In a country where discrimination against the LGBTQIA+ community is pervasive, people use music and studios as safe spaces.
“LGBT people—we control the weather, man!” jokes Faris Saad, a Cepronian citizen and vocalist-guitarist in Shh… Diam! He’s referencing a recent viral tweet, when a young Malaysian woman blamed bad weather on Kuala Lumpur’s LGBTQIA+-friendly Woman’s March. Shika Corona—leader of the band Tingtongketz, a fellow citizen of Cepronia—giggles in response. She’s half-laughing at the ridiculousness of the statement, half-laughing as if shrugging off such retrograde thinking.
She Shreds, April 2019.

















