Global Raver

Sonar Festival: DJ Gig Auction on e-Bay

2011-04-27T11:55:00.000-05:00

I received this today from Sonar PR Central. They are selling DJ gigs if you want to play at Sonar Festival in Barcelona. Gigs are being auctioned on e-Bay. We live in a capitalist society in which everything becomes commodity (unfortunately). In the spirit of PLUR, I think it would be revolutionary if raised funds were donated to charity or some noble cause. Some millionaire DJs would be motivated to pay even more to participate and help people. See below:

Sónar 2011 is up for auction with 2 extraordinary passes:

Introducing the DJ PASS... Is performing at Sónar your dream? Now you can achieve it with DJ PASS. This is a unique and unrepeatable offer enabling you to buy a 50-minute slot in the booth of the new SonarCar stage, at Sonar by Night (Barcelona) and perform in front of thousands of people. Prepare your set, visit ebay from Monday 2nd May onwards and start bidding. SonarCar is waiting for you.

Opening bid price: 1€
DJ PASS includes: 1 50-minute DJ set on the SonarCar stage on Friday 17th June at Sonar Barcelona + 1 festival accreditation.

...and Introducing the EGO PASS :: Buy your 20 seconds of glory! Do you have something to say to more than 15,000 people? All the screens on the SonarClub Stage on Friday 17th June at Sonar Galicia and Saturday 18th June at Sonar Barcelona can be yours for 20 seconds. Record your message and we will project it after the headlining concert. Visit ebay from Monday 9th May onwards and start bidding for your 20 seconds of glory.

Opening bid price: 1€
Sonar Galicia Ego Pass Auction for Friday 17th June from 9th May onwards.
Sonar Barcelona Ego Pass Auction for Saturday 18th June from 16th May onwards.
EGO PASS includes: projection of a 20-second video with your message after the headlining show on the SonarClub Stage + 1 accreditation for the festival.

*Offers only available to natural persons. Companies and brands may not participate.

Doc: ElectronicAwakening

2011-03-31T23:42:00.000-05:00

Sorry for the silence, my friends. I've been too busy with other dimensions of my life, but here is some good news. My colleague Andrew Johner is about to release his new documentary on electronic dance music spirituality "ElectronicAwakening" and is raising some funds to put it on road of festivals and distribution.

He interviewed and video-taped me during his doc research in 2008 (yes, that's a while ago...). I haven't seen the full documentary yet, so I can only hope that my work and myself are featured in a nice light. :-) I recall that Andrew's ideas centers on scatological beliefs about global transformation related to 2012 Maya Calendar. Will it happen? I don't know. Let's wait and see. In the meantime, you can sit back and enjoy the trailer of "ElectronicAwakening":

"Tron Legacy": Daft Punk's Digital Symphony

2010-12-13T13:02:00.002-06:00

Daft Punk's amazing soundtrack for "Tron Legacy" at times resembles Avatar's lethargic soundscapes, but more so evokes "Dark Knight"'s psychological dramaticity. (I actually didn't know the French duo had co-produced "Tron Legacy" with Hans Zimmer, who greatly enjoys the Bethovian-style doorknocks we insistently listen in Batman sequel movies). I'll leave it to music critics and ethnomusicologists to extract genealogies of artists and sounds that make up the album universe, and will rather place some notes on social implications and multimedia connections.

One of my main concerns has been to assess to what extent electronica emerges/pops/arises onto the mainstream, via popular culture or media industry. Is "Tron Legacy" an example? Somewhat but not quite. Daft Punk arguably is one of the most well connected underground artists in terms of media/entertainment industry appearances (e.g., Sony cell phone, DJ Hero soundtracks, etc.). From their origins in 1990s French House, the duo Homem-Cristo and Bagalter does a great job in laying ambient electronic with orchestral symphonics arrangements for Tron Legacy, creating engaging digital soundscapes that is well suited to the movie's digital dreamlike sceneries.

However, don't expect any smashing sounds from the underground, but rather a softer version of ambient music occasionally peppered with hair-raising "acidy" sounds (I wonder if Roland 303s are still used at Disney high-end studios). In sum, this is no underground resistance music, but some interesting exercise (gym) for your mind, with a sentimental touch.

The movie? Well, this is Disney: child-oriented father-son drama; no blood (yet some robot busting), no sex (but some sexy chicks). It looks as though like an interesting view into digital imaginaries of the future, now.

