Grrrl Gang Talks Growing into Adulthood and Active Resistance Through Music
If you don’t already know Indonesian, indie pop/rock band Grrrl Gang, then let us introduce you. Based in Jakarta, Grrrl Gang formed in 2016 when vocalist Angeeta Sentana, bassist Akbar Rumandung and guitarist Edo Alventa were just college students creating music about mental health and coming of age. Fast forward 10 years later and the group is still together with a debut album under their belt, plus a new maxi single navigating a more mature perspective on adulthood. We chatted with Angee and Akbar ahead of their U.S. tour covering everything from protesting capitalist pressures to paranormal encounters while on the road. Make sure to catch them on their Clocking In At The End Of The World tour at Soda Bar on March 23rd.
ListenSD: For those that are just discovering y’all can you tell us about Grrrl Gang in your own words?
Angee: We’re pretty chaotic! We’re pretty loud and there are some songs where we’re just hooting and hollering [on stage] and we do a lot of guitar solos. One thing that people can look forward to during our shows in the U.S. is that they will have lots and lots of fun watching us!
Akbar: Yeah we formed a band about 10 years ago when we were still in college and before the band we were actually good friends. We were part of this collective called Terror Weekend where we hosted local bands to play in our city and after three years of that we met a lot of people, we made a lot of friends from other cities in Indonesia. Then, we formed Grrrl Gang just to experience what it’s like to be in a band. Since we used to [organize] shows, we also wanted to try to be a band and go on tour.
LSD: So, it’s been two years since the release of your debut album Spunky! looking back, how do you think y’all have changed as a band and individuals? What’s also stayed consistent since then?
Angee: Oh my god I think we’ve changed quite a lot within the span of two almost three years. For one, I think I’m able to sing the songs from that album more effortlessly. Individually we’ve grown as musicians, we’re way better players now. I think Akbar has finally had the chance to pull out his crazy moves because I don’t think he was able to do so when we’re still a dream pop band. The least he could do during that time was just crowd surfing. We’ve also matured quite a lot and that’s pretty significant in terms of our songwriting. We’re now able to branch out and explore themes that exist outside of us as you can see from the songs in our maxi single.
Akbar: Well [with] Spunky! we created that album when we just moved to Jakarta. We used to study in Yogyakarta and it’s a whole different city because it’s a college city, so there’s students everywhere. It’s more fun to be honest. In Jakarta we actually moved here for work, so other than [being] in a band we also have day jobs. And we’ve grown up since Spunky! I agree with Angee, the themes in our new music are wider because we have a wider perspective.
LSD: Speaking on these new themes explored in Online 24/7, I really admire how you touch on such modern and pressing issues like conformity, femicide, and corporate greed. Can you relay what your writing and recording process was like for these three tracks? Were there any nerves around diving into something so serious?
Angee: It was so nerve-wracking for me! I remember specifically for Lapdog, Akbar and I had a really intense back and forth argument because he was just trying to understand my POV. He was anxious that people would misunderstand it especially [because] this song covers the workplace and capitalism. Of course [keeping in mind] the working class people who are just trying to survive and put food on the table. I told him the song is totally not about them, this is about those who already have a privilege and yet they just stay greedy. They would do anything to get to the top. Also O, My Love was quite nerve-wracking in terms of how sensitive I could be and how to portray [femicide] in an empathetic way. Especially because the song could trigger some people.
LSD: Would you say post-grad life inspired you to speak out against systemic issues and capitalism with your music?
Angee: Yes, I think so. You can tell from our earlier releases we were all pretty preoccupied with our personal lives and mental well-being which is also very college-like, right? You’re just navigating early 20s, undergrad school and all of the trials and tribulations that might come from it. Now, with Online 24/7 we’re sort of branching out because we’re in a way better mental health space to take in what’s going on in the world. Although it’s kind of making us even crazier! But, now we’re able to have a clearer head in dealing and approaching all of the insane changes that we’re seeing within ourselves and within the world.
LSD: You both said that you have day jobs outside of your artistry, how do you balance everything and avoid burnout with such a busy schedule?
Akbar: It’s really hard to manage our time nowadays, but music has been our channel to express ourselves. Especially for our guitar player Edo, he has to go to the office everyday while me and Angee can do hybrid work from home, so it’s easier. We cannot live without playing music, so it just didn’t even make sense to not play music. For this tour we are actually using all of our annual leave so we don’t have any more annual leave until the end of the year. But, this is something that is needed, not only for the business or the band, but personally we get to hang out for two and a half weeks. [It will make us] more sane because we’ll do anything to make this band work.
