Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

Approaching the Underground

2014; Routledge; Volume: 29; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/09502386.2014.937945

1466-4348

Shams Bin Quader, Guy Redden,

Diverse Musicological Studies

AbstractThis article aims to shed light on how and why the underground urban metal scene in Bangladesh came into existence, and why it takes the forms it takes in this post-colonial country. Consistent with much recent work about alternative rock, it is argued that the concept of scene is helpful in this task because it allows a framework through which to understand how multiple elements come together but never fully cohere into a unified subcultural whole that has a 'straightforward' relationship with a cultural locality. Based on interviews with key figures in the scene, ethnographic observation and textual analysis, the article proposes that urban youths' frustration with the poor state of conditions in the country is channelled into a passion to build an alternative space. The exploration of foreign musical styles and the fantasy worlds of metal allow participants to occupy 'another place'. While participants assert the distinction of their music from mainstream rock and pop, one of the main findings is that they are not much concerned about the idea of selling out to the corporate music industry if they become popular. Rather, translocal connections with other underground scenes existing elsewhere are emphasized in a local scene that remains tied to the activities of a largely middle-class, part-time, male population of artists who share particular social and economic resources. These resources afford their participation in the metal scene. The findings lead to questions about the extent to which the scene reproduces alternative rock discourses about authenticity and implicit critiques of capitalism, and also whether its transnationalism contributes to the hybridization of global cultural forms.Keywords: subculturesceneundergroundBangladeshmetalpopular music Notes on ContributorsShams Bin Quader is a Masters of Philosophy candidate at the Department of Gender and Cultural Studies at the University of Sydney, where his thesis is about the alternative music culture of Bangladesh. He has more than six years of experience teaching at the university level at multiple universities in Bangladesh, and his research interests include popular music, cultural identity, diaspora, migration, new media and online SNS.Guy Redden is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Gender and Cultural Studies at the University of Sydney, where he was also Convenor of the Master of Cultural Studies by coursework programme for four years. His research concerns the intersections of culture and economy, with particular emphasis on media, organisational and alternative cultures.