April Vertigo.

The
social network of
the Portuguese
punk movement
(1977-2015)
PAULA GUERRA, FLUP, IS-UP, KISMIF Project, Porto, Portugal
TNIA MOREIRA, FLUP, KISMIF Project, Porto, Portugal
HLDER ALVES, ISSSP, Porto, Portugal

Contents
1.
2.
3.
4.

The KISMIF Project: an overview

The KISMIF Project: objectives
The KISMIF Project: methodology
The Portuguese punk scene: some results

1. The KISMIF Project:

an overview

The central knot of this project is in

the context analysis as well as in the
social agents who emerged, the
development and sedimentation of
social and musical manifestations of
punk in Portuguese modernity
(1977-2012), in a diachronic
perspective with sinchronic
contours, cross-referencing time
and spaces.

We believe this to be the most

fertile path towards exploring
objects of such a complex nature,
socially invisible, which need a
variety of paradigms for its efficient
explanation and scientific
understanding.

The lack of specific scientific

studies in Portugal, and its
incipient use by political,
institutional and scientific entities
justifies the true importance of this
project.
Internationally, the study of these
musical manifestations and its interrelations with the social structure is
partially owed, after the 1970s, from
the cultural studies and its consistent
interpretative framework (subcultures),
being themselves enriched by posterior
analysis (music mediation, rematerialization of culture, cultural
production, tribes and music scenes). It
is thus important to understand these
paradigms on a Portuguese scale.

We are interested in

Production | Promotion | Consumption

inside a matrix which understands punk as a
form of popular culture, as it implies an
access to spaces with specific instruments of
expression and communication, the increase in
cognitive, emotional and symbolic patterns, the
creation of specific cultural products, the possibility of
aesthetic experiences, and the mobilization of social
actors originating from popular backgrounds as well as
urban middle classes.

It is also important to stress the framing of our analysis in the much larger
phenomenon of territorialization of cultural activities also applied to
popular music scenes, our analytical zoom.
In the approach of this phenomenon, it is important to bear in mind the
symbiotic relationship between territory and cultural consumption: while
the first makes the latter essential for territorial development, it also
makes the territory the primary element in cultural dynamism.

2. The KISMIF
Project:
Objectives

1. To do a systematic investigation
of urban cultures associated with
punk music, understanding its
importance in the processes of
identitary construction of social
agents, young people in particular;

2. To promote a connection
between the several areas of
cultural fields analysis, as well as
analysis of how the music is enjoyed
by the public, in different scales;

3. To build a punk relational space,

distinguishing a set of stances in a
specific social environment, inside the
rock universe, related to the structure
of the artistic field and the Portuguese
social environment;

4. To experiment several
methodologies and investigative
techniques, with the goal of
understanding the importance of the
several daily lives which are constituted
by musical consumption and practice,
as well as its importance and impact in
the restructuring of social practices.

3. The KISMIF
Project:
Methodology

We intend to arrive at these goals crossing methods of extensive and intensive

nature, in an reflexive ethnographic matrix, which we defend as an adequate
strategy to deal with the objects complexity, diachronic and sinchronic
singularity.
We intend to develop investigation for action. Starting from documental analysis,
exploratory interviews, life stories, case studies, focal groups, and finishing up
by gathering investigators and field agents in the discussion of results. The
dissemination of the results will be made through the direction of a documentary
and the creation of a web platform of
Portuguese punk. This is one of the
innovative products of the project,
which will integrate the documentary,
the databases gathered and the
relevant products and subproducts in
the context of dissemination.

4.The Portuguese
punk scene: some
results

Until now we conducted 214

interviews, and we analysed 93
fanzines (in a total of 177
issues), the names of 788 punk
bands, the titles of 1429
albums, the covers of 118
albums, and the lyrics of 264
songs.

Age
15-30 years old
31-45 years old
> 45 years old
Total

N.
38
109
67
214

%
17,76%
50,93%
31,31%
100,00%

Gender

N.

Female

30

14,02%

Male

184

85,98%

Total

214

100,00%

Interviews role in the scene

N.

