Voice of Baceprot (VOB) is an Indonesian all-female rock band from Garut, West Java. In 2014, badass musicians Firdda Marsya Kurnia (vocals and guitar), Widi Rahmawati (bass), and Euis Sitti Aisyah (drums) combined their passion for music with their exceptional talent to form the unique heavy metal band while still studying in Junior High. VOB began to turn heads when a video of the band performing a cover of a song by Rage Against The Machine in 2015 went viral on YouTube. The three-piece continued to produce more videos of them covering songs by their idols, including Red Hot Chili Peppers, Metallica, and Slipknot, which garnered even more attention from both local and international media as well as hundreds of thousands of views. Aside from their insane musical talents, what makes this band stand out from the crowd is the fact that they are three hijab-wearing young women! “Wearing a hijab has not been a hindrance for us so far as we attempt to chase our dreams of becoming musicians. We are free to express our creativity through rock music, while also fulfilling our responsibilities as Muslims” says frontwoman Marsya. In 2018, VOB released their debut single “School Revolution” produced by renowned music producer Stephan Santoso and which now has over 1.8 million views on YouTube and has since propelled them to stardom. In the same year, the band was personally invited backstage by legendary guitarist Slash at a Guns N’ Roses concert at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium in Jakarta as well as received personalized shoutouts from their idols Tom Morello (Rage Against The Machine) and Flea (Red Hot Chili Peppers).
On March 8th (and just in time for International Women’s Day) Voice of Baceprot released their third single titled “[NOT] PUBLIC PROPERTY” produced by Yuka Dian Narendra (Anda Perdana, Bonita, Gribs, Alien Sick) and mastering done by 20x Grammy award winner Howie Weinberg (Nirvana, Beastie Boys, Iron Maiden). “The theme to “[NOT] PUBLIC PROPERTY” remains rooted in the concerns that Marsya, Sitti, and Widi have about the violations they have witnessed of women’s rights around the world. Bodily autonomy and bodily integrity are rights central to being a whole, independent person, but ones that are so often cast aside – particularly in the cases of women. Escalating domestic violence, female circumcision, limiting of abortion rights, human trafficking, and pornographic exploitation are merely a few examples of the erosion of bodily autonomy in our society.” The band says this song is different from their past releases because this is the first song to be written by the members of VOB without the aid of their mentor and former teacher Abah Erza, who played a significant role in encouraging the formation of the band.
After the release of the song’s official music video by Indonesian award-winning film director Yosep Anggi Noen, the heavy metal band released a professional lyric video to complete the visual portfolio for the powerful track. Considering the important message in the lyrics of the song, a lyric video is a great way to raise awareness and allow fans all over the world to learn the song and sing along. The video takes inspiration from the single cover, pulling different purple tones for brand cohesiveness. The video features beautiful flowers over layered warping cyber backdrops adding to the fierce feminine energy of the single. The video pairs perfectly with the heavy metal sound by using fast pace transitions that spin and zoom in and out of each scene. Using a bold sans-serif font was a great choice for easier legibility and I particularly enjoyed the way that the lyrics would shake and stretch when the band screams “We have no place for the dirty mind!”. These subtle arrangements bring the song to life and are very effective in rock music in particular. This lyric video is lively and daring and overall BADASS, which is also a fitting description for these wildly talented women!
Voice of Baceprot would like “[NOT] PUBLIC PROPERTY” to also serve as the theme behind a social movement initiated as a reaction to issues surrounding the violation of women’s bodily autonomy around the world. “For this movement, VOB will be working together with several organizations, including Women of the World (WOW) UK, UN Women, #KawanPuan (under Indonesian crowdfunding platform kitabisa.com). Like-minded individuals will be encouraged to participate by way of purchasing an NFT – with proceeds to be directed straight to the [NOT] PUBLIC PROPERTY account #kawanpuan kitabisa.com – or by posting their profile picture with a campaign-specific twibbon on social media.”
Watch the lyric video for Voice of Baceprot’s “[NOT] PUBLIC PROPERTY” on YouTube here: