Musik som protest : En fallstudie av musikgruppen LöstFolk

Sammanfattning: The Uppsala music group LöstFolk has in various ways distinguished itself and become identified with protest music in Sweden. Their approach goes beyond simply singing and presenting texts that express their dissatisfaction with contemporary injustices and their message is strengthened by their use of visual and new media technologies. With a mix of music consisting of reggae, gospel, rap, and Latin sounds, they flag up both with gravity and humour, the dangers towards which they think society is heading, such as the polarizations and divisions between different ethnicities. By giving their songs incisive texts, visually reinforced by symbols and metaphors, they have succeeded in achieving their goal, ”protesting”. The aim of this bachelor’s thesis is to highlight the relationships between music and social problems, through the way in which LöstFolk express their protests, and to show how this is expressed in today’s Sweden. How does the music group demonstrate its protest and what are they actually protesting about? To answer these questions, I have chosen to make a qualitative analysis of available materials, such as song texts, articles, interviews, and music videos. The result of the study shows that LöstFolk makes protest music in a personal way. The members’ mixed ethnic and musical backgrounds are part of their core message, a message aimed at politicians at different sectors of society and, not least, at us. Additionally, the group puts forward some solutions to the problems.