Musician active

48

22,43%

Musician inactive

14

6,54%

Mediator active

27

12,62%

Mediator inactive

10

4,67%

Fans

29

13,55%

Musician and mediator active

42

19,63%

Musician and mediator inactive

3,27%

Musician inactive and mediator active

1,87%

Musician and mediator inactive

11

5,14%

Musician inactive and fan

22

10,28%

Total

214

100,00%

In the interviews we asked to all interviewees to indicate their

preferences in terms of songs, albums, videos, bands and personalities
(actors of the Portuguese punk scene) in a list (no ordered) with up 10
references.
PURPOSE: to know and understand which are the
songs, albums, videos, bands and actors most
important in the Portuguese punk scene.

IN THE NEXT SLIDES:

we will see some of the results
obtained after the submission of
these preferences to the social
network analysis

Figure 1: Personalities most referenced

Name of the
Personality
Joo Ribas
Miguel Newton
Joo Pedro
Almendra, Autista
Z Pedro

Rui Ramos, Rui

Rocker
Manolo Almeida
Frgil Lapa

Francisco Dias, Xico

Victor Torpedo,
Vitinho
Pedro Ayres
Magalhes, Dedos
Tubaro

% of the
interviewees
who cite him

Bands

K de Judas, Censurados, Tara Perdida,

51,9 Kamones, N.A.M. (Ncleo de Atrasados
Mentais)
21,5 Mata-Ratos

Age in 2014

Roles in the punk scene

(RIP 2014, 49 anos)

Musician

47

Musician

21,0 Punk Sinatra, Peste & Sida, K de Judas

47

Musician

20,6 Xutos & Pontaps

Choque, Crise, Crise Total, Profilaxia,
19,6 Santa Vulva, Pixas Paradas Conceptual,
Feijo Freud, Rolls Rockers, Asfixia
Crise Total, Profilaxia, Capito Fantasma,
18,7
M.A.D., Los Paz DAlma
Senisga, Renegados de Boliqueime,
18,2
Motornoise, Frgil and Alchool Friends
Dawnrider, Alpha Chapter, Two, Apostle
of Solitude, Subcaos, Crise Total, Porcos
17,8
Sujos, Rolls Rockers, No Counts, LAmour
Rocks
Objectos Perdidos, 77, Subway Riders,
Blood Safari, Tdio Boys, The Parkinsons,
16,4
Planet Jacumba, Tiguana Bibles, The
Hateful, Victor Torpedo Karaokee

61

Musician, DJ, Radio

(RIP 2013, 49 anos)

Musician, DJ, Radio

10,8

Fascas, Corpo Diplomtico, Hris do

Mar, Madredeus, Resistncia

45

Musician

46

Musician, Promotor, DJ

37

Musician, fanzine editor,

music editor, owner of
record store, radio, DJ

41

Musician, Plastic Artist, DJ,

Designer, Illustrator

58

Musician

Figure 2: Geographical origin of the interviewees Geographical origin of Personalities

Figure 2: Geographical origin of the interviewees Geographical origin of Personalities

In this figure we can see that:
- the personalities most referenced are from Lisbon, Porto, Coimbra and Sintra.
- the variable "territory" has some influence in the choices of the interviewees - the
territories near to each other appear in this figure also in the same cluster. This means
that interviewees tend to choice personalities from cities near to their local of residence
interviewees and personalities chosen are most of them friends

Figure 3: Bands most referenced

Name of the
Band

% of the
interviewees
who cite the
band

Geographic
provenience of
the band

Status in 2014

Years in activity

No ativo 1983-1988; 1995-

Total of years in
activity

Crise Total

52,3

Sintra

24

Censurados

47,2

Lisboa

Inativa

1988-1994

Mata-Ratos

42,1

Oeiras

No Ativo

1982-

32

K de Judas

42,1

Lisboa

Inativa

1982-1986

Peste & Sida

37,9

Lisboa

No Ativo

1986-

28

Aqui d'el-Rock

26,2

Lisboa

Inativa

1977-1979

Xutos &
Pontaps

22,4

Lisboa

No Ativo

1978-

36

X-Acto

22,0

Lisboa

Inativa

1991-1999

Figure 2: Geographical origin of the interviewees Geographical origin of Bands

Crise Total

Censurados

K de Judas

Mata-Ratos

X-Acto

Aqui d'el-Rock

Thanks!
Contact:
paula.kismif@gmail.com
tania.kismif@gmail.com
kismif.geral@gmail.com