Fieldwork from a distance I
In February 2021, the duo Senyawa (Rully Shabara and Wukir Suryadi) released their latest album Alkisah. The album tells a double apocalyptic story of a society that disbanded as its civilisation collapsed, hoping “to build a new one for the future. However, that future may not be there because the impending doom is upon them.” (Senyawa on Bandcamp). The album is not only an attempt to break down musical boundaries. It is also a powerful political-aesthetic comment on a planet facing multiple forms of collapse. In addition, however, the album also seeks to disrupt conventional distribution practices in the music industry. By co-releasing the album worldwide at multiple independent record labels, the duo Senyawa aims to decentralise the hierarchy of music distribution, by sharing its ownership and distribute creative monopoly to others. As Senyawa puts it, they seek to “empower smaller scattered powers to grow and connect. The labels are given full freedom to design their own version of cover art and packaging, and are allowed to do their own mastering. The labels also curate their own remixes/reinterpretations of the album as part of the release.” So far, the album has been released by more than 45 labels and has gained significant recognition worldwide. Read for instance an article in The New York Times about the project here.
