By The WoW Foundation

15 May 2022 - 17:01

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Image Description: A photo of VOB wearing flowy clothes, with huge "[NOT] PUBLIC PROPERTY" letters behind and in front of them.
Image Description: A photo of VOB wearing flowy clothes, with huge "[NOT] PUBLIC PROPERTY" letters behind and in front of them. ©

Doc. by Voice Of Baceprot

It’s a meeting of acronyms! UK’s WOW, or Women of the World, runs an international network and movement of women and non-binary musicians, whose spirit aligns perfectly with the ethos of Indonesia’s VOB—short for Voice of Baceprot—a group of three metal musicians famous for using their music as a form of activism. Together, they created a feminist anthem for the ages.

Bodily autonomy and bodily integrity are rights central to being a whole, independent person, yet are so often cast aside, particularly when it comes to women. Voice of Baceprot (VOB)’s Marsya, Sitti, and Widi have been using their music as a means to build their voices as activists as well as to raise awareness about the violations of women’s rights around the world. As the girls get older, their activism is becoming sharper and more personal, which is reflected in their British Council residency with UK’s Women of the World (WOW). 

WOW first met the Indonesian metal band online in early 2021, soon after the collective had created WOW Sounds, an international network and movement of revolutionary, boundary-pushing women and non-binary musicians. After hearing VOB’s first single, ‘School Revolution’, a track that raises awareness about the lack of education for girls, it was clear that the two had to work together, which led to VOB being recruited as one of WOW Sounds’ artists. 

Upon meeting, both parties built an immediate rapport and bonded over shared goals to create a gender-equal world via creative endeavours. Funded and assisted by the British Council, the 2022 residency was their third collaboration, first to be organised digitally, and most ambitious to date. Although VOB had created music videos for their singles ‘God Allow Me Please To Play Music’ and ‘School Revolution’ for International Women’s Day 2021, they felt the need to do something different for the 2022 edition.

This led to the creation of ‘[NOT] PUBLIC PROPERTY’, a track that urges young women to own their bodies, specifically composed for the similarly-titled residency. It is also VOB’s first song to be written by its members without the aid of mentor and former teacher Abah Ezra, who played a significant role in the band’s formation, thereby signalling the group’s artistic development.

Image Description: Album cover of Voice Of Baceprot, dominated with shades of purple, illustration of three women in white clothings and hijabs, two birds flying over their heads, and two palms around them with VOB logo in red in the centre.
Image Description: Album cover of Voice Of Baceprot, dominated with shades of purple, illustration of three women in white clothings and hijabs, two birds flying over their heads, and two palms around them with VOB logo in red in the centre.  ©

Doc. by Voice of Baceprot
Image Description: A photo of Marsya, Sitti, and Widi in a studio, wearing headphones during recording session.
Image Description: A photo of Marsya, Sitti, and Widi in a studio, wearing headphones during recording session.  ©

Doc. by Voice Of Baceprot

A high-spirited and rousing anthem, the track is also accompanied by a music video, which showcases 20+ multi-disciplinary artists—spoken word artists, dancers, musicians, filmmakers, and more—from Indonesia, UK, and other countries using their art to speak candidly about bodily autonomy and gender-based violence they have seen or experienced first-hand. 

As it turns out, the residency gave VOB the time, resources, and confidence to step outside of their roles as musicians and bring together other women and girls for a brilliant example of creativity being used to galvanise others, form a movement, and create change in their local communities. The campaign has its own Instagram page, where VOB regularly post submissions for the campaign video and pertinent information about Indonesian organisations that champion bodily autonomy. 

As is the norm in the pandemic era, there were a few obstacles over the course of the residency. VOB were initially slated to perform at the Southbank Centre for WOW London 2022; however, the precarious nature of COVID meant that the plan had to be scrapped entirely. However, WOW and VOB reached a solution: VOB’s campaign video and music video were eventually screened throughout the weekend-long festival, reaching thousands of people who have now been introduced to the group.

Throughout the residency, the WOW and VOB teams regularly checked in with each other for updates. There was—and always has been—trust and confidence that both parties would get on with the work and deliver high quality output despite the circumstances, which proved to be exactly the case.

Both WOW and VOB are honoured by the opportunity to work together and excited about the future of their partnership—in fact, there are now talks about having VOB perform at WOW London 2023. Fingers crossed for the plan finally coming to fruition next year!
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