Voice Of Baceprot (VOB)

JAKARTA, Indonesia — The three teenage girls — shy and even seeming slightly embarrassed as they peer out from their Islamic head scarves — do not look much like a heavy metal band.

But a dramatic change occurs when they take the stage. All pretense of shyness or awkwardness evaporates as the group — two 17-year-olds and one 15-year-old — begin hammering away at bass, guitar and drums to create a joyous, youthful racket.

They are Voice of Baceprot, a rising band in Indonesia, a country where heavy metal is popular enough that the president is an avowed fan of bands like Metallica and Megadeth.

But beyond blowing away local audiences with their banging music, the three girls are also challenging entrenched stereotypes about gender and religious norms in the world’s most-populous Muslim-majority nation.

“Baceprot” (pronounced bachey-PROT) means “noise” in a common dialect in the West Java region, where the girls live and attend high school in a rural town, Singajaya.

They say they want to prove that they can be observant Muslims while also playing loud music and being independent.

“A hijab and metal music are different,” said Firdda Kurnia, 17, the guitarist and lead singer, referring to the traditional Muslim head scarf she and her bandmates wear. “A hijab is my identity, and metal is my music genre.”

In finding their voices and becoming a band, they say they have endured criticism from their families, friends and neighbors, and have received hundreds of online death threats for supposedly blaspheming Islam and not acting like proper Muslim girls — in other words, submissive, they said.

One night, while riding motorcycles home from a recording studio, they were pelted with rocks wrapped in paper inscribed with profane messages.

But they have fought back, through songs about intolerance, gender equality and the rights of young people in a country where issues like forced underage marriage are still prevalent, especially in rural areas like West Java.

Their tenacity is paying off. Last month, they performed before a crowd of 2,000 senior government officials, business leaders and student groups in the capital, Jakarta, as part of a celebration of the country’s 72nd independence anniversary.

Ms. Firdda and her bandmates — the drummer, Eusi Siti Aisyah, 17, and the bassist, Widi Rahmawati, 15 — have been friends since childhood.

The daughters of rural farmers, they had never played instruments before taking a music class in middle school in 2014. They formed the band that same year.

Their music teacher, Cep Ersa Eka Susila Satia, sensed their potential and offered to manage them, saying that he “saw three rebellious students and I channeled it” into music.

Initially, the girls said their parents forbade them from performing. But they ignored the order, playing in secret, and they soon developed a local following through live shows. Videos of their performances posted to Facebook quickly went viral, expanding their fan base.

However, that exposure on social media also opened them up to death threats, which the girls said were made by Muslim hard-liners.

“They said that if we produce an album, they would burn it, and some people threatened to decapitate us,” Ms. Eusi said.

Beyond the death threats, they also dealt with a more prosaic form of disapproval: “Our school principal is a conservative Muslim, and he says music is ‘haram,’” or forbidden under Islam, Ms. Euis added.

Indonesia is a secular country of about 260 million, with influential Christian, Hindu and Buddhist minorities, but there has been a growing conservatism among some of its more than 200 million Muslims, as well as the continued presence of violent, hard-line Islamic groups.

The country has also been hit by multiple terrorist attacks during the past 15 years by homegrown cells that have pledged allegiance to either Al Qaeda or the Islamic State.

While initially rattled, the girls said they were no longer afraid of the threats. Nor were they worried about their parents, who relented, the girls said, after Voice of Baceprot began appearing on national television and earning bigger paychecks performing for larger audiences. They play about five shows a month.

The band, which has four original songs that mix English and the Indonesian language, is recording its first album. During live shows, they also cover songs by musical influences like System of a Down, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Slipknot and Rage Against the Machine.

For their performance here in Jakarta last month, Voice of Baceprot performed their popular song “The Enemy of Earth Is You,” which spotlights hate speech and intolerance in Indonesia. They were accompanied by a 50-piece orchestra ensemble at the suggestion of event organizers.

Jay Subyakto, the event’s creative director, said he booked Voice of Baceprot to give them a national stage to prove a point to their detractors.

