Massive Attack is Back!

Just a quick note to let you know that Massive Attack new album is out. "Splitting the Atom" contains many innovative, high-quality tracks yet in the line of the British duo's prior work. Check the amazing juxtaposition of sound and imagery in the digital video clip "United Snakes" by clicking here. Wicked!

Scientists on the Dancefloor: Dancecult Journal!

A brand new academic journal is now out in the scientific arena: Dancecult: Journal of Electronic Dance Music Culture. In its first edition, this is a peer-reviewed, open-access e-journal. Edited by scholar Graham St-John, Dancecult articles come in pdfs accessible at: http://dj.dancecult.net

A book review of Global Nomads was also published in its first edition. The review was written by Charles de Ledesma, a professional travel writer and PhD candidate at University of East London. I am very flattered with Charles' words about my book:

The sub section "Techno trance assemblage: aesthetics of power and limit-experience" remains the strongest, most ethically powerful and revealing writing on the psychedelic trance party to date, certainly in an academic context, if not anywhere.

Thanks Charles, and congratulations Graham on Dancecult: Journal of Electronic Dance Music Culture!

New Book on Techno, Rave, Club Culture

I'm pleased to say that my book Global Nomads is now available in affordable paperback. It examines how bohemian expatriates are the main force behind global rave and club scenes. They are DJs, party promoters, club managers and bar "industry" workers, interlinking main party scenes in Ibiza, Goa, San Francisco, New York, Bali, Bahia, Byron Bay, Barcelona, Berlin etc. I also show how electronic music scenes become spiritual spaces where people can express and connect with their own self and others. These are just a few of the topics covered:

- Aesthetics of the self: post-sexualities in a digital age
- Counterculture and commodity
- Hippie scenes: autonomy and tourism
- Club scene in Ibiza: underground and industry
- Ethnography of the largest nightclub in the world
- Psytrance scene in Goa
- Nomadic spirituality in psychedelic rituals
- Global Countercultures

You can find Global Nomads at main online booksellers (Amazon, Barnes & Noble, eBay, Borders etc), you can click on the link on the right side of this blog, or you can obtain it directly from Routledge website:
http://www.routledge.com/books/Global-Nomads-isbn9780415553674

Please spread the word to your friends. Many thanks.

Cities that read Global Raver

Below is a ranking of the cities that have read Global Raver during this first year. I expected that London and Chicago, plus Indian, Australian and European cities would rank high, but I was a bit surprised to see Calgary being number 1 (Thanks Calgary!). The urban photo beside is of Calgary.

Most names that made the list are truly Global Cities. This just comes to show that rave and club cultures are the strongest in the most dynamic, cosmopolitan and sophisticated sites of contemporary culture.

1. Calgary
2. London
3. Chicago
4. Bangalore
5. Berlin
6. Mumbai
7. New York
8. San Francisco
9. Sydney
10. Denver
11. Dublin
12. Los Angeles
13. Melbourne
14. Paris
15. New Delhi
16. Chennai
17. Auckland
18. Pitsburgh
19. Cologne
20. Helsinki

Happy Birthday, GlobalRaverBlogspot!

This blog completed one year of existence this July 2009. Thank you all! It has been quite interesting to see the project evolving in content and audience, as I monitor progress with a metric application.

About 5,000 people from 83 countries have visited GlobalRaverBlogspot in this first year. Though the majority are accidental hits, about 1,000 people are regular visitors interested in global electronica issues. These are modest figures when compared to mass media blogs, yet these numbers are on the rise!

I'll say more about you, your cities and interests in posts to come. This time around I list the most popular posts after a year of blogging:

1st) Pac Man. This is a regular hit about the famous urban legend involving a Nintendo executive's quote about how ravers resemble the pill-obsessive behavior of Pac Man. Video games are indeed popular among ravers.

2nd) Silent Raves. That's the new iPod-based crowd phenomena, which I contrast with synchronized Walkman parties. Again, a very young segment of readers reaching my blog through goggling "iPod".

3rd) Hippies in India. In that post I discussed the beginnings of the hippie scene in Goa. Why Goa? Check it out. The post is still there!

4th) First Hippie in Goa. If combined with the 3rd place, hippies in India would be the top issue in the blog. For a reason, a good chunk of my readers are Indians interested in how global cultures (from beatniks to psytrance music) have landed in the country of Gandhi.