Angee: Yeah, we do experience burnout from work specifically, and it sometimes spills over to our band activities. Especially when all the responsibilities for the band and our day jobs just keep increasing. So it was a bit hard to navigate at first, and it did affect our songwriting process as well. We had so many walls during the time we worked on Online 24/7. I think we’re slowly recovering from it. The fact we’re going on this tour is kind of like healing us a little bit. I feel like Hannah Montana with this double life, but yeah, it’s still fun!
LSD: Outside of music, how do you protest against capitalistic expectations in your daily life?
Angee: Taking a lot of rest! I feel like that’s the most significant thing that I usually do, because the system wants us to constantly be productive and always working or moving. Maintaining my physical health and mental health as well is a way for me to resist those notions. Pursuing music is resistance against it, especially with Asian parents. [There’s] that sort of mentality for their children to have office jobs or just be super wealthy from living that sort of quote unquote conventional life.
Akbar: I think you just have to do enough. You don’t have to be like the best in the office. You don’t have to be like a super employee or something like that. And for me, it is always good to give back to the community in any sense, because we grew from the DIY music community. I work in a multinational corporation, so sometimes I’m not actually being myself in those situations. It’s just so important to remember where we came from.
LSD: Can you talk about past tour experiences and how that’s inspired you as artists and individuals?
Akbar: The longest tour that we had before this was in 2018, so we were still in college. We had, I think, 20 or 23 stops. It was our first ever tour, so the money was tight. That [experience] made me understand [the band] more, because we were together for three weeks in total. So there were some fights on the road between the three of us, but after the tour it made us closer. You finally know what your friends are like. What lies beneath them [while traveling], how they manage their time, did they actually wake up in the morning to prepare for the next show, things like that.
Angee: Yeah, who has the stinkiest feet?
Akbar: Me. That’s me. Haha! But, I really can’t wait for the U.S. tour because it’s been a while since we spent these times together, like the three of us. Let’s see what I can dig up about Angee after the tour. I bet there’s still something that I don’t know about her, even though we’ve been friends for 10 years now.
Angee: Yes, I just hope that we don’t experience supernatural activities, though, because it was quite prominent [in our last tour]. I think we experienced two cases of possessions in two different locations!
Akbar: I actually remember three, also the one in Singapore. You remember that?
Angee: Oh, yes! Bangkok!
Akbar: Bangkok and Singapore. That hostel [we stayed at] I saw people running in our hallway. So, two possessions and two different, like, ghost sightings.
LSD: When you say possessions, you mean someone got possessed?
Angee: Yes, someone got possessed.
Akbar: It was actually the organizer. So the thing with us, we always try to dig up ghost stories every time we visit a new city. We talked about it with the promoter, and he’s pretty sensitive, like he can sense [the paranormal energy]. So, while we were talking about it, something in his face suddenly changed. He went non-verbal for 15 minutes and then he said okay we should all go home right now! [He could sense something] because we were bringing up these stories!
LSD: That’s so wild! Since you’re into paranormal stories are there any thoughts around a haunted-esque or gothic vibe for an album or a song?
Angee: Ooh, I honestly really want to! But, not too gothic in terms of genre. We kind of did try it with O, My Love since technically that song is being sung by the ghost of the victim, right? So, it was quite nice to try to sing in a ghostly way. I took inspiration from the way Kate Bush sang Wuthering Heights.
LSD: What can we look forward to from Grrrl Gang in 2026? Do you have any big goals or dreams that y’all want to accomplish this year?
Angee: This year just the U.S. tour. It’s six years in the making, because we were supposed to go back in 2020, but then COVID happened! So, now we’re finally going! It’s time! Y’all better be ready because we’re ready!
Akbar: Also just playing more shows in Indonesia, especially places out of the Javanese islands. We really want to explore more parts of Sumatra, Kalimantan as well as Salawesi.
Angee: And if you do come [to our U.S. tour] don’t forget to buy our merch because that money will be used to buy our food while we’re on tour! So, thank you and please, please feed Grrrl Gang!
Don’t miss Grrrl Gang at Soda Bar on March 23rd. Get your TICKETS HERE.