“It’s like saying art is un-Islamic,” he said. “I, and I think many other Indonesians, want to see lesser-known bands who are young, have a good ideology and have amazing lyrics in their songs.”

Despite conservative norms, the country has a vibrant music scene, including one of the largest punk rock movements in Asia, according to music industry analysts.

Heavy metal is also widely popular among younger Indonesians, and internationally famous acts like Metallica, Megadeth and the Scorpions have played large concerts here over the decades.

Indonesia’s metal-loving president, Joko Widodo, was supposed to attend the event last month, but canceled at the last minute.

Rudolf Dethu, an Indonesian music columnist and band manager, said that he compared Voice of Baceprot’s music with the defiant sounds of riot grrrl, an underground feminist punk movement that arose in Washington State in the 1990s.

“In a way, this is great public relations for Indonesia, that Indonesia isn’t as radical and ‘scary’ as lots of people outside of Indonesia think,” he said. “Plus, those three teenagers are smart and have progressive minds.”

For their part, the girls say they are still trying to win over some students and teachers at their school who disapprove of their band.

“Achievement at school should not always be studying, but it can be music,” Ms. Firdda said. “But some say music will give us nothing. That’s not true.” - The New York Times

Taking Rage Against the Machine and Slipknot as inspiration, three Muslim teenagers are blasting their way into the Asian music scene as Voice of Baceprot

It was a dull day in music class that ignited a rebellion in three Indonesian teenage girls.

Poring over their school teacher’s music collection, the hijab-wearing schoolgirls from conservative West Java discovered a trove of heavy metal.

“I just fell in love with metal since that first time I heard it. It felt so rebellious,” said 16-year-old Firdda Kurnia. “I think we found ourselves in the music.”

Kurnia is vocalist and guitarist of Voice of Baceprot, the metal group she formed in 2014 with drummer Eusi Siti Aisyah and bassist Widi Rahmawati. The band is now blasting its way into the Asian music scene, causing consternation among more conservative peers and bringing the three young women death threats and hate mail.

VoB, as they are known, have achieved acclaim throughout Java and appeared on national television, reward for the dedication of the band members who every day after school diligently practised their thrash metal riffs and brainstormed original lyrics.

This week the young women skipped school to travel four hours by road to the capital Jakarta to perform live on national TV.


“Mostly I like bands from outside,” said Kurnia earnestly, as the band waited in the green room before going on set. “You know – like Slipknot, Rage Against the Machine and Lamb of God.”

The girls were dressed in black skinny jeans, matching black headscarves and thigh-length T-shirts emblazoned with the letters VoB, not only an abbreviation of the band’s name but a word that means “noisy” in their ethnic Sundanese language.

Their merchandise also boasts VoB’s tagline: “The other side of metallism”.

“Many people think metal music is satanic but we are showing that there is a different shade, a different side to the music,” said Erza Satia, 35, the music teacher who introduced the girls to heavy metal, and is now their manager.

In the world’s largest Muslim-majority nation, Satia said music is a constructive, creative way for his students to avoid vices such as drugs and “free sex”, the term used to cover any pre-marital sex. Some 90 % of Indonesia’s population of 250 million is Muslim and most are decidedly moderate, but in relatively conservative West Java, the all-girl band has raised many eyebrows and a few haters.

Indeed, Satia has received threatening phone calls pressuring him to break up the band, while religious leaders have tried to obstruct VoB’s concerts – in one case pulling out the power cord to cut the sound.

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At home too, the girls’ parents were initially uneasy. Today though, points out drummer Siti, her mum is proudly watching her on TV.

As the band’s reputation has grown, so too has the support and pride of their family and community.

“We can play metal and protect our morals. Of course Islam and metal can match. Why not?” said Kurnia. “Metal is a just a genre of music. The problem is it is often associated with bad things, but it doesn’t have to be.”

They are words the band members live by. After the gruelling day of travel to Jakarta, and screaming down the microphone without a sip of water, they were sticking to their fast in the holy month of Ramadan.

Despite the lack of food and sleep, they were visibly energised. “That was so cool!” said a beaming Siti, after performing their first song. The talkshow hosts, too, were squealing in awe.

