July 8, 2024
JAKARTA – We proudly join Indonesians all over the country and across the globe, raising our metal horns for celebrated music outfit Voice of Baceprot, who last week marked a milestone as our first musical ambassadors to perform at the esteemed Glastonbury Festival in the United Kingdom.
The Muslim-hijabi metalhead trio should receive all the support they need to provide contemporary, real representations of Islam and of Indonesia following the gig at one of the largest and most prestigious music festivals in the world.
While Islam is embraced by the majority of Indonesians, classical Islamic scholars have debated whether Indonesia’s Islam is actually orthodox enough to be called Islam, considering how the faith is practiced in the country, especially with its idiosyncrasies.
Indonesian Muslims, the predominant population in the country, have sought to expand their clout beyond the nation’s borders to take a leading role in dialogues between civilizations.
Indeed, Voice of Baceprot, often abbreviated as VOB, has made it among its missions to break any preconceived notions of Islam or of Indonesia.
At home, despite conservative crowds who object to them playing music as Muslim women, especially due to their choice of “satanic-branded” metal, the nation’s reception has been largely appreciative toward the trio.
The metal band is already a minority in the country. Female rock musicians are a relatively small population. Veiled female rock musicians make an even smaller group.
Hailing from the small town of Garut in West Java, VOB came together in 2014 when the trio were only 13, choosing to channel their youthful energy through heavy metal.
Their unique hook as hijab-wearing heavy metal singers has captivated thousands of headbangers. They have been featured in numerous international media outlets, both for their uniqueness and their musical qualities.
Throughout the years, VOB has earned respect from top musicians from Indonesia and beyond.
Having globetrotted with its music, VOB has found foreign audiences always welcoming and appreciative. When facing people concerned with topics surrounding Islam and their hijabs, VOB frontwoman Firda “Marsya” Kurnia has said that the band would answer such skepticism by explaining Indonesia’s moderate face of Islam.
Metal music has proven to be a viable avenue for Indonesian arts and culture to make a name on the world’s stage. The heart-pumping music has a lively home in the country, as metal has long been tremendously popular. In May, some 38,000 fans attended Hammersonic, which is dubbed Southeast Asia’s largest annual heavy metal music festival.
VOB represents the latest generation of Indonesian musicians who are appreciated abroad.
While the band’s tune is sonorous, its message is substantial. Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai is among those who have praised VOB’s bravery for enduring criticism and attacks by religious conservatives.
“The members of VOB believe that music is the best way to address the issues they witness in their country and around the world,” her non-profit organization the Malala Fund wrote. “We don’t want generations after us to remain in the wrong system or way of thinking.”
Time and again, we have witnessed how Indonesian talent, often ignored at home but celebrated abroad, can represent the nation and be heard across the world.
We have great potential in our artists, who are as diverse as they are talented, in music, movies, literature and visual arts, just to name a few fields.
Getting our name acknowledged and our voices heard on the world stage does not need to be done through obvious, and oftentimes tired, channels and methods.
There are many ways to do so, some can be very unusual. Our sincerest support should go to our fellow Indonesians who are working hard at it.