Hardcore scene(s) in Gipuzkoa. Noise as a specific identity marker

Abstract

Noise is a non-desired sound, but, above all, it is a social judgment that expresses disapproval or the breaking of rules. It causes rejection and is always what others produce. The sound researcher Xabier Erkizia (Galarraga, 2014) terms it as a politicised sound. Noise is an adjective that we use to describe the sound of the other, and it is politicised because with its use we establish hierarchies in our relations with others. In the context of music, however, noise can also be from each person, and will thus work as an attitude of rupture. At least, this is the case when it comes to hardcore music, so much so that it becomes a differentiating factor in processes constructing the identity of the people who participate in local music scenes.