For the love of music: Revellers enjoying the music during an event by the Weekenders Service Crew in Jakarta. — AFP
At a smoke-filled warehouse in the Indonesian capital Jakarta, hundreds of young men and women throw their arms in the air, bouncing to British songs from the 1990s.
The party more than 11,000km from British shores is inspired by the Britpop scene at the height of Cool Britannia about 30 years ago, centred on bands like Oasis, rivals Blur and Suede.
Playing to the 800-strong crowd is a DJ collective called the Weekenders Service Crew, who have turned student gatherings into a “Britpop party service”.
They now tour Indonesia’s main island Java attracting thousands with a raucous mix of British music, fashion and football culture.
“Music is my soul and I bring Weekenders Service Crew to other cities to share the happiness, to share the vibe,” said 24-year-old co-founder Abraham Vieniel.
While the sentimentality for Britain in South-East Asia may surprise, the appeal for its catchy, melodic rock hymns as an antidote to bleaker US grunge tunes and present-day commercial hits has not been lost.
Abraham and co-founder Bimo Nugroho say they have turned the events, which started in Java’s Yogyakarta city, into a full-time job in just two years.
The collective has amassed more than 30,000 followers on Instagram, where they post scenes of revelry alongside pictures of famous Britpop frontmen Liam Gallagher and Damon Albarn.
Their fans wear British nineties streetwear from Reebok trainers to Kangol bucket hats, as well as the Stone Island brand made famous by the European “casual” hooligan subculture.
“I think what Indonesians are adopting is the culture in the United Kingdom,” said Muhammad Fillah Pratama, 18.
Inside the warehouse, fans from rival football clubs party together, a remarkable sight in a country with a history of brutal fan violence.
“It unites the differences,” said concert-goer and Persija Jakarta fan Peter Chev, 23.
“In every fans, in every club, there must be a form of rivalry, right? And (here) they are united in one venue, one place.”
Music experts in Indonesia say the love of a movement emphasising Britishness is rooted in Dutch colonial cities like Jakarta and Bandung, which were built for Europeans who many still want to reference and imitate.
But the scene also serves as a space for disenfranchised youth who have been protesting in recent weeks against President Prabowo Subianto’s budget cuts.
“British music ... is like the catharsis for them to escape from the dark reality in Indonesia right now,” said ethnomusicologist Aris Setyawan.
“They can forget the problems they have to face in their real life.” — AFP
