International Women's Week (5): Now, THIS is courage!

Mar 11, 2022

Cross-post from Zapato's Jam: Music without Borders

Still brain-befuddled by this thing that hit me last week, instead of massacreing a new post and befuddling you in turn, I thought I'd share a rock group that defies all expectations and has captured the attention of Guns & Roses, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Rage Against the Machine -- as well as playing at the Glastonbury Festival in June. I found out about them from my friend Charles of Zapato's Jam via this post. Follow his first YouTube link to their song "God Allow Me (Please) to Play Music" and see why they're capturing so much attention -- and why they're so unique. If we're talking protest music, it's still happening and it's still high stakes in terms of the risk to the artist and the importance to society. As Charles says, "THIS is courage!" -

Ellen from Endwell

Consider our culture of narcissism, in which music has to be all about emotional confession, and picking at the scabs of one’s teenage traumas is considered courageous. Now imagine a group of teenaged girls in a conservative Muslim village in Indonesia, starting a rock group in the face of opposition from their parents and death threats from the conservative cultural police. That, to me, is actual courage. That is Voice of Baceprot.

They started off as junior high-schoolers, performing covers of well-known western rock bands, and meanwhile worked at writing their own music. They are now releasing their original music, have gone viral on youtube, and are starting to tour internationally.

They consider themselves faithful Muslims, and wear hijab on stage (with some enhancements, hence “the costumes”). They still get opposition and threats from various people angry that girls are playing rowdy music and speaking their mind, but they are not backing down. Even the name of the band is defiant: “Baceprot” means “noisy” or “loud”.

Personnel:

Firdda Marsya Kurnia (vocals and guitar)

Widi Rahmawati (bass, vocals)

Euis Siti Aisyah (drums)

They are largely self-taught. Rahmawati in particular is emerging as a world-class bass player.

“God Allow me (Please) to Play Music” is about people who use religion as an excuse to persecute artists:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPVo_QyS0Hw

“Not Public Property” A song about self-ownership, which is still controversial even in the good ol’ USA:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QjmcZfOlopU

“School Revolution”, their original breakout song, is about having the right to have ones’ own thoughts, free of judgement from society:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4aZX-C8HKJc

Rock 'n' Roll with Me

International Women's Week (5): Now, THIS is courage!