The drummer hit the cymbals. The bass player clawed at his guitar. The crowd raised their index and pinky fingers to show approval. The lead singer and guitarist stepped up to the microphone and shouted, “Our bodies are not public property!” And dozens of fans went wild for the hijab-wearing heavy metal trio.
“There’s no room for a sexist heart,” lead singer Firda Kurnia said in the chorus of “(Not) Public Property,” one of the band’s hits, during a December show in Jakarta, Indonesia. I screamed into the microphone. capital.
Nearly a decade after first appearing, Voice of Baceprot (pronounced Bace-PROT, meaning “noise” in Sundanese, one of the main languages spoken in Indonesia) has focused on progressive topics such as women's empowerment and pacifism. The song gained great popularity in Korea. and environmental conservation.
Now they are gaining fans even overseas. It received praise from the likes of Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine. Last year the band, whose lyrics are a mix of English, Indonesian and Sundanese, played in the US, France and the Netherlands.
At the Jakarta gig, Pirda, 23, who goes by the name Marsya, told the crowd that the band was “a little sad and angry to hear that someone here got booed.”
“Anyone who does that, who boos or touches someone else’s body without consent is the worst offender,” she said. “So we want to curse this person with the next song.” The band then performed “PMS” with the chorus in Indonesian.
“Though I am not so virgin as the Virgin Mary/I am not the servant of your rotten brain/Even though I am not so virgin as the Virgin/I am free, completely free.”
Voice of Baceprot may be the only prominent heavy metal band in Indonesia whose members wear the hijab, but the heavy metal music scene has been long established there. Jakarta is the venue for Hammersonic, Southeast Asia's largest heavy metal music festival. Outgoing President Joko Widodo is a fan of Metallica and Megadeth.
The members of Voice of Baceprot are all Muslims in their early 20s. With songs that break stereotypes about gender, religion, and class, they have become role models for many young women in Indonesia. At the concert that day, many fans flocked to the concert and bumped their heads to the music.
Nonetheless, the group has faced criticism. Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim-majority country, is not a theocracy and has always cherished its secular identity. But in recent years, parts of the sprawling archipelago have adopted a more conservative interpretation of Islam that opposes young women wearing the hijab. Plays heavy metal.
“They faced criticism and all kinds of harassment, but it didn’t affect their determination to make music,” said Karim, a 54-year-old fan who traveled from Bogor to Jakarta for a concert in December. Like many Indonesians, he goes by one name.
Band members — Marsya; drummer Eusi Siti Aisyah, known as Sitti; and bassist Widi Rahmati, both born and raised in Garut, a conservative region in West Java Province.
Their parents are farmers. The house where Marsya grew up still has no running water and the internet is spotty. Their childhood was spent reading the Quran, playing games in the rice fields, and listening to dangdut, the Indonesian pop music of their parents' choice.
The girls said they met in middle school at an Islamic school, where they were “troublemakers.”
In 2014, they were sent for counseling by their teacher, Cep Ersa Eka Susila Satia, who first tried to engage them in theatre. But Ersa, who the women call 'Ava Ersa' or 'Father Ersa', said, “Their acting was terrible.”
He told them to play music instead, and they became part of a group of 15 students trying their hand at pop music. Then one day, the three girls borrowed Mr. Ersa's laptop and discovered his playlist. They played “Toxicity,” a hit by the Armenian-American metal band System of a Down, and were instantly hooked.
They asked Mr. Ersa to teach them how to play, and began covering popular heavy metal songs and posting videos of their performances online. They were a hit.
“I was thrilled,” recalled Wendi Putranto, manager of Seringai, one of Indonesia’s biggest heavy metal bands.
“It’s very brave of them to play this type of music,” said Wendi. “I think that's the most important thing. It's about showing people that we are women, we wear hijabs, we are Muslims who play heavy metal. So what?”
At first, the women were called all kinds of abusive things. The band has offended many Muslim men who believe that women in hijab should be docile and not bang their heads on metal. One day in 2015, someone threw a rock at Marcia. Attached to it was a note containing profanity.
They were also having problems at school, where they were considered “public enemies,” Sitti, 23, said. Marsya recalled that the principal told the girls, “'Your music is haram,' that is, forbidden music.” ‘I’m going to hell.’” They dropped out but eventually graduated from different schools.
The hostility took its toll. “We told Abah that we were tired and wanted to stop playing music,” Marsya said. “And Abah said: ‘Why do you torment humans? Ask God directly.’”
This led to the 2021 hit “God, Let Me (Please) to Play Music.” Ersa wrote the lyrics, and the women composed the music. Although they now write their own lyrics, they continue to work with Mr. Seek guidance from Ersa.
Last year, the band embarked on its first western tour, playing in nine cities in France, the Netherlands and the United States. In Oakland, California, fans in the stands chanted 'Allahu Akbar', which means 'God is great' in Arabic.
Regarding these trips, the agency said they advised them not to go out without consideration for their safety.
“They were afraid that someone would shoot at us,” said Widi, 22.
Women say they are perplexed by frequently asked questions about headscarves. “Many journalists asked us more about the hijab than about our music: ‘Who forced you to wear the hijab?’” Marsya said. “It was really strange.”
“We say we wear the hijab because we want to,” she added. “And at first, my parents told me to wear the hijab, but once I grow up, I can choose what I want.”
It is said that women began wearing hijab in elementary school. “But we wore miniskirts. The top was the Arabic version and the bottom was the Japanese version!” Marcia said with a smile.
The women said they want to continue focusing on female empowerment and the environment in their next song. “We are worried about the future. “Will we still be able to see the forest in 10 years?” Marcia asked.
Many girls in the village are pressured to marry at a very young age, some as young as 12 years old. “Now we realize what a privilege it is to hear from so many people,” she added. “That’s not something every girl in our town can have.”
Harsha Nindita contributed to the report.