Voice of Baceprot: Indonesia’s hijab-wearing metalheads play Glastonbury

The three ladies started producing material tunes in high school, but they never imagined making history for Indonesia at Glastonbury.

The band they formed, Voice of Baceprot, are playing at the festival this year, and they were” confused” when they learned they had been invited.

” Because we did n’t know how exciting]the festival ] is … We did n’t know what to do next”, the band’s lead singer Firdda Marsya Kurnia said.

After the group realized they would be the first Indonesian group to perform at Europe’s largest music event, the strain was on. Dua Lipa and Coldplay are the headline acts at this year’s five-day event.

On Friday, Widi Rahmawati, Euis Siti Aisyah, and Marsya, the band’s musician, will play in Voice of Baceprot. Baceprot ( pronounced “bah- che- prot” ) means “noise” in Sundanese, one of the most commonly spoken language in Indonesia.

Since their settlement class was ten years ago, the three women have made significant progress.

They have made headlines around the world and have performed in the US and Europe, where they have challenged sex and spiritual standards.

The likes of Rage Against the Machine have also praised them, whose guitar Tom Morello claimed he watched one of their video “ten days in a string and was just blown away by it.” Flea from Red Hot Chilli Peppers when tweeted,” I am so down with Voice of Baceprot”.

However, Glastonbury may get their biggest step appearance to date.

Marsya, Siti, both 24, and Widi, 23, sat down with the BBC a month before their ancient show to talk about their trip since they started playing songs together as three anxious teenagers.

Growing up in the rural area of Singajaya in Indonesia’s West Java state, Marsya and Siti became friends in elementary school. They first met Widi in junior high school, where they frequently received summonses for “rebellious behavior” at the university counsellor’s business.

Their adoration of heavy metal began in this doubtful position. They struck up a connection with the advisor, Father Ersa.

We listened to music on Abah Ersa’s laptop as a counselor, and we thought it would be nice if we could handle those music, Siti said.” We get an adrenaline jump when we listen to heavy material.

Ersa claims that he recognized that the ladies were different from other teenagers who may behave differently and behave differently. Rather, they often spoke up for what they felt was unjust in college.

They “were opposed to the program” and frequently clashed with their professors. Their comments were therefore considered provocative”, he said.

Ersa encouraged the females to use music to express their feelings in 2014. He used the leftover pieces from the moving band’s left behind to create Siti a wooden roller and Marsya to the guitar and Widi to the bass.

We let our anger flow through our music because we do n’t want to offend anyone by being angry with others.

” If we opposition, it will be a concern. We will be accused of being extreme. In our town, the ladies who opposition will be called ridiculous,” said Marsya, who comes over as the most cheerful of the three.

Up then, playing tunes even motivated them to go to college, she added.

” We were only told to obtain good grades … memorise, write, turn the books, that’s it. This was our everyday regimen for 12 years. We were bored. Finally, there was song. It was something novel.”

The group credits Ersa as their leader. He was the first to put their tunes on YouTube. Now, they have 360, 000 subscribers on YouTube and 230, 000 followers on Instagram.

However, the band and their song have likewise piqued some people’s interest.

Some residents of their community, which are dominated by moderate Muslims, did not well with large material. Marsya was again struck on the mind by a stone attached to a note telling her to” prevent making the witch’s music.”

About 87 % of Indonesia’s people are Muslims. West Java is one of the more traditional regions, and it is home to religions that forbid singing and music.

Some individuals find heavy metal music and hijab-wearing people especially provocative.

” Some also said I should get off my hijab]as our music ] does not represent a genuine Muslim. But these are separate issues. Metal is merely a style of music. I wear a dress because it’s my personality as a Muslim… It’s not because I want to be dramatic,” Marsya told BBC Indonesian in an earlier meeting in 2018.

Marsya, Siti and Widi have earned their families ‘ support over the years, though not without pushback- Widi’s older sister had warned her that playing large metal do” spoil her upcoming “while Siti’s family had described her music career as” unserious”.

Even the Islamic school principal, who they were after junior high, criticized their music. The girls later left.

In 2021, they released the single God, Allow Me ( Please ) to Play Music, which serves as an empathic plea against these criticisms.

The band composed the tune, while Ersa wrote the lyrics. Its chorus goes”, I’m not the criminal, I’m not the enemy, I just wanna sing a song to show my soul… God, allow me, please, to play music.”

The band’s song, ( Not ) Public Property, also features their frustrations with patriarchy and the male gaze, which is a challenge they still face as female musicians.

The song goes”, Our body is not public property, we have no place for the dirty mind. Our body is not public property, we have no place for the sexist mind.”

When people do n’t notice our music or the work we put in, it’s disappointing. It’s really irritating,” says Marsya.

Despite this, the band acknowledges that Glastonbury invitation is a nod to their accomplishments. But it is also nerve- wrecking.

When people started promoting the festival,” We thought we were ready to take it on,” said Marsya.” We are able to perform on stage when people do n’t expect anything from us.”

Siti used a more optimistic tone. I’m not ready, but what the heck, I’ll pretend I am the star on stage. You’ll notice that I frequently close my eyes during performances because I picture myself just jamming in the studio with my band.

Siti claimed that a significant portion of the group’s mental preparation involves attempting to” not overthink how many people would be watching us perform””. If I know the size of the crowd, I think I wo n’t be able to handle it,” she said.

” We are proud of it, but on the other hand, it’s a big responsibility for us, because the audience are n’t just seeing VoB, but Indonesia,” Marsya said.