Peace Freedom's second book focuses on unarchived Dangdut labels in Indonesia

Peace Freedom is an online media and publishing company devoted to music and graphical archival research, headed by none other than Munir Harry Septiandry aka Midnight Runners.

Based out of Bandung, Indonesia, Peace Freedom aims to communicate with audiences through printed text and visuals. Its first book titled ‘A-Z Indonesia Records Label Logo Archive’ comprises a collection of black and white logos of record labels spanning the 1950s-1990s era collected by Munir himself, printed on green, pink, blue and yellow-coloured HVS paper.

For the second publication titled ‘A-Z Indonesia Records Label Archive Issue No. 2’, Munir digs into unarchived record label logos once more, this time focusing on one specific genre — dangdut.

Known as a genre of Indonesian folk music, dangdut is known for its distinctive rhythm and beats that are partly derived and fused from Hindustani, Arabic and Malay folk music. Often echoed at Indonesian traditional gatherings, parties and festivals, the genre is characterized by the use of a rhythmic drum machine and the Indian Harmonium.

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Dangdut songs resonate themes of love, heartbreak and social issues, making the genre able to gain a large following due to its lyrical relevancy. The genre is also considered an important part of Indonesia’s cultural heritage. Existing since the 1970s, dangdut gained commercial success in the 1980s where it also incorporated more electronic instruments into its compositions, such as the synthesizer and drum machine. The result; an even more distinct and modern sound for the people of Indonesia (and the rest of the world).

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As stated on Peace Freedom’s website, the 160-paged book aims to maintain a record of the different logos and visual identities used by local record labels throughout the eras. In addition, it hopes to be a source of inspiration for those embarking on logo design projects in the future.

‘A-Z Indonesia Records Label Archive Issue No. 2’ is on sale now for IDR379,000 (US$25,7). Grab your copy of here.

Amira Waworuntu is Mixmag Asia’s Managing Editor, follow her on Instagram.