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A systematic discourse: How safe are mosh pits at hardcore shows?
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Gang shout: Fans sing along during Malang hardcore punk outfit Compassion's performance at Warmindo Tengah Alas, Malang, East Java. (Ahmad Jamal/RIPCVLT Archive) (Ahmad Jamal/RIPCVLT Archive)
A
s the masses have started becoming more familiar with the Indonesian hardcore punk scene through the emergence of more-accessible touch points, the scene’s innately hermetic values might face challenges in adapting to an increasingly-wider audience.
The Indonesian hardcore punk scene has started garnering wider attention with the emergence of entities and touchpoints that resonate and are more accessible than the hoi polloi in the late 2010s. For instance, Blitar record label Greedy Dust has openly declared its vision to make the genre more accessible. Meanwhile, Bandung hardcore punk band Bleach’s image has departed from the scene’s usual stereotype of aggressive men.
While the genre seems to be amid a considerable upswing internationally since a few years back, it continues to strike a chord with new listeners domestically and consistently draws in more outsiders into the innately hermetic scene.
As the scene consistently gathers a broader audience beyond merely spectating, issues regarding its inclusivity and diversity starts to be addressed. The visually raucous and frenetic mosh pits at hardcore punk shows, intuitively, will be the first to be scrutinized for their seemingly hypermasculine imagery.
Catharsis through violence
“No one is safe,” Githrue Mario, the guitarist of Yogyakarta hardcore band Serigala Malam, joked with a wide grin when The Jakarta Post asked him to describe the mosh pits at hardcore punk shows, on Oct. 28. Flying bodies and flailing limbs are common in the pit during most hardcore punk shows.
