Behind Ramengvrl’s Rap Anthem Celebrating Indonesian Culture and Clean Energy

In its effort to promote sustainable energy, the European Union (through the European Commission) partnered with VML Belgium to launch international music video campaign, ‘I’ve Got the Power’. Spanning 13 countries, the campaign features contemporary anthems for renewable energy by local artists, the latest and last of which comes from Indonesian rapper and songwriter, Ramengvrl.

Directed by duo Benoit and Pablo from Dozen TV, the goal of each video was to blend an artist’s sound with two local stories that bring to light how clean energy is being used today.

For the Indonesian instalment, the team brought in creative agency, Sauce Universe, and production service partner, Baliprod, who helped bring an authentic narrative to life with their local knowledge and expertise.



“The brief was to talk about sustainable energy but make it human, not boring,” Jasmyn Asvat, EP at Baliprod and creative director at Sauce Universe, tells LBB. “The first thing we did was ignore anything that felt like a campaign and start thinking about people. Because no one wakes up thinking about infrastructure, they wake up thinking about their day.”

But Indonesia wasn’t something you could just “apply” the brief to, she says. “It needed translating properly, culturally, visually, socially. That meant stepping away from generic Southeast Asia imagery and getting specific.”

For this reason, Yogyakarta became the anchor: “It gave us texture. Not the polished, hyper-curated version of Indonesia but the version that breathes,” Jasmyn says. “There’s an ease to the city but it’s not sleepy. It’s intentional. It also has this quiet confidence. It doesn’t try too hard to impress you, which ironically makes it more compelling on camera. That’s the kind of detail that gives a project character without forcing it. The city basically did what a good location should do, it carried half the story without asking for attention.”

Within Yogyakarta, locations were chosen based on how they function, not how they look. “Active badminton courts, real coffee spaces, places where people already move the way we need them to. No set dressing pretending to be culture,” she says. “And casting was a big part of it. We’re not parachuting in talent that just fits visually. We worked with local teams to find people who actually live these stories. You can feel the difference immediately. The body language, the rhythm, the way people occupy space. You can’t fake that.”



The music video features Indonesia’s badminton and coffee culture, which the team landed on after exploring a whole mix of directions from street food to youth subcultures and creative industries. “The filter for us was always simple: does it feel lived in, and does it translate without explanation?” Jasmyn explains.

“Badminton is not just a sport in Indonesia, it’s almost muscle memory. It’s pride, routine, obsession, all rolled into one. Coffee, on the other hand, gave us the opposite energy. Slower, social, entrepreneurial, quietly powerful. The pairing just made sense. One is high energy and disciplined, the other is community-driven and reflective. Together, they show how energy supports both momentum and pause, without us having to spell it out.”

Shooting in live environments was, as expected, unpredictable. “Courts are in use, cafés are operating, and the weather does what it wants,” she says. “So the plan had to be strong but our grip on it had to be loose. The solution was leaning heavily into local knowledge. Not just logistically but culturally. Understanding when to push and when to adapt. We weren’t trying to control everything. We were shaping around what was already happening. That’s where the best moments came from anyway.”

Holding both the role of creative director and EP on the project made the whole process tighter, Jasmyn says. “As an EP, you’re deep in the realities of production, budgets, timelines, crews, locations, and what's actually possible on the ground. You understand how things move, not just how they’re imagined. Then as creative director, it’s about protecting the idea: the tone, the casting, the details that make something feel culturally right and not watered down. Where it really works is in the middle. There’s no disconnect between concept and execution because it’s being shaped from both ends at the same time.”

This also means decisions are made faster and with more clarity. “If something isn’t working, you know whether to adjust creatively or solve it practically, without it turning into a long back-and-forth, and most importantly, it keeps the work honest. The creative isn’t floating in an ideal world and the production isn’t just ticking boxes. They’re constantly informing each other. That balance is where the best work comes from and makes both Baliprod and Sauce Universe an indomitable force in the new era of where agency and production is moving to.”

Through Sauce, Jasmyn and the team pushed for specificity: “real people, authentic locations, moments that don’t feel staged. And we protected that throughout. Because it’s very easy for work like this to drift into something polished but empty,” she says. “We were there to make sure it connects. If it started to feel too clean, too safe, too ‘campaign’, we pulled it back to something honest. Our role sat in that space between concept and reality. Making sure what was written actually translated into something that felt culturally correct, not just visually appealing.”