Indonesia’s hijab-wearing metalheads play Glastonbury

The three women began making steel music at highschool, however they by no means thought they may make historical past for Indonesia at Glastonbury.

The band they fashioned – Voice of Baceprot – are taking part in the competition this yr and once they came upon they’d been invited they had been “confused”.

“As a result of we didn’t know the way thrilling [the festival] is… We didn’t know what to do subsequent,” the band’s lead singer Firdda Marsya Kurnia stated.

The stress was on after the trio realised they might be the primary Indonesian band to play at Europe’s largest music competition. Headliners at this yr’s five-day competition embody Coldplay and Dua Lipa.

Voice of Baceprot – made up of Marsya, drummer Euis Siti Aisyah and bassist Widi Rahmawati – are acting on Friday. Baceprot (pronounced “bah-che-prot”) means “noise” in Sundanese, some of the extensively spoken languages in Indonesia.

The three ladies have come a great distance since their village college 10 years in the past.

They’ve made worldwide headlines for difficult gender and non secular norms, and have toured internationally, together with in Europe and the US.

They’ve additionally been praised by the likes of Rage Towards the Machine, whose guitarist Tom Morello stated he watched one in all their movies “10 instances in a row and was simply blown away by it”. Flea from Pink Scorching Chilli Peppers as soon as tweeted, “I’m so down with Voice of Baceprot.”

However Glastonbury shall be their largest stage but.

Marsya, Siti, each 24, and Widi, 23, sat down with the BBC per week earlier than their historic present to speak about their journey since they began taking part in music collectively as three stressed schoolgirls.

Rising up within the rural city of Singajaya in Indonesia’s West Java province, Marsya and Siti grew to become associates in elementary college. They met Widi in junior highschool – on the college counsellor’s workplace the place they had been often summoned for “rebellious behaviour”.

It was on this unlikely place the place their love for heavy steel took root. They struck up a friendship with the counsellor, Father Ersa.

“We listened to music from our counselling instructor Abah Ersa’s laptop computer… We get an adrenaline rush after we take heed to heavy steel and we thought, it will be so cool if we will cowl these songs,” Siti stated.

Ersa says he realised the ladies weren’t rebellious in the identical manner as another youngsters, who would possibly take medication or get into bother. As a substitute, they typically spoke up for what they felt was unfair at school.

“They opposed the system and sometimes clashed with their academics. Their statements had been then thought of provocative,” he stated.

In 2014, Ersa inspired the ladies to specific their feelings via music. He launched Marsya to the guitar, Widi to the bass, and constructed Siti a makeshift drum utilizing undesirable elements left behind by the college’s marching band.

“We let our anger circulation via our music… as a result of we do not wish to get into bother by getting indignant with others.

“If we protest, it is going to be an issue. We shall be accused of being radical. In our village, the ladies who protest shall be known as loopy,” stated Marsya, who comes over as probably the most outgoing of the three.

Again then, taking part in music additionally motivated them to go to highschool, she added.

“We had been simply informed to get good grades… memorise, write, flip the books, that’s it. This was our each day routine for 12 years. We had been bored. Then, there was music. It was one thing new.”

The band credit Ersa as their founder. He was the primary to publish their music on YouTube. At the moment, they’ve 360,000 subscribers on YouTube and 230,000 followers on Instagram.

However the band and their music have additionally struck some nerves.

Some folks of their city, dominated by conservative Muslims, didn’t reply effectively once they ventured into heavy steel. Marsya was as soon as hit on her head by a rock connected to a word telling her to “cease making the satan’s music”.

About 87% of Indonesia’s inhabitants are Muslims. West Java is among the many extra conservative provinces and consists of denominations that forbid music and singing.

Some folks discover the mix of hijab-wearing ladies and heavy steel music notably provocative.

“Some even stated I ought to take off my hijab [as our music] doesn’t replicate a real Muslim. However these are separate issues. Metallic is only a style of music. I put on a hijab as a result of it’s my identification as a Muslim… It’s not as a result of I wish to be sensational,” Marsya informed BBC Indonesian in an earlier interview in 2018.

Marsya, Siti and Widi have earned their households’ assist through the years, although not with out pushback – Widi’s older sister had warned her that taking part in heavy steel would “spoil her future” whereas Siti’s household had described her music profession as “unserious”.

Even the principal of the Islamic college they went to after junior excessive criticised their music. The women later dropped out.

In 2021, they launched the only God, Enable Me (Please) to Play Music, which serves as an empathic plea towards these criticisms.

The band composed the tune, whereas Ersa wrote the lyrics. Its refrain goes, “I am not the felony, I am not the enemy, I simply wanna sing a tune to point out my soul… God, permit me, please, to play music.”

The band have additionally written about their frustrations with patriarchy and the male gaze – a problem they nonetheless face as feminine musicians – into the tune, (Not) Public Property.

The tune goes, “Our physique just isn’t public property, now we have no place for the soiled thoughts. Our physique just isn’t public property, now we have no place for the sexist thoughts.”

“It’s disappointing when what folks discover just isn’t our music and the trouble we put into it. It’s actually irritating,” says Marsya.

That stated, the band recognise that the invitation to play at Glastonbury is a nod to their achievements. However it is usually nerve-wrecking.

“We thought we had been able to take it on till everybody began glorifying the competition… We’re in a position to higher get pleasure from acting on stage when folks do not count on something from us,” Marsya stated.

Siti struck a extra optimistic tone. “I’m not prepared, however what the heck, I’ll faux I’m the star on stage. You’ll see that I typically shut my eyes in gigs as a result of I’m imagining I’m simply jamming within the studio with my band.”

Siti stated a part of the group’s psychological preparation entails making an attempt “to not overthink how many individuals could be watching us carry out”. “If I do know the scale of the gang, I feel I gained’t be capable to deal with it,” she stated.

“We’re pleased with it, however alternatively, it’s a giant accountability for us, as a result of the viewers aren’t simply seeing VoB, however Indonesia,” Marsya stated.