VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

The Creative Economic Agency -Bekraf continues to collaborate and organize various programs for the advancement of creative economy industries in Indonesia. One of these programs is to present Pavilion Archipelageek featuring various innovative products of Indonesian start-ups at the South by Southwest (SXSW) largest creative and technological festival, held in Austin, Texas, US) every year. Currently, the agency is preparing to prepare Archipelageek Pavilion at SXSW 2019 on 8 to 17 March 2019 with a different touch. Deputy of Marketing of Bekraf, Joshua Pudji Mulia Simanjuntak, said in his press conference in Jakarta on Thursday (July 26, 2018) that the agency plans to introduce Dangdut music as Indonesian original music to SXSW 2019 through Hello Dangdut program. Through the program, it is expected that the visitors of the SXSW 2019 can get more familiar with Dangdut music as Indonesia's original music and feel the euphoria of Dangdut music.

“We want to listen to Dangdut music to get the same experience. Here, Dangdut is very popular and become the hits, isn’t it! We want that to happen as well. Because we can see that Dangdut is very potential to get a place in the world music genre such as Reggae from Jamaica. Surely, Reggae also entered the United States, as an unpopular music and then entered the market. Then, the musicians eventually became known by the American market and then known by the world market,”

In regard to the concept that will be brought by the program ‘Hello Dangdut’ in SXSW 2019, Joshua explained that his agency will show Dangdut music through the concept of mobile Dangdut which has been modified. The mobile Dangdut uses a wagon that carries musical equipment and loudspeakers. This is commonly found in some regions in Indonesia, including in big cities. According to Deputy of Marketing of Indonesia’s Creative Agency-Bekraf, Joshua Pudji Mulia Simanjuntak, the mobile Dangdut is an interesting and unique concept. He himself got the idea to use the concept of the mobile Dangdut of hip-hop music performances in the 1980s era that also moved from one place to another, carrying equipment in the form of a music player. (VOI/Rezha/AHM