The girls of VoB know they are different and they don’t care. Up against a double whammy of gender and religion, challenging stereotypes is something they are taking in their stride.


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“I think what we want to say to the young women of Indonesia is, don’t be afraid of being different,” said Kurnia. “Don’t be afraid to shout your independence.”

So far VoB has thousands of fans on social media – even from Israel, they proudly point out – as well as four original songs, which cover social issues such as religious tolerance and climate change.

There are still a few years to go before the trio finish high school, but they have big dreams. “Maybe VoB could be famous,” said bassist Widi, with a shy, toothy grin.

“We are hoping that we can release an album,” added Kurnia. “And we are dreaming of performing overseas, like in England or America.”

“Or maybe,” said Widi, “in an Arab country?” - The Guardian

The Indonesian metal group Voice of Baceprot is one noisy band. In fact, the band's name literally means "noisy" in the ethnic Sundanese language the three members speak. They all hail from a rural, conservative part of Indonesia — West Java — about five hours southeast of the capital of Jakarta. But it isn't just the band's loud music that's attracting attention: Voice of Baceprot has also entered the spotlight for breaking the mold of a typical metal band.

For starters: The band is made up entirely of teenage schoolgirls. Vocalist and guitarist Firdda Kurnia, drummer Eusi Siti Aisyah and bassist Widi Rahmawati, who formed the band in 2014, are all daughters of local farmers. They grew up poor and attend one of the many madrasas, or Muslim schools, in the area. It was there that the three were introduced to metal music by their middle school guidance counselor, Ahba Erza.

"I don't know why the girls love the metal bands," says Erza, who taught the girls the instruments and would go on to become their band manager. Before Erza, the members of Voice of Baceprot didn't even know what metal was, but the genre has now become a way of life for them. "I found myself in the metal music," says Kurnia, 17.

The band's music is inspired by the likes of metal music legends such as Slipknot, Lamb of God and Rage Against The Machine. As the band's popularity continues to grow, Voice of Baceprot is fast becoming part of a thriving underground metal scene in Indonesia, which has fans in some of the highest places: Indonesian President Joko Widodo is known for being a huge metalhead.

Voice of Baceprot performed on Indonesia's most popular television variety show in June — an important achievement for such a young band. But the milestone is lent even more significance because of who Kurnia, Aisyah and Rahmawati are. As young women, their very presence on stage is making waves throughout the conservative corners of their community and even Indonesia as a whole.

Indonesia is the world's most populous Muslim nation and is also a place where pluralism and religion often rub against each other. So it may come as no surprise that Voice of Baceprot has caused some consternation among Indonesia's more religiously conservative. Not only are they women playing loud, abrasive music in public; they also perform while wearing the hijab, the head scarf traditionally worn by Muslim women.

Kurnia and Erza say the band members receive phone calls and messages all the time telling them to stop playing their music, and that they are often bullied on social media.

"They say my music is forbidden by my religion," says Kurnia, whose own parents forbade her from playing in the beginning. But as the band's popularity grew, Kurnia says, her parents became proud and supportive. Now, Kurnia says, she is emboldened and proud to be an inspiration to other women.

"I'm a different musician because I'm a woman, and I play metal music but I'm wearing hijab," she says. "Hijab is my identity, OK?"

The girls know what they've gotten themselves into, Ezra says. "They have many dreams in their brains," he says. "They have to make their dreams, but they have to brave the consequences."

Thankfully, Voice of Baceprot has supporters in Indonesia's music scene they can count on. Giring Ganesha, vocalist for the Indonesian pop band Nidji, is one of them. He met Voice of Baceprot backstage once when they were both performing on the same television show. Ganesha describes the band's performance as "jawdropping."

For three girls their age from outside the city to have such talent and skill is very surprising, Ganesha says, and it makes him happy to see them performing.

"They're embracing pop culture. They're embracing rock," he says. "They show that, 'OK, my religion is Muslim, that is my identity,' but still I know they can embrace music, embrace rock music and have fun with it."

