EDM/Rave Culture – Subcultures and Sociology (2024)

History

House music broke onto the dance scene in the early 1980s in Chicago as a variant of the disco music that was popular in the clubs at the time. Pioneers like Frankie Knuckles built upon the rhythmic, DJ-centered music of disco, but used drum machines and 4/4 time to create a unique, electronic sound with deep bass lines that immediately gained popularity, especially among the gay community in Chicago. Raves, much like the DIY punk scenes, were illegal, underground gatherings in warehouses and other locations.

By the 1990s, house music had spread internationally and was one of the most popular genres in the UK and Europe, especially among young people. Raves gained the attention of local authorities, and police often shut down these gatherings due to the illegal use of warehouses and industrial locations as venues and the rampant drug use by attendees. House music’s departure from lyric-centered, message pushing pop music created somewhat of a moral panic as mainstream society couldn’t understand this new wave of music and its fans (Langlois 1992). As house music developed, its popularity spread into the mainstream and eventually fused with the legal entertainment industry, meaning bars, clubs, and festivals now catered to house music fans in Europe, and later the US (Anderson 2009).

Around 2010, the term “EDM” (Electronic Dance Music) came to encompass the now plentiful subgenres of dance music that evolved from house music, including trance, big room, future house, dubstep, progressive house and many others. “Raving” now applies to attending massive international festivals like Tomorrowland, which in 2017 attracted over 400,000 fans over two weekends and paid millions of dollars for world-famous DJ headliners.

While many still gather there to enjoy house and dance music in a welcoming and like-minded crowd and indulge in psychoactive drugs in the same way as their predecessors, there is some debate on whether the mainstream commercial nature of these events constitutes a “rave,” as it departs from the underground nature of EDM’s house music origins (Marcus 2017). There still exists a more traditional house music scene, with events at smaller venues and with less mainstream DJs, at least in the US. House music, and its closely affiliated subgenre “techno” are still wildly popular in Europe, as evidenced by the Kappa FuturFestival in Turin, Italy. 45,000 people attended the rave in an old car factory to listen to underground house legends like Carl Cox and Sasha Digweed, albeit in a legally-sanctioned, commercial event. Although not exactly a 1990’s illegal warehouse rave, traditional house music events still do exist as an answer to the more commercial, festival-based EDM events. For years, traditional house purists have predicted the demise of EDM as it is known today, but others welcome the spread of popularity as a means to increase the visibility of dance music as a genre and the positivity that comes with it. British house pioneer Carl Cox explains by saying, “EDM’s an entry level to dance music, and I’m very happy about that. We fought for so long for dance music to be respected there. EDM’s a sound America has latched on to, but once people start going left and right of that scene, they’re going to find their art departments, their Loco Dices and their Sven Väths – and that’s a really good place to be.” While the over-saturation of EDM may seem like a death toll to some, Cox explains that with a more worldwide acceptance of mainstream EDM, listeners will have greater opportunities to discover the classic house tastemakers and legends, expand their musical knowledge and preferences, and further enter into the positivity of EDM culture. According to Cox, the commodification of the older era of house music into modern EDM culture is not a demise, but instead an evolution that benefits everyone in the subculture.

In 2017, EDM is now truly a global genre, exemplified by Ultra Music Festival, which for 20 years has been a mecca for dance music in Miami, and now hosts festivals in Croatia, Mexico, Indonesia, India, South Africa, Thailand and Argentina among many other countries. A disproportionate number of DJs come from Europe, specifically the Netherlands, and the DJ/producer in 2017 has become an international superstar. DJs like Calvin Harris, Tiësto, and duo The Chainsmokers raked in around $40 million each in 2017, according to Forbes. Along with numerous festivals worldwide and their own global tours, these DJs receive millions to have a “residency” at a large nightclub in Las Vegas or house music haven Ibiza, Spain, and these DJs perform several times a month at these venues.

Truly, EDM has come a long way from its humble beginnings to now being recognized by the international nightlife industry as an extremely lucrative and profitable business opportunity. Due to this increasing profitability, the production quality of EDM events has risen exponentially, along with attendance of these events. Due to the high-energy nature of the music, visual effects at live EDM events are almost as important as the music itself. Lights, lasers, projections, fireworks, flames, live performers, and compressed air are all utilized regularly to enhance the event experience. In all, a high-end EDM event is an overwhelming and exhilarating audio-visual experience.

