Strangers sing their hearts out without judgment at hot new club in Indonesia

Born during the Covid-19 pandemic, Nyanyi Bareng Jakarta is inspired by one-day choir formats like Gaia Music Collective in New York and Singapore's Sing Song Social Club.

- Arlina Arshad

singing our lungs out to a Phil Collins classic inside a warehouse in South Jakarta. The event was Nyanyi Bareng Jakarta - Sing Together Jakarta - Indonesia's first singing club promising a "safe space to sing your heart out without judgment".

When we checked in, we each got a yellow sticker with the club's name, a pin featuring a song lyric excerpt, a keychain and a printed lyric sheet.

I sing in the shower or at karaoke bars; I have never been in a choir, let alone sung with dozens of strangers.

But none of this mattered: I did not need to read music or be able to hit the high notes; I just had to show up and sing like no one was watching - because frankly, no one was.

The crowd was mostly in their 20s and 30s, wearing sneakers and carrying canvas tote bags. They had scrambled online for slots that vanished in five minutes, paid 150,000 rupiah (S$12), and packed into RokStation, a venue that felt more repurposed steelworks than symphony hall.

The club, which was launched in April by Ms Gladys Santoso, 32, a former e-commerce project manager, Ms Meda Kawu, 47, an indie singer and voice coach, and Mr Jusuf Winardi, 45, a music producer, had held only five previous sessions.

But it had already drawn thousands online - and that Saturday afternoon, the warehouse was filled with hundreds of singing voices.

"If you can speak, you can sing," Ms Gladys told The Straits Times. "Vocal cords are like muscles - the more you train them, the stronger they get."

Besides this singing club, groups for running, journaling, photography, board games and even practising English with native speakers have sprung up since the Covid-19 pandemic, attracting young Indonesians seeking social connection and belonging.