5th) Joe Biden and Rave Law. This one became a big hit during the U.S. Presidential elections, as I discuss how Obama's Vice-President authored a lousy law criminalizing any rave-related concerts in America.

Thanks again for reading my blog regularly! Stay tuned for more posts reviewing this first year of GlobalRaverBlogspot...

How to Find a "Rave Party"

People often ask how they can find rave parties in their towns. I've come across this situation when visiting new scenes in Europe, India or California. I recently saw the question at Yahoo Answers, and decided to organize my practical advice to newbies and travelers alike:

The best way to find out about secret parties is to know someone who belongs to the scene. Usually someone at school is a rave fan. But you need to be discreet when asking around. There is a negative prejudice against raves, specially in America. Moreover, even rave insiders are wary of the term, which became a tacky designation these days, an indication of naive outsiders and poly-drug abuse.

Instead, ask for "underground parties" that play "techno" or "electronic dance" music "kind of rave". It does not hurt to perform a bit blase' ("cool"), to suggest that you are already a bit of an insider, just from a different city or scene...

Another way to connect with a local rave/club scene is to ask to junior DJs at mainstream clubs, or record aficionados browsing in record stores. Those kids handing out fliers outside main clubs can also be very helpful sometimes. As you see, this may take some investigative efforts, which, in itself, is already part of the fun.

Finally, there are a few websites dedicated to rave parties. They may contain hidden links to calendars organized by region. Google them, and carefully look for very discreet links placed at the margins of the website. Remember, too, that ravers typically drive hundreds of miles just to get to a good party. So, if you don't know the local scene, make sure to gather some information about if the party is any good before going. In these situations, better go with friends, so you feel more comfortable.

More importantly, party safe. Rave culture is a wonderful space to meet really nice people and to have a great time. But, as a site of experimentation and liberation, people often get out of control. As such, "make freedom your foundation, through the mastery of yourself." (Socrates)

Visual Art in Electronica

Digital art is not only about music but also lights and visuals. In addition to DJs and a nice crowd, a good party also needs a VJ/LJ (video-jockey/light-jockey) and art decorators, playing a vital role in creating that magic ambience which takes the crowd on a journey...

Just like metaphors used to represent globalization, rave art is fractal and abstract, replicating patterns of chaos theory. Rave imagery provide hybrids of oriental, sci-fi, and alien tropes. These are artifacts intended to disorient perception, and trigger dreamy-like effects of sublime or visceral nature.

Digital artist Eric Wong (a.k.a engine1) is a good example of the democratic expression of visual electronica art. A professional graphic designer, he explains: "Art and music were an escape from my tough upbringing in the Bronx." The American-Cambodian obtained a degree from the University of Pennsylvania and moved to L.A. where he works with comics and graphic design. "My style is a mix of my grimy urban upbringing with colorful bursts from my rave club days."

A veteran of the L.A. club scene, Eric uses his Mac OSX and Adobe software to create these mesmerizing images. "I try to create digital artwork that captures my various rave moods. As a designer, I was drawn mostly to the lightshows people would create for each other." As noted in the sample provided by Eric, "This is a representation of how I remember and see the lights."






Engine1's art can be found in the links below (his email: engwongway at yahoo dot com):
http://engine1.deviantart.com/
http://stores.lulu.com/creativerobot

History of Techno in Germany: a Video Review

"We Call it Techno!" is a great documentary about the history of club scenes in Germany. Produced by H. Wich and M. Sextro, it focuses on Berlin and Frankfurt scenes of 1980s and 1990s. It depicts Berlin's eclectic taste for dance/Euro pop in a post-Cold War era, whereas Frankfurt hosted wild underground parties which gradually evolved into a highly competitive and commercialized club industry.

These were not isolated sites, as the film shows a wealth of artistic exchanges across cities, as DJ traveled with their entourages in crazy bus caravans. This ritual eventually led to the rise of the Love Parade in Berlin 89 - four months before the fall of the Wall.

The film also provides a great methodology for anyone interested in documenting their own rave/club scene. It aptly carries out the pedestrian task of registering artistic genealogies (who did what and where followed by whom). Yet, it goes beyond, by investigating local scenes within wider issues of technology, lifestyle, counterculture and popularization. In particular, I was curious to see their narrative of "decline". I was gladly surprised with how smart and reflexive the scene producers were in pondering about the ironical and unintended consequences of Techno’s massification in Germany.

