“Anak indie anti korupsi!” Uji “Hahan” Handoko from koplo disco unit Prontaxan shouted at the top of his lungs to a cheering audience at the second day of Synchronize Festival 2019 at Gambir Expo Kemayoran, Central Jakarta on Saturday.

Prontaxan was collaborating with Efek Rumah Kaca (ERK), one of the most prominent indie bands in Indonesia, known for its sharp, critical, political lyrics.

ERK was in the middle of its song “Cinta Melulu” when Prontaxan interrupted with its super fast beat koplo tune, which reminded us of the kind of music inter-city truck drivers play to accompany them on long-haul journeys. It is an irony as “Cinta Melulu” criticizes the boom of Malay-pop in Indonesia’s music industry in the 2010s.

Some of the audience that did not approve of the koplo remix were seen leaving the pit, while the many who remained were seen dancing energetically.

After “Cinta Melulu”, Prontaxan and ERK continued with “Mosi Tidak Percaya” (Motion of No Confidence), one of ERK's songs, which was used as the anthem during the student protests that took place in the past few weeks in several parts of the country. 

“Anak indie anti korupsi!”, which Hahan shouted several times, can roughly be translated as “Indie kids are anti-corruption”, and the audience cheered to this. Along with a huge black banner, hanging in front of a monitor speaker flashing the hashtag #ReformasiDikorupsi (Reform corrupted), the spirit to fight for righteousness felt strong.

During the number “Di Udara” (In the Air), a song dedicated to the late activist Munir who was killed on a Garuda Indonesia flight to the Netherlands in 2004, all the onstage personnel and much of the audience punched their fists into the air.

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