The main rave philosophy is one of good vibes and acceptance, outlined as PLUR (Peace, Love, Unity, Respect). Unlike other musical subcultures, violence is not common and ravers are generally nice to each other. People at raves often give each other things, are friendly and accepting, and are understanding about accidents like spilling a drink or bumping in to someone. Some ravers report that they try to take this philosophy of good vibes and apply it to the world outside raves (Wilson 2006).

Despite the near-universally accepted mantra of PLUR, authorities usually look down upon these events due to the rampant drug use and resulting overdose casualties. Organizers canceled the popular Electric Zoo festival in New York after two ravers died from ecstasy-related complications. LA County has considered banning future festivals after 49 concert goers were hospitalized from overdoses at the Hard Summer event, with two women dying. Despite the increasing commercial success of EDM and the comparatively lower levels of violence than at other music events, many cities and law enforcement agencies are wary of the “rave culture” and have banned future events outright. According to a 2002 issue of the Virginia Law Review, “statements by legislators, prosecutors, and DEA agents indicate that the government equates raves with drug use” (Dore 2002).

Rave culture attracts people globally because of the welcoming community and sense of belonging, as other subcultures do for their members. Many are drawn by the usually non-judgmental nature of raves andfestivals. Ravers feel free to express themselves and escape their every day realities, and are not discriminated for their race, gender or sexual orientation. After all, house music’s roots are firmly in the gay community. Due to the international popularity of rave culture, ravers from all over the world attend these events knowing other ravers will accept their cultural identities. Many attendees proudly celebrate their home country by bringing flags.

However, just as in any subculture, performing authenticity and possession of artifacts and insider knowledge are generally important to the members of the rave culture. Being original and having esoteric knowledge of the music is significant to ravers. While everyone is accepted on some level, more casual fans like “EDM Bros” aren’t as interested in the history of the music, or knowing about underground DJs. These casual fans are somewhat looked down upon because they prefer to spend their time at the mainstage, and use the rave culture as an excuse to take their shirts off and overindulge in alcohol and drugs. More “authentic” fans aim to be more original in both their appearance and music preferences, listening to DJs viewed as less commercial, mainstream, or sell-out. As Sarah Thornton explains, “club cultures embrace their own hierarchies of what is authentic and legitimate in popular culture – embodied understanding of which can make one ‘hip’” (Thornton 1996).

There are several artifacts that can denote an authentic member of the rave culture subculture. Kandi are beaded bracelets that are exchanged at raves and festivals; the more kandi one has at events means the more raves one has attended. In addition, totems are signs, pictures, flags or other distinguishing items that can be held aloft at festivals that can signal friends from afar and give the person a degree of individuality in the crowd. Festivalgoers often attend in costume, and some perform “gloving” routines for mesmerized ravers.

Pacifiers are also sometimes worn and used, as they alleviate the teeth grinding associated with ecstasy use (Dore 2002). Many ravers continue this tradition of taking psychedelic drugs, the most popular of which are MDMA, LSD, mushrooms, and ketamine. MDMA has been the primary drug of choice since the first raves, and it is popular with ravers because it “makes them feel closer to those around them, heightens their sensory perceptions and induces psychom*otor restlessness relieved by dancing” (Kahn-Egan 1998). The drugs and music work together to foster the openness and energy that are the hallmarks of raves. These mind alterants also serve as a symbol of the counterculture: they attract ravers by “affording visionary insights, often reinforcing suspicions concerning the corruption, greed, and ‘soullessness’ of official culture” (St. John 2003). It is important to note that there are also ravers who do not partake in drugs and are still included in the community. These activities and items denote a more “authentic” member of the rave culture, along with a deeper and wider understanding of the music.

For many ravers, there is an aspect of spirituality and religiosity to raves. The idea of people gathering together for a shared, transcendent experience led by a guide shares a lot with traditional religions. Many authors have explored the religiosity of raves: the music and dancing as ritual, the “shamanic” state of consciousness, and the DJ as spiritual leader (St. John 2003). Some churches and other traditional religious groups have embraced this spirituality and incorporated EDM music and elements of raves into their services to attract a younger audience.

EDM tastemakers spread their influence on the overall music scene as the genre has gained popularity in the last decade. Hip-hop/EDM crossover has been especially prevalent, bridging the gap between two of the most popular genres in music today, although EDM producers pull from many musical sources, including country, rock, reggae, and soul music. Despite the obvious differences between a rave and a rock or rap concert, namely the lack of live music being played, the similarities in the culture of the fans remain. Trap music, a newer subgenre of EDM, sounds more similar to hip-hop, employing a slower tempo and exaggerated use of bass and snare drums while maintaining the electronic melodies found in EDM. However, trap music or dubstep events may not even be considered raves in the traditional sense, and perhaps have more in common with heavy metal concerts than house music raves. Fans of trap music go to events to headbang and participate in moshpits in a similar manner as those at metal and punk gigs – a departure from the more dance-oriented raves.

