Popular Music in Southeast Asia Banal Beats, Muted Histories

Popular Music in Southeast Asia offers a cultural history of modern Southeast Asia from the original vantage point of popular music. It features singers and musicians - many of whom are no longer remembered today - as well as their fans as a social force of importance. By creatively connecting indigenous musical styles with alien musical genres, Southeast Asians created hybrid musical genres that drew a mass public from the 1920s onward. The vibrant music was intrinsically wound up with modern life and the societal changes that came with it. It yielded new audiences across national borders and at times served as a medium to voice social or political discontent. Popular Music in Southeast Asia familiarizes the public with several of these popular musical genres and artists from countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines.