Voice Of Baceprot, Gaungkan Kemerdekaan Berkarya Dari Garut Sampai Wacken

JAKARTA - The Wackep Open Air Instagram page released the line-up for their annual loud music performance for next year. Seen in the flyer that was uploaded, the logos of two noisy bands, the pride of the nation's children; Burgerkill and Voice Of Baceprot!

Wacken Open Air will be held from 4-6 August 2022. It is one of the largest rock and heavy metal music festivals in the world which has been held in Germany every first weekend of August, since 1990.

The news of the appearance of the Indonesian hijaber metal band Voice Of Baceprot has been announced by Wacken Open Air in June 2021. In his upload on Instagram, the manulis brand "Welcome to Wacken Open Air 2022 @voiceofbaceprot."

Meanwhile, Burgerkill, which has just released Roar Of Chaos, the first single since the death of band leader True 'Eben' Megabenz, was originally scheduled to perform at this event last year. Unfortunately, the event was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Burgerkill officially announced their appearance at WOA when they thanked the Begundals - loyal Burgerkill fans - who have supported them during the toughest moments after Eben's departure.

“Roar of Chaos Music Video has surpassed 100k views! A big thank you for your enthusiasm and support, especially the Begundals who always provide the best support!," said Burgerkill on Instagram.

"And one more thing, we're stocked to announce that we will be playing in @Wacken Fest' 2022!," continued the statement.

At the 2022 edition of Wacken Open Air, Voice Of Baceprot and Burgerkill will appear alongside world giants such as Slipknot, Judas Priest, Arch Enemy, Limbizkit and many others.

What happens if three teenage girls wearing hijabs play music that is considered 'unusual'? Marsya (vocals, guitar), Sitti (drums), and Widi Rahmawati (bass) who are under the banner of Voice Of Baceprot (baceprot in Sundanese means 'fussy' or 'noisy') choose to play metal music amidst the pros and cons that haunts their every step.

Before joining Voice Of Baceprot, Firrda, Siti and Widi first played rock and funk music such as songs from the Red Hot Chili Peppers. In 2014, the trio took music classes at their school in remote Garut, West Java and formed Voice Of Baceprot under the guidance of their music teacher, Cep Erza. This is where the love for metal music began to be scratched. "When we first listened to metal music on Abah's laptop - the familiar greeting of the Voice Of Baceprot personnel to Erza - like System Of A Down, Linkin Park and Slipknot, we fell in love. "It really fits our personality, our rebell," said Marsya some time ago to the writer.

However, the path chosen by Voice Of Baceprot turned out to be full of obstacles. At that time, their parents strongly opposed their children appearing on stage playing metal music. They think, metal music is not in accordance with the characteristics of a Muslim woman wearing a hijab. Not to mention the principal of their school who has a conservative understanding by saying that music is haram. Which means, music is forbidden in Islam

But Firrda, Siti and Widi ignored their parents' prohibitions and the slanted sounds that kept blowing around their eardrums. They continued to appear on stage in secret until finally they were able to form their own fan base. In fact, a video recording of one of their performances on stage posted on the band's official Facebook page went viral. "Alhamdulillah, now they (parents) are starting to support us," Widi tried to explain his parents' current response.

Voice Of Baceprot, is currently working on its debut album and has entered the final stages of the recording process. As an opening gate, they have released singles in stages, one of which is The Enemy of Earth Is You in 2017.

"This song is a form of our anxiety for the environment around us which has been damaged by irresponsible elements. They are always shouting in public about various things in the name of humanity. Even though they themselves are spreaders of hatred and creators of war. the lyrics," explained Widi, regarding the single.

Firrda added that through this song she hopes to regenerate an early awareness effort towards things that damage the moral order. Because basically, he continued, they as the next generation must be able to escape from moral colonialism. With full confidence, Firrda even urged metal music listeners in the country to listen to this song.

"Because apart from being packaged in expressive music, this song also has a clear character and vision to build healthy opinions and freedom of work," he said.

This hijaber metal trio continues to roll and release other single songs School Revolution (2018) and Live Session - The Other Side of Metalism (2021). The trio later released the music video for their groundbreaking single God, Allow Me (Please) to Play Music to coincide with International Girls' Day, which is celebrated every October 11 and organized by the international non-profit organization, Women of the World (WOW) Foundation.

Originally released on August 17, 2021, the God, Allow Me (Please) to Play Music theme actually fits the spirit behind the celebration: to achieve freedom of expression and aspirations for young women around the world without discrimination of gender and race; for young women to make life decisions without intolerance.

"From our personal point of view, gender equality is when women and men are given their rights as human beings to live, receive proper education, accommodate aspirations, and are given the freedom to fight for these aspirations," Marsya said in an official statement received by VOI.

The music video also features several young women activists affiliated with the WOW Foundation, including British poets Zahra Ahmad and Rakaya Fetuga, vocalist/guitarist of British punk band Breakup Haircut, Ishani Jasmin, and WOW cultural producer Shereen Pereira.

They seemed to carry boards to voice their concerns and aspirations. One of Indonesia's leading female rappers, Yacko, also performed, along with vocal feminist activist/singer Kartika Jahja.

Voice Of Baceprot continues to advance and prove to the public that the opinion of its opponents is a mistake. They even just had a successful European tour titled Fight Dream Believe European Tour 2021, which took place from November 28 to December 10. It doesn't end there. Marsya, Sitti and Widi's independence in their work will continue to roll over to the Wacken Open Air Festival next year.