The Sociology of Ska Music in Grisness Culture: Expression, Creation, and Appreciation in Arts Education

Abstract

The development of popular music, particularly the ska genre, has given rise to unique and contextual expressions of youth culture. One notable phenomenon is Grisness Culture, a ska band founded by a group of university friends in Semarang in 2015, which has since evolved into an active player in the local music ecosystem. This study aims to analyze the expression, creation, and appreciation of Grisness Culture’s music, while linking it to Pierre Bourdieu’s sociological concepts of habitus, capital, and field. The research employed a qualitative approach with a case study design through observation, interviews, and document analysis. The findings reveal that although Grisness Culture is structured as a band, it functions as a cultural agent within the ska music field, shaped by a habitus rooted in social and campus cultural backgrounds. They mobilize social, cultural, and symbolic capital to strengthen their position in both the local and national music arenas. Their artistic practices reflect the dimensions of expression, creation, and appreciation, while simultaneously fostering character values such as cooperation, creativity, responsibility, and courage. This study recommends that formal arts education should be more open to community-based practices in order to build contextual, inclusive, and transformative learning.