Dongker Responds to Agan Harahap’s Work Through the Visual of “Melankolia Radikal”

Dongker recently released their second album, Melankolia Radikal. Rather than treating sadness as a fleeting emotion, the album translates it as something that grows, lingers, and takes root within every human being. Beyond its eleven tracks, the story of Melankolia Radikal is also portrayed through a strong visual language.

The album’s journey began with the “Melankolia di Kolong” showcase at Taman Skateboard, beneath the Prof. Dr. Mochtar Kusumaatmadja (Pasupati) Flyover in Bandung. Through its songs, Dongker explores a deep-rooted sense of sadness that stems not only from personal experiences, but also from collective ones – from relationships between people, connections with family and the environment, relationships with the state, and even something larger than oneself.

“When a group of people is placed under the same conditions, there is an opportunity for a feeling to grow together, to be experienced and felt collectively. Melankolia Radikal is a collection of sadness, disappointment, and anger that I feel has recently been experienced collectively by the people, as a reaction to the space that encompasses them, which is the state,” said Dzikrie J. Arethusa, Dongker’s drummer.

First meeting at the Faculty of Art and Design (FSRD), Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB), Delpi Suhariyanto, Arno Zarror, and Dzikrie J. Arethusa created the album artwork as an interpretation of Agan Harahap’s notable work, I Was Punk Before You, which features a close-up photograph of Indonesia’s seventh president, Joko Widodo, portrayed in a punk aesthetic. Within the artwork, Dongker’s new mascot also appears as a marker of identity, tying together the album’s broader visual narrative.

“Today, our reality is blurred by various things: the internet, AI, information restricted by officials, and stupid appeals from public officials. We feel that our cover art can capture this phenomenon,” explained Delpi about the artwork for Melankolia Radikal.

The mascot featured in the artwork is named “Dollar,” not as a representation of currency, but as another interpretation of the feeling of sadness. The mascot has since appeared across various mediums, from action figures and plush costumes to keychains and more. Through these different forms, we are seemingly given full control over “Dollar”: it can be lifted, hugged, displayed, thrown, hung, or even discarded.

“We feel the same disgust and madness within our personal spaces. Broken households, relationships that never worked out, taxes that have fallen apart. Maybe this is not a perfect summary, but Melankolia Radikal was created with full awareness as Indonesian citizens who feel that the state has failed to stand alongside its people,” concluded Delpi.

Melankolia Radikal is now available to stream across digital music streaming platforms.