This book explores an album of popular music with a remarkable significance to a violent wave of postcolonial tensions in the Netherlands in the 1970s. Several "actions" were claimed by a small number of first-generation descendants of ca. 12,500 reluctant migrants from the young independent state of Indonesia (former Dutch East Indies). Transferred in 1951, this culturally coherent group consisted of ex-Royal Dutch Colonial Army personnel and their families. Their ancient roots in the Moluccan archipelago and their protestant-christian faith defined their minority image. Their sojourn should have been temporary, but frustratingly turned out to be permanent. At the height of strained relations, Massada rose to the occasion. Astaganaga (1978) is a telling example of the will to negotiate a different diasporic Moluccan identity through uplifting contemporary sounds.

Made in the Low Countries: Studies in Popular Music serves as a comprehensive and thorough introduction to the history, sociology, and musicology of twentieth and twenty-first century popular music of the Dutch-speaking region comprising the Netherlands and Flanders as a region of federal Belgium. The volume consists of essays by leading scholars and publicists in this field, and covers the major issues, genres, and contexts of popular music. Each essay provides adequate context so readers understand why the issue or genre under discussion is of lasting significance to this transnational region. The book first presents a general description of the history and background of popular music made in the region, followed by essays that are organized into four thematic sections: I: Framing and Facilitating; II: Creation and Curation; III: Close Encounters; IV: Changes and Choices.

This book explores an album of popular music with a remarkable significance to a violent wave of postcolonial tensions in the Netherlands in the 1970s. Several "actions" were claimed by a small number of first-generation descendants of ca. 12,500 reluctant migrants from the young independent state of Indonesia (former Dutch East Indies). Transferred in 1951, this culturally coherent group consisted of ex-Royal Dutch Colonial Army personnel and their families. Their ancient roots in the Moluccan archipelago and their protestant-christian faith defined their minority image. Their sojourn should have been temporary, but frustratingly turned out to be permanent. At the height of strained relations, Massada rose to the occasion. Astaganaga (1978) is a telling example of the will to negotiate a different diasporic Moluccan identity through uplifting contemporary sounds.