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Smartest Bomb Records Releases Single to Address Indonesian Workers Rights

By on May 1, 2020

In the current Covid-19 situation, Indonesian workers are threatened by the idea of living the new normal amidst wage cuts and work termination. The “work from home” appeal cannot substitute the lost income, so they have to continuously rack their brain to get irons in the fire and the uncertainty becomes the biggest concern for workers in juxtaposition to the fear of contracting or transmitting the virus. The government’s policy on the work copyright Omnibus Law also exacerbates the current conditions. The damn bill has reaped a lot of rejection from workers since it cause the loss of minimum wages, the absence of social security, reduced layoff severance, working hours flexibility, and the uncertainty of work guarantee for contract employees and outsourcing.

Smartest Bomb Records initiated fellow musicians to collectively build appreciation and solidarities to the condition of the workers in the midst of the pandemic. The project is titled the Smartest Bomb Kolektif project, incarnated in a song, May Day ’20, released exactly on Labor Day, May 1 st, 2020.

May Day ’20 tells the story of the inequality between the workers’ rights and obligations, about the dominance of investors that put the workers on a steep end, about the workers’ value of life, about how to remember and preserve the idea of Labor Day, a momentum where workers succeeded in pushing important rights to the light, such as the right to work 8 hours/day, paid leave, as well as maternity leave, so powerful that it cause May Day to be appointed as a national holiday.

The song is produced by Imam Agnianto & Agung of Innocenti band. They wrote the lyrics together. May Day ’20 was furthermore composed by musicians such as Edi of The Borstal, Dwaraditra of The Valid, Adhitya Murti (Utay) of The End, Boy Leonardo of Error crew in vocals, Trisno Agung of Innocenti and Genxs of The Valid in guitars, Fadli Aat of Diskoria in the bass, and Imam Agnianto of Innocenti in the drum. The surprising part of the song is the guest vocal at the middle rhyme, performed by a rapper from Medan, Jere Fundamental. The middle part of the song is enriched by sound effects that are combined with scratch by DJ Eone Cronik from Bandung. This song was recorded at Embrionic Studio in March 2020. The sound design, mixing, and mastering was handled by Donny Onda. The music video was headed by Arief Wahyudi and the artwork cover was created by Philipponk.

The music in May Day ’20 was written by Agung of Innocenti, influenced by punk rock elements, wrapped in a lengthy sing-a-long, combining the nuance of hip hop with solid dense rhymes, bundled with a modern sound that will enlighten the listener’s enthusiasm and energy. This song is available for free download and listening at https://smartestbombrecords.bandcamp.com.
Smartest Bomb Kolektif hopes that May Day ‘20 can be a part of the world’s May Day celebration in the middle of the pandemic. It is subjected as an anthem for the workers who continue to fight for prosperity. It is a long fight. It is a long road. This song is one of a million steps to make our common dreams come true. One day, comrade. Stay close. Let’s celebrate.

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