As a minor critique, the documentary was limited to a strong geo/urban-centric bias. It remains stuck in a few cities, and totally neglects important transnational exchanges between German Techno artists and the rest of Europe and the world. For example, it is important to note events such as, Sven Vath's winters in Goa, his Coocon/Amnesia project and beach parties in Ibiza, besides the rise of global club legend Space located in the German resorts of Ibiza.

All in all, an excellent video. Watch it below:

[UPDATE July 19: The film was removed from Google movies, but you can still watch a short trailer]:

Bar 25: Disco Cabaret in Berlin

The greatest attraction in Berlin's club scene these days is Bar 25, self-fashioned as an “entertainment park for grown-ups”. Comprising a nightclub, cabaret, restaurant and hotel by the river Spree, Bar 25 is renowned for its uber-eccentric multi-day parties spearheaded by an arts collective who resides in the property. Mixing 80s, house and minimal Techno, its dance floor has seen DJs such as Richie Hawtin and Ricardo Villalobos. Opened in 2004, it regularly attracts 2,000 plus revellers who line up outside, against the venue's 400 maximum capacity. The door staff is thus very selective in picking the most upbeat, eccentric and accessorized people from the crowd. For veteran Ibiza clubbers, Bar 25 may resemble a mix of open-air Amnesia and VIP Manumission Candy Bar...

For a taste of Bar 25, check out this video and the lyrics below:





"12345und20" (The Bar 25 Song)

Rough translation from German
(- thanks to dr0fn0nothing at “The Shituationist Institute”!):

The doctor said I am crazy and I have to go to a hospital in Danzig
But I only listened to a bit to techno at Bar 25
The doctor prescribed me some pills I shall take every day
But I stayed with the old ones, because I simply like them better

1 2 3 the sauna is burning, party party no one sleeps
1 2 3 4 5 and 20 no i will not go to Danzig!

The doctor said I am senile and I have to go to the lake for a cure
But I am only partying a bit too much in my garden at the river Spree
The doctor said that I need structure, a clear line, if you know what I mean
And he’s right, the only problem is that the therapy is pretty exhausting

1 2 3 are you also hartz 4*? All is right but the piano
1 2 3 4 5 and sex, with my girl OK but not in my car
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 where has the last gone?
1 2 3 4 5 and 20 no i will not go to Danzig!

The doctor said I am crazy and I have to go to a hospital in Danzig
But I only listened to a bit to techno at Bar 25
——

*Hartz 4: unemployment benefit that forces the person to take hard jobs, technical training, and relocation to cheaper locations.

Fluid: The Rave Dance

The vibrancy of a subculture can be specially noted in the dance forms it creates. Fluid is the dance style unique to rave culture. As the word indicates, its body movements are fast yet smooth, gentle and circular, as if the dancer were walking on clouds or, better, flowing through water. Reflecting electronic dance music’s polychromatic soundscapes, fluid is corporeally multi-layered yet not disjointed. It most figuratively expresses the pleasurable melting of the dancing body into the hypersensorial waves of digital dance music.

Although upholding its own distinctive character, fluid derived from the hip-hop dance style known as "popping" (- Yet, fluid differs in that it has dramatically trimmed the edgy strokes of popping while keeping its illusionist effects). In a sense, fluid embodies the American rave interface between Black inner city hip-hop and White suburbia electronica, the latter appropriating and resignifying the former into the digital age of soft, loved-up ecstasy.

The first distinguishable nodal center of fluid can be traced back to early 1990s New York City, but the dance almost instantaneously emerged across main US metropolitan areas. It enjoyed its highest popularity peak around 1998, particularly among teenage segments characteristically dressed as “candy ravers” (athletic jerseys, baggy trousers, baseball caps, pacifiers, and Teletubbie bags). With the demise of rave as a quasi-mainstream phenomenon in America, fluid virtually disappeared, and currently is largely unknown to the newer generations of disenfranchised ravers.

Among the best fluid dancers is legendary Eric of LPC (Liquid Pop Collective). Originally from Philadelphia, he now resides in Florida where he and the LPC team teach the dance, keeping it alive. Liquid Eric has produced a few videos on the matter, and maintains a channel at YouTube, linked here to an impressive performance of fluid dance:


Video: LPEric at Space, Philadelphia 1999