Indonesia Grunge Band

Navicula is a grunge rock band from Bali that have just returned home after touring the US and Australia.
They are one of the few Indonesian bands that are making it internationally.
But they’re more than an ordinary rock band.
They are also known as the ‘green grunge gentlemen’.
Samantha Yap went to one of their gigs in Jakarta to find out what Navicula are all about.


To know who Navicula are you need to understand the name.

Drummer Gembul says it is inspired by a kind of algae.

“When you go to the beach and sometimes you see glowing on the surface, that’s Navicula. When it’s dark they will sparkle and are shaped like a small ship. It means that maybe with this small ship we can go around the world. And the colour is like a golden colour and gold is like a valuable thing, so that’s the philosophy.”

Navicula are active in advocating for environmental protection through music.

This song is called ‘Metropolutan’ – it’s about being trapped in the polluted air of the capital, Jakarta.  Because lobby groups say that Jakarta gets less than 30 days of clean air per year.