Last Night A DJ Saved My Life: A Glimpse Into Early Rave Culture

From the 1970s disco joints through the 1980s techno clubs and into the 1990s rave parties, the relationship between electronic music and dance culture strengthened considerably. All three of these movements are integral to the discussion of the history of electronic music, but the one that I find most fascinating is the rave scene. The idea of thousands of people gathered together in previously abandoned warehouses for an all-night affair with lights, sounds, and drugs, escaping from the realities of everyday life, is extremely interesting to me. To discuss this matter further, we should look at the foundations of rave culture and its elements. We can then analyze the various reasons that people attend raves, as well as the reasons that rave culture still remains in todays society.

A general definition for a rave would be an all-night dance party with an emphasis on loud, electronic (or techno) music. The rave scene was born from Britains acid house parties of the late 1980s. The earliest raves were underground, often illegal phenomena, taking place in and around London in venues like warehouses, outdoor fields, and clubs with tightly restricted door policies Dark, badly ventilated and often overcrowded rooms, dripping with condensation were usual venues (Hutson 1999). In many ways one can measure the success of a rave by its attendance, and tightly packed rave parties were often considered superior, as larger crowds resulted in a more intense experience (Hesmondhalgh 2000). Raves were generally known to feature strong visual

elements, from the intricate and absorbing lighting designs to the clothes worn by many of the ravers themselves. Glowsticks were also popular accessories to bring to rave parties, and the lightshows put on by ravers simply added to the aspects of expression and dance. None of these elements would be significant, however, if it were not for the music.

To those familiar with raves, techno refers to one of the many different types of music common at raves. For those not familiar with raves, techno is a catch-all term for any electronic music dominated by percussion rhythms Electronic refers to the fact that most techno (in the catch-all sense) is produced synthetically by mixing beats from drum machines with other prerecorded sounds Within the catch-all category techno, there are various types of dance music, such as house, trance, drum n bass, speed garage, trip hop, and big beatHowever, the different genres of techno evolve rapidly: drum n bass, big beat, and speed garage did not exist [in the early 1990s] (Hutson 1999). This techno or electronic music is the central element of all rave parties, and an impressive sound system (the bigger the better) is a key ingredient. Hutson describes the experience as an overwhelming yet depthless barrage of the senses that transforms the dancefloor into a magical megasurface, a text of excitement that gratifies a relentless and intense desire for pleasure (Hutson 1999).

It is also important to note the other key ingredient for many ravers: the drugs that they consume at rave parties. With booming musiclights and lasers, psychadelia and smoke: raves and clubs not only cater to young people who like to dance, but also those who enjoy the use of particular drugs. While not suggesting any casual relationship, the rise of raving and clubbing as popular youthful activities are somewhat associated with the increase in youthful drug use. For instance, the general increase in overall youthful drug use has paralleled the rise of raving and clubbing within popular culture. The terms club drugs and dance drugs have emerged, relatively recently, to indicate a variety of drugs with stimulant and/or hallucinogenic properties commonly used within raves and clubs (Sanders 2006). For many attendants of clubs and raves, the drugs are an integral part of the experience.

Though drugs may be the motivation for some, there are many reasons why individuals choose to attend rave parties. One of the main incentives tends to be the freedom of the experience. By holding raves in secretive, out-of-the-way places at times when the rest of the population is usually asleep, ravers slip into an existential void where the gaze of authority and the public do not penetrateThrough music, dance, and drugs, ravers create a seductive void and experience great joy in erasing their subjectivity (Hutson 1999). Those who go to raves do not have to concern themselves with the prospect of the law interfering

with their experience, or the idea of their parents being informed of their activities. Those who may have been hesitant to dance in public and those that have been uncertain of taking ecstasy and those who have never stayed out all night are rewarded with a perfect environment for doing just those things, as it is in the freedom of rave culture that exploration and experimentation may flourish.

Building upon the element of freedom, many ravers note that a feeling of transcendence and connectivity are present when attending rave parties. Individuals are linked inside the music, resulting in a massive force of enjoyment and pleasure where physical and mental enjoyment becomes a central point of involvement (Pini 2006). The rave experience has been referred to by some as being hyperreal, or beyond real. In the post-modern aesthetic, a multiplicity of surfaces replaces singularity of depth in order to keep up with a never-ending appetite for more. The hyperreality of the rave is an overload of sensory surfaces...Brilliant, flashing, spinning lights, lasers, and fluorescent glow sticks combine with wall projections of intricately detailed and explosively colored fractals to inundate ones eyes (Hutson 1999). This experience can be quite profound for those who attend rave parties, and some may even go as far as to link the rave experience to a religious one; technoshamanism, if you will.

Another factor that made rave parties appealing was their secretiveness. For those directly involved, and even for many looking on from the sidelines, the early rave scene was surrounded by an air of thrill, illegality and mysteryThe senses of mystery and excitement were heightened by the variety of pirate radio stations that called out to children of London announcing phone numbers, code names and meeting points (Pini 2006). When an organization or movement is shrouded in mystery, it tends to stir up curiousity in people. It is reasonable to believe that a number of individuals chose to attend raves to experience the underground culture, or to simply be in-the-know. It is also reasonable to assume that many of these individuals were converted after attending a rave party or two, and that their reasons for continuing to attend rave parties changed over time.

Whatever the reason may be, ravers demonstrated their love for the culture throughout the 1990s. Though the traditional rave - semi-illegal and located in makeshift, secretive locales - is a rarity [today], its influence can still be found throughout the world. A major reason for the decline of traditional raves stems from the United Kingdoms Criminal Justice and Public Order Act of 1994, which specifically targeted music that sounds wholly or [is] predominantly characterized by the emission of a succession of repetitive beats (Criminal 1994). The act granted law enforcement the power to break-up raves as well as the power to prevent the preparation of a rave, and it even went so far as to allow police to stop individuals

that they suspect might be on their way to a rave and turn them away from the area (Criminal 1994). This act restricted the ability to throw large, open-air rave parties, and in turn, licensed nightclubs rose to prominence as rave environments. It made more sense for rave promoters to use clubs, as they would not have to worry about their parties being shut down or ravers being intercepted by police.

This trend of hosting raves at indoor, licensed venues has continued to this day, and while there are still a small number of the illegal, warehouse variety raves, nightclubs reign supreme. In cities with a long history of raves, the rave scene has fragmented into many subscenes, usually centered around a variety of techno music. For example, a fan of drum n bass living in San Francisco can find, on any night of the week, a dance club devoted exclusively to drum n bass (Hutson 1999). This accessibility is possible because of an increase in mainstream acceptance of techno or electronic music throughout the years, even though the term rave is not typically used to describe todays scene. The demand for large, open-air rave parties has diminished, and though their influence still exists, it seems that the glory days of the rave scene have come and gone.

References

(1994), Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994. Office of Public Sector Information. Available: http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts1994/ukpga_19940033_en_1. Last accessed 18 April 2010.

Hesmondhalgh, D. (2000), The British Dance Music Industry: A Case Study of Independent Cultural Production, The British Journal of Sociology, Vol. 49 No. 2, pp.234-51.

Hutson, S. (1999), Technoshamanism: Spiritual Healing in the Rave Subculture, Popular Music & Society, Vol. 23 No. 3, pp.53-77.

Pini, M. (2006), Women and the Early British Rave Scene, in The Popular Music Studies Reader, Nabingdon and New York: Routledge: pp.124-202.

Sanders, B. (2006), Drugs, Clubs and Young People. Aldershot: Ashgate: pp.1-6.