Soundwriters maps a hidden chapter of postwar music history. Sixty two rare and overlooked releases by Indonesian diaspora artists recorded in the Netherlands and Suriname, from soul and funk to reggae and pop. Built from deep archive work and crate digging, this book traces how migration shaped sound, scenes, and record culture between 1969 and 1989.
An homage to the unsung heroes of the underground and deserved recognition for the diaspora pioneers.
Michiel Sekan (Amsterdam, 2025)
Soundwriters: The Incomplete Guide to Indonesian Diaspora Music (1969–1989) is a book and catalogue devoted to artists whose work shaped the cultural life of postcolonial Netherlands, yet rarely entered official archives.
Written by Michiel Sekan with additional research by Harry “Munir” Septiandry, the book combines historical analysis with personal reflection. Essays move between migration histories, colonial legacies, family memory, and music culture. At its core sits a catalogue of sixty two releases that document the range of sounds created by Indo-European, Moluccan, Papuan, Javanese Surinamese, Peranakan, and broader Indonesian diaspora communities.
Soul, funk, pop, reggae, rock, and protest songs appear side by side. Together they form an aural record of resistance, adaptation, and creativity across continents.
Printed in Jakarta and published by Jiwa Jiwa in three languages, Dutch, English, and Indonesian, Soundwriters positions music as both archive and testimony. It asks how sound preserves stories when written records fall short, and how listening can reconnect personal memory with shared history.
The project extends beyond the page through exhibitions, listening rooms, documentaries, and public programs in the Netherlands and Indonesia.
SHORT ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Michiel Sekan is an Amsterdam based DJ, curator, and multidisciplinary artist. Through his platform Jiwa Jiwa he researches and presents music from the Indonesian archipelago and diaspora across radio, exhibitions, publishing, and club culture. His work links record collecting with archival study and personal history. Soundwriters is his first book.