The implications of this are that EDM contains subgenres that appeal to a very wide audience, and perhaps the music fans that would have been attracted to punk or metal in the past are bringing that same intensity and passion to EDM events as it has risen in popularity among young people over the last decade.

Commodification

Commodification is the act of transforming original and creative content into a commercialized product ready for mainstream consumption. In the case of rave culture, commodification is an ever present reminder of how far EDM and raves have traveled from their underground beginnings. Raves that were originally condemned as illegal, drug-fueled gatherings, are now corporate-sponsored multi-million dollar moneymaking ventures. This is a process known asdiffusion.Ravers originally organized as a response to mainstream culture, but today, tickets to modern EDM festivals now cost upwards of $400 and $10,000 for special VIP packages, with corporate sponsor advertisem*nts displayed prominently. Some events, like Ultra Music Festival, even have exclusive merchandise and alcohol deals with major companies. In addition to these corporate sponsors, the phenomenon of DJ club residencies, where nightclubs spend millions of dollars to have a famous DJ perform at their venue on a regular basis. Las Vegas nightclub Hakkasan has been estimated to spend roughly $200,000-$300,000 a night on top-level DJs. This figure shows the complete level of acceptance of rave culture into the mainstream nightlife industry. No longer an inferior subculture, EDM has become one of the world’s most popular music genres and a lucrative money-making opportunity for many companies.

Inclusion and Originality

EDM and rave culture originated from the gay and black communities in Chicago in the 1980s and at that time, these ravers were characterized by mainstream culture as outsiders. However, as the music and the culture have firmly entered the mainstream, the members of this subculture have remained characteristically open and affirming to new members, maintaining the inclusivity that hallmarked the original movement. EDM festival-goers come from a diverse background of ages, races, nationalities, sexual orientations and economic situations. Not only are these people coming from unique backgrounds, but in rave culture, they are encouraged to be different and original. This sense of welcome and escapism through music is evidenced by the outlandish costumes worn by festival-goers. The vast majority of those wishing to participate in this subculture and attend these events wholeheartedly believe in and practice PLUR when interacting with others, both at music events and in their daily lives. While perhaps still looked down upon by outsiders, the sense of community and the love of the music unites a wide range of people together in a unique manner.

Significant Scholarship

Books

Anderson, Tammy. 2009. Rave Culture: the Alteration and Decline of a Philadelphia

Music Scene.Temple University Press, Philadelphia.

• Anderson explores the multifaceted and evolving sociological nature of rave culture in Philadelphia, including drug use, involvement of law enforcement, and the commercialization of EDM.

St. John, Graham. 2003. Rave Culture and Religion.Routledge Press, London.

• St. John examines the post-traditional religiosity of raves, and the ritualism and spirituality of rave events such as Goa and Burning Man Festival.

Thornton, Sarah. 1996. Club Cultures: Music, Media, and Subcultural Capital.Wesleyan University Press, Middletown, CT.

• Thornton’s seminal work focuses on the youth subcultures of raves and clubs, and delves into authenticity and the complex hierarchies that evolve within the rave subculture.

Wilson, Brian. 2006. “Doctrines, Disappointments, and Dance: Perspectives and Activities in the Rave Scene.” Fight, Flight, or Chill: Subcultures, Youth, and Rave into the Twenty-First Century.McGill-Queen’s University Press, Kingston,Ontario. 72-105.

• Wilson’s ethnographic research provides insight and perspective into the rave youth subculture and the subversion of mainstream cultural norms, along with the complex identities and ideologies of the young people who participate in the rave subculture.

Articles

Dore, Michael H. 2002. “Targeting Ecstasy Use at Raves.” Virginia Law Review, vol. 88,

1623. 7, 1583-1623.

Kahn-Egan, Chrys. 1998. “Degeneration X: The Artifacts and Lexicon of the Rave

Subculture.” Studies in Popular Culture, vol. 20, no. 3, 33-44.

Langlois, Tony. 1992. “Can You Feel It? DJs and House Music Culture in the UK.”

Popular Music, vol. 11, no. 02, 229-238.

St. John, Graham. 2012. “Tribalism, Experience, and Remixology in Global Psytrance

Culture.” What Matters?: Ethnographies of Value in a Not So Secular Age,

Columbia University Press, New York City. 248-276.

(Published by Gus King)