Jakarta has become one of the most exciting hardcore hubs in the world over the last few years, with a wave of new bands pushing things forward while staying deeply rooted in punk tradition. ZIP is one of the clearest examples of that balance, offering raw, urgent hardcore grounded in the classic style while refusing to sound like a museum piece.
Formed during the pandemic era, the band quickly established themselves both locally and internationally, touring throughout Southeast Asia and just a few days ago, releasing their debut LP Model Citizen.
Jan, the band’s vocalist, explains that ZIP began with a simple desire: to make something they hadn’t done in any of their previous bands, something that channeled the energy of the ‘80s hardcore they grew up loving. “80s hardcore punk has always been our main thing,” he says. “We wanted to get that urgency back into a scene flooded with trends of ‘heavier/breakdown bands.’ The punk should be apparent in this project.”
ZIP formed through a shared obsession with that era, including bands like S.O.A., Youth Brigade, early Agnostic Front, The Abused, Urban Waste, SSD, The F.U.’s, Negative FX, and more. But the band never set out to simply recreate the past. Instead, they traded influences, jammed constantly, and let each member’s personal taste seep through. The result was a fast, sharp, modern take on classic styles, leading to their self-titled EP in 2021 on Greedy Dust Records.
Since then, ZIP has kept busy with a steady run of local and international gigs before finally dropping their first full-length. Model Citizen pushes the quintet into harsher, more politically charged territory. Jan describes the lyrics as coming from a place of bleak realism—military arrogance, the brutality of war, the Palestinian genocide, and the ongoing corruption and dysfunction of the Indonesian government. “Yes, we do have a shit government,” he says, “but thanks to them we can write a record like this, so kudos to them for remaining shitty.”
Alongside the larger political narratives, Jan also writes about the psychological toll of living in a crowded, chaotic city—loneliness, monotony, and that nagging feeling of living on borrowed time. “I approached the writing of this record through a very pessimistic lens but with hopeful spirit,” he explains. “Pouring all this bleak notion into the record is a way for me to meditate through the bullshit.”
Beyond their music, ZIP is part of a thriving and ever-expanding Indonesian hardcore community. Jan says the scene is “alive & kicking” not just in Jakarta but throughout the country. Younger kids are forming bands, attending shows, and learning quickly thanks to social media—something he sees as both a blessing and a problem. On one hand, the enthusiasm is at an all-time high. On the other, the TikTok-era version of hardcore has created misunderstandings about what the culture actually stands for.
“We need to be wary of hardcore being taken as something ‘instant,’” he says. “Some kids think hardcore is just about beating people up or trying to come up with the hardest mosh move.” Unfortunately, that mentality has led to rising violence at shows, which Jan sees as the worst aspect of the current moment: “Shows should be a safe space for kids to express themselves.”
Even so, Jan remains optimistic about the direction Indonesian hardcore is moving in. ZIP themselves are proof of how wide-ranging, passionate, and forward-thinking the scene has become. With Model Citizen now out worldwide, the band is poised to bring Jakarta’s voice to even more stages.
When asked if he had anything final to add, Jan just laughed and said everything he wanted to say was already in the music. And truthfully, it shows. ZIP may channel the spirit of the ’80s, but they have both feet firmly planted in the urgency of right now.
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Model Citizen is out now via 4490 Records.
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