Today, Voice of Baceprot mostly plays covers. But they have released a few of their own songs, including one about the state of education in Indonesia and another about protecting the environment, titled "The Enemy of Earth is You."

Kurnia says she hopes to play in England and Paris one day. "I hope my band will be successful," she says, "and can be the inspiration of younger generations."

But for now, the band has a more immediate goal: get an album out by the end of this year. - NPR

It's easy to say that Voice of Baceprot don't look like your typical heavy metal band, but it's true. I don't know many other bands composed of Muslim teenage girls from West Java, Indonesia who rock this hard.

The girls formed their band in 2014 when they met in school and according to an interview with Geo.tv they "use their music to combat the stereotype of Muslim women as submissive or voiceless."

"Wearing a hijab should not be a barrier to the group's pursuit of its dream of being heavy metal stars," said Firdda Kurnia, 16, who sings and plays the guitar.

"I think gender equality should be supported because I feel I am still exploring my creativity, while at the same time, not diminishing my obligations as a Muslim woman," she added.

The girls have a few originals "on issues like the state of education in Indonesia" but mostly cover classics from System of A Down, Rage Against the Machine, Metallica and Slipknot. The story notes that the trio were invited to play their school's graduation ceremony. Some of the girls' elder teachers note that it might be unusual to "see a group of hijab-wearing girls playing metal music or even women shouting" but ultimately nobody sees a problem with it. Here they are doing a live studio session of their original track "The Enemy of Earth Is You" - Metal Injection

GARUT, Indonesia (Reuters) - With their heads covered with Islamic headscarves, the three members of the Indonesian band VoB (“Voice of Baceprot” or “Noisy Voice”) do not look like your typical heavy metal group.

Formed in 2014, the band of teenagers met at school in Indonesia’s most populous province of West Java, and use their music to combat the stereotype of Muslim women as submissive or voiceless.

Wearing a hijab, or Islamic head scarf, should not be a barrier to the group’s pursuit of its dream of being heavy metal stars, said Firdda Kurnia, 16, who plays guitar and sings.

“I think gender equality should be supported, because I feel I am still exploring my creativity, while at the same time, not diminishing my obligations as a Muslim woman,” she added.

Invited to perform at a recent graduation ceremony at another school, the trio quickly had fans dancing and head-banging at the front of the stage.

”I don’t see anything wrong with it,“ said one fan who attended, Teti Putriwulandari Sari. ”There’s no law that bars hijab-wearing women from playing hardcore music.

“This also relates to human rights. If a Muslim girl has a talent to play the drums or a guitar, should she not be allowed?”

Besides covering classics by groups such as Metallica and Slipknot, the band perform their own songs on issues such as the state of education in Indonesia.

Muslims make up nearly 90 percent of a population of 250 million, the vast majority practising a moderate form of Islam, although there are some conservative strongholds.

Not everyone in the town of Garut, where the band was formed, and which is home to several Islamic schools, feels the community is ready for them, or that their music is appropriate for performance by young Muslim women.

“It is unusual to see a group of hijab-wearing girls playing metal music or even women shouting,” said Muhammad Sholeh, a teacher at the town’s Cipari Islamic boarding school, adding that religious pop music was popular with many young Muslims.

“But we’re talking about metal here, which is loud.”

Maudya Mulyawati, a student at the school, felt the band should focus on singing “Salawat”, an invocation to the religion’s founder, Prophet Mohammad.

An official of a top clerical body said although the group might trigger a culture clash in a conservative area, he did not feel it broke with Islamic values.

“I see this as part of the creativity of teenagers,” added Nur Khamim Djuremi, secretary general of the Islamic Art and Culture Division of Indonesia’s Ulema Council. - Reuters

Many people all over the planet are of the belief that Muslim women are submissive and oppressed. They do not have the freedom to live their lives as they wish to and will get stoned or killed by their husbands if they do something that makes them happy. Their passion gets them killed. They don’t have a voice of baceprot their own. The assumptions are worse for Muslim women who wear hijab.

