empty head festival | a punk and hardcore blast in jakarta

May 21, 2017

words by: jay nichvolodov

Empty Head Festival, new kid on the block in its first year, took over the Rossi Musik venue in Jakarta, Indonesia for two days of blast beats, live tattooing, and questionable brews. Collectives like Empty Head, Stuff Monger, and Young and Useless organized the event, with merchants and distros spilled out into the parking lot hawking vinyls, t-shirts and Nasi Bakar.

A photography and pen-and-ink exhibition occupied the back corner, documentary on the ill-conceived Jakarta Reclamation development projected onto a white wall, and the buzzing of tattoo guns competed with the growls and snares down the hall. Grindcore bands played after Youth Crew bands, with Death Metal bands following Powerviolence bands. Such diversity left everyone satisfied - even if the dodgy homebrews didn't. 


All photos c/o Jay Nichvolodov, Globetrotter Magazine. Top image of Bandung crusaders Krass Kepala