
On the other side, beginning in 2003, certain dangdut musicians became the focus of a national controversy in Indonesia regarding performances by koplo dangdut singer Inul Daratista, which religious conservatives described as erotic and sexually suggestive. Protests led by dangdut megastar and devout Muslim Rhoma Irama called for Daratista to be banned from television, and legislation was passed in 2008 by the People's Consultative Assembly that introduced a broad range of activities described as pornography.
The flamboyant performances at some dangdut shows also attracted collateral attention in May 2012 when a row broke out in Indonesia over a planned performance by international star Lady Gaga in Jakarta due to be held in early June 2012. In the face of opposition from conservative Muslim groups in Indonesia, the planned show was cancelled. This cancellation led numerous commentators to note that opposition to Lady Gaga's performances was surprising given the nature of some dangdut shows.
Dangdut remains an integral part of Indonesian life and pop culture despite conservative Muslim concerns over the supposed vulgarity of some performances (such as by Dewi Persik and Julia Perez).
Due to national laws, dangdut performers seek a balance of perceived womanhood, sexuality, and morality.