The notion is pretty common on social media sites like Facebook or Twitter. After interacting with many people, atheists and theists, you will come to know exactly how little knowledge they have, how misinformed they are. One page on Facebook posted a picture of a hijabi metalhead fan with Nergal of Behemoth and everyone lost their minds. The number of hate-comments was higher than acceptable that a Hijab-wearing female could be a metalhead just like them and can attend concerts. You can’t really blame people because they just believe what media shows them with very little research of their own. Some of them post hate comments because they think it’s cool and because they have the freedom to give unnecessary opinions. Another common metalhead notion is that you’re a Satan worshipper if you listen to heavy metal, and if not a Satan worshipper you’re probably an atheist. The Voice of Baceprot, however, begs to differ. Hijab isn't a restriction, it's a choice.

To be fair, we have many stereotype breakers rising to fight against the false notions circulating throughout societies. Not long ago we heard of another stereotype breaker, Haleh Saberi, a 44 year-old Iranian Muslim nurse- model- mother of two teens. Haleh always wanted to be a model and so, she achieved that goal by stepping over the false notion that women don’t have a voice and can’t have a dream job. Haleh who isn’t dead or stoned made her choices and now intends to continue her bachelor’s degree in nursing.

Similarly, Voice of Bacerot – the emerging talent of Indonesia stepped over all those silly notions, broke all stereotypes in 2014 and they were loud and clear. This thrash metal band comprising of three hijabi-girls Firdda Kurnia (vocals, guitar), Euis Siti Aisyah (drums) and Widi Rahmawati (bassist) is an answer to those masses that Muslim Women are not voiceless or oppressed; in fact, they are just as loud as a Christian woman or an atheist woman. The name of the band itself means “NOISY” in their ethnic language Sundanese. Surely, there are Muslim bands from Egypt, Arabia, UAE but they compose mostly of men, and it isn’t every day you get to see three hijab-wearing metalheads performing metal.

The trio met in school during a boring music class where they came across the heavy metal collection of their music teacher Erza Satia and instantly fell in love with it. That was the birth of their hidden talent. The 35-year-old now acts as their manager. Of course, where the three have found the constant support they have also received hate-mails and death-threats from some conservatives. The band after receiving appreciation and acclaim throughout Java is now blasting its way to the Asian Music Scene. In case, you’re wondering about their originals, well, their performances aren’t only limited to covering Slipknot, Lamb of God or their third favorite Rage against the machine. They have penned original songs covering mainly the issues at hand like religious tolerances to social and climatic change. One would admit after giving the "The School of Student (School Revolution)” a listen, that it gets to your head for some time with those catchy riffs and Firdda’s melodious voice. So far they have four originals. Though most of their music is in their ethnic language they have managed to attract audiences from other parts of the world like Croatia and Egypt, Iran, Pakistan and many other countries.

The band, other than noise reflects the positivity and believes metal doesn’t have to be about evil or dark stuff or about worshipping and praising the devil. One can convey the positive messages through lyrics. Many hard rock groups like Led Zeppelin, System of a Down, Rage against the Machine, even Iron Maiden to some extent, have used music to help understand history and social problems. Most of the bands went on the whole “Maybe, we worship the devil” thing mostly as a gimmick to sell their music. It was more of a fashion in many ways. Many famous bands even comprise of people of faith. Iron maiden’s drummer Nicko is of Christian faith. Megadeth’s Dave Mustaine is of Christian Faith as well, so is Alice Cooper. Rock or Metal bands haven’t always been the works of evil. There is and can be more to it than the devil as the false notions convey. Hence, why can’t three Hijab wearing girls play metal?

The VOB stands for gender equality in Indonesia by promoting an all-girls hijab-wearing band to the Indonesian conservatives who mostly find it un-Islamic or controversial to their many beliefs. The purpose is to show the world that Hijab doesn’t and can’t stop a woman from doing what she loves. She can sing with the hijab on, she can be a writer, a poet or an engineer. To be fair it’s a wonderful step, if Muslim men could sing and play guitars why shouldn’t hijab-wearing Muslim girls? Albeit, there has been and there will be quite a lot of criticism but the trio dreams of performing in the United States one day. And nothing can stop them. - Talent Raters

Pictures of the band Voice of Baceprot present powerfully symbolic images of contradiction.

