Basque Radical Rock

Controversial Political Content

Basque Radical Rock contains references to and descriptions of controversial political ideologies as they are relevant to the subject of the page, which may be distressing for some people. User discretion is advised. This page exists for the purpose of documentation. The administrators and moderators do not necessarily endorse the philosophy associated with the aesthetic.

Basque Radical Rock (Basque: Euskal Rock Erradikala, Spanish: Rock Radical Vasco, abbreviated as RRV) is a subgenre of Punk Rock music and musical movement originary from the Euskal Herria (the collective territories associated with the Basque culture, corresponding to the Basque Country and Navarre, divided between the borders of Spain and France). It was developed during the 1980s. Respectivily, it is heavily influenced by the politics of the Basque Country and its culture. Musically, it is heavily influenced by Ska-Punk, Urban Rock and Reggae music. Coindicing and contrasting with La Movida in the rest of Spain, Basque Radical Rock was a really important influence on Spanish Rock music during the 1980s, especially in Bilbao.

The singers and musicians associated with the Basque Radical Rock movement were heavily obscene, disrespectful and politically incorrect but in an ironic way^[1], although it's worth noting that the area of the Basque Country was going through pretty though political times, including the presence of terrorist groups such as the Euskadi ta Askatasuna (ETA), and this was reflected in their music, some of which faced censorship due to its emphasis on offensive topics. Regardless, the singers were predominantly left-wing, aligning with the goals and causes of the original Punk movement.

History[]

The term "Rock Radical Vasco" was coined by José Mari Blasco in 16th of October of 1983, and it first appeared on his manifesto that was published in the Egin newspaper. However, some people (regardless of being Basque patriots or not) didn't completely agree with the genre's name because of the principle that "Punk Rock has no country or nation". This can be considered true because of the fact that some musical artists from other parts of Spain also participated in Basque Radical Rock music. Additionally, this musical genre coincided with Las Movidas, which together implied social progress in Spain after the Francoist dictatorship. For example, Vulpess were the first all-female Punk band in the country. For some cultural insights, at the time the Basque Country was a political melting pot and protest songs were really popular at the time. That's why Basque Radical Rock songs almost always had an element of socio-political commentary.

Visuals[]

Compared to typical Punk Rock music, Basque Radical Rock definitely has much more violent and political visuals. This is reflected by some of its motifs, like guns, skulls or protests. This is likely due to the violent era the Basque Country went through during the 1980s and 1990s. The E.T.A organization, police brutality, the Spanish civil war and the Spanish Post-war period are often referenced in Basque Radical Rock songs. This is reflected in some songs such as No olvidamos, 3 de marzo by Soziedad Alkoholika, which references a police brutality incident in Vitoria-Gasteiz in 1976, or the song ETA by Eskorbuto, which references the terrorist organization of the same name (also leading to the song becoming subject to censorship). The red star is also one of the most common used motifs. This symbol traditionally represents Socialism, however in Spain, red stars are associated to separatist movements^[2]. The flags of the Basque Country and Navarre are also widely used in contrast with its associated political ideologies. Scribble art is often used and other commonly used symbols include Anarchist symbolism^[3] (such as the Anarchist symbol or Le Chat Noir), images of rebellious children, protests, blood splatters, paramilitar and terrorist imagery, upside down crosses, caricatures, etc. Basque Radical Rock is also notable for having its own Spanish grammar inspired by the Basque language: the letter C is replaced by a K (for example: Escorbuto becomes Eskorbuto) or Zs (for example: Sociedad becomes Soziedad).

Politics[]

The main ideology that's common within almost all Basque Radical Rock bands is anti-establishment. The songs' lyrics often criticize society, the state (in this case Spain), the central government (in this case Madrid), the police, monarchy, the church, the military, NATO, etc.

Many artists of the Basque Radical Rock movement were from poor backgrounds due to the economical crisis going on in the region at the time. The "Industrial Reconversion" in Spain also introduced highly fatal drugs such as heroin to the biggest cities of the country, leading to many musical artists dying from consuming them.

The ideology of Basque Radical Rock really depends on the band/musical artists. Some bands embraced the Abertzale movement (Basque left-wing nationalism or separatism), while other bands were more anarchist-adjacent and rejected all types of patriotism or nationalism.

Basque Radical Rock ended up becoming a really broad denomination with no true sense of political unity, because many bands and musical artists had their own values and musical techniques. For example, La Polla Records' songs were mainly about satirical and social commentaries, while Eskorbuto's music was more nihilistic (with the most famous example being the song Anti Todo), while Kortatu were Basque nationalists or Hertzainak who were situationists.