VoB are three very young women who wear hijabs, with their jeans, tees and trainers and guitars. They are slim and small but make loud music. VoB have been lauded in mainstream and social media in Indonesia, Australia and Europe. When they perform their mix of traditional heavy metal covers and originals that blend western pop, post-punk, Indonesian pop and funk VoB have been depicted as smashing the stereotyping of Indonesian Moslem women. But the members of VoB view their mission a little differently.

While helping to break down the stereotype of Indonesian Muslim women has been important, the girls’ transformation from the most bullied but refractory students at their school, into role-models with a mission, may be just as important. Their real story is about their sense of purpose, creativity, personal strength in the face of recurring prejudice. It is also proof of the important motivational role a mentor can play. SBS Indonesian spoke to Voice of Baceprot and their mentor, Abah Erza to find out more.

VoB are Firdda Kurnia, Euis Siti Aisyah and Widi Rahmawati. Firdda plays guitar and sings, Siti is the drummer and Widi plays bass. They come from the regency of Garut, in the province of West Java in Indonesia

The name Voice of Baceprot is important. It comes from Sundanese, the language of West Java. Bassist Widi explained that Baceprot can mean having a tendency to talk and whinge a lot but is probably best translated in this context as rowdy. This name complements their musical style and their choice of music and explains why three year 10 students from an Islamic school in Garut chose ‘metal’ as the starting point for making music. Firdda explains that “We chose metal because it is the music of rebellion and best represents our anxiety and the anxiety of youth.”

VoB grew out of anxiety and frustration, The girls were rebellious, anxious, bullied adolescents while their teacher, Abah Eerza, was frustrated with their attitude and the complaints he got about them from other teachers. He thought music might be a way to help Firdda, Siti and Widi deal with their anxiety and behavioural problems. But this initiative resulted in a lot of opposition born out of prejudice and inflexibility.

At first, members of the school community expressed strong concern about what the girls being in a metal band represented. There were also problems at home. Siti told SBS that she could not tell her parents about the band. She joked “At first I couldn’t get my parents approval but things changed when we began to get awards at music festivals.”

Then there was the problem of getting expensive equipment. Siti explained, “Abah Eeerza looked after that!”

Abah Eeerza, who has now left the Islamic school to teach in a government school, moved from being the band’s teacher to being their mentor. The girls have described him as being their motivator and provocateur. According to Firdda “We call him that because he motivates us and even provokes us to continue to fight for what we believe in and to take our message to as many people as possible.”

However, both the band and Abah Eeerza make it clear that there are limits to his involvement. For example Firdda emphasised that their choice of musical style and performance has always been their choice and what they believe will best express what they are feeling. Firdda said: “Abah Eerza directed us to music, but we chose the music that we felt would best tell our stories.”

Firdda added that in keeping with their mission they sometimes choose to sing those stories in English to reach a wider audience for their messages.

The girls emphasise that the real impact of their successful musical life has been to make them more disciplined. They are grounded and believe they have changed little as people. They acknowledge that learning to deal with failure and disappointments is something they have to learn to deal with. Abah Eerza insists this is an important part of Firdda, Siti and Widi’s personal development .

Those experiences and disappointments also inform their songs which mainly deal with what Widi calls ‘moral crises,’ or ethical issues. An example is “The Enemy of the Earth is You,” a slamming indictment of narcissism and hypocrisy.

Widi said that wide reading also influences their song writing. She cited writers Pramoedya Ananta Toer and Tan Malaka as important influences. Abah Erza said that some people objected to these choices as ‘leftist.’ The girls are unrepentant. Khalil Ghibran is another favourite.

VoB have withstood the prejudice and rejection and have grown. With broad coverage on traditional and social media in and outside Indonesia, Voice of Baceprot is now a phenomenon, known for music and not just for the contradiction of three girls in hijabs playing metal and post-punk anthems. Yet, they remain grounded and loyal to their true selves and to their mission. VoB are still committed to spreading honest messages about moral crises to a broad audience. Let’s hope they bring those messages to Australia soon. - SBS