"Eat Pray Love" and "Global Nomads"

2010-11-29T14:38:00.002-06:00

The best-seller travelogue by Elizabeth Gilbert has a book precursor (actually many precursors), such as “Global Nomads” by Anthony D'Andrea (Routledge 2007). Both cover the same topic: educated and successful professionals who are existentially unhappy and decide to “drop out” (at least temporarily), traveling globally and experimenting in search of one’s own self.

In fact, there has been a spike in sales of “Global Nomads”, which can be explained by a few factors: a) the start of academic year in the U.S. and Europe (with the book being included in classroom reading lists), b) the gradual popularization of the book (as academic titles may take a few years to take off), and c) as an effect of “Eat Pray Love” phenomenon played by Julia Roberts.

If you like “Eat Pray Love”, you will probably enjoy “Global Nomads”. As main differences, “Global Nomads” addresses a more marginal countercultural experience of lifestyle migration, connected to Gilbert’s story but more radical at times, as it depicts New Age spiritual practices and Techno rave experimentalism across Spain and India. A more sociological take on disaffected expatriates is another differential of “Global Nomads”, as this book is based on a PhD thesis in Anthropology at the University of Chicago, published by premier publisher Routledge in their premium series: International Library of Sociology (founded by Karl Manheim, currently directed by John Urry).

There are many travelogues out there, in erudite and pop versions, usually written by expatriates who decide to reminisce over their travel or diasporic experiences. There is also a growing literature analyzing such travelogues from a more academic perspective, including topics such as imperial travel, lifestyle migration, global trekking, global wellness resorts, etc. But “Global Nomads” is well connected with “Eat Pray Love” for they share a contemporary concern with modern dilemmas of a troubled, affluent individualism.

"Global Nomads" can be found at Amazon, Routledge, or any other good online book store, in affordable paperback, durable hardback, or in digital edition for Kindle/Ipad e-readers. Enjoy!

SONAR CHICAGO 2010 - a Preview

2010-08-27T11:05:00.014-05:00

A press release from Sonar HQ (Barcelona) reached Chicago today (Aug 27). It states [with my edits]:

"On September 9, 10 and 11, Sónar will be staging the first Sónar Chicago, a festival that (...) bases its artistic personality on the DNA of the [pivotal] festival in Barcelona. (...) Sónar Chicago has an ambitious and wide-ranging line-up with plenty of electronic experimentation, in its derivations and mutations and in collision with other genres. [It] will present more than 30 events, including concerts, lectures and screenings." And I must add, it is all FREE (except Smart Bar Sonar nights which are only $5 to $10 anyways...)

I saved you some time and digested Sonar's highly complex website. The festival indeed showcases the cutting-edge of electronica internationally, yet from a peculiar modernist Catalan viewpoint. This means that Sonar unfolds upon a tension, between an experimental/minimalist pole which mainstream crowds will find hard to swallow, against a more emotion-oriented pole hosting danceable, really awesome music (house, pop, dub, even techno).

PROGRAM - SONAR CHICAGO 2010:

Thursday 9th during the day @ Millennium Park provides a general overview of Sonar philosophy, starting with some trippy experimental music (Faraon, Bradien), going into a really crowd-pleasing rap rock (The Slew) followed by a deep tech-housy ending (Martyn).

Friday 10th during the day @ Chicago Cultural Center will feature veeeery experimental stuff. That's "intelligent" music, and if you are expecting to dance, you'll be disappointed with "sound sculpture" (Lesley Flanigan). Still, I highly recommend watching with your ears and eyes Nosaj Visual Show, an amazing blend of music in sync with dynamic visual projections.

"Sonar at Night" (Friday Sep 10th), as always, is unmissable, and you will be amazed with the line-up playing @ Smart Bar, which includes the likes of trippy funk Space Dimension Controller, Black Devil Disco, and the eclectic house of Cosmin.

Saturday 11th during the day will again have experimental music @ Chicago Cultural Center. This is music for head-strong artists into minimalist effects. I recommend it if you are a vanguard aficionado or music composer, to see Chicago's own Flashbulb, or delve into the depths of musical horror deconstructionism (Huan). PS: I heard through the grapevine that Sound Bar will host an ending party Saturday night...

Sonar Chicago program is listed below. (Gray marks indicate the ones I'm not missing...)

It would not be an exaggeration to suggest that Chicago music scene may not be the same after this 30 top-quality-event-line-up festival which intends to become "annual" in Chicago. Sonar has been shaping the electronica scene since the late 1990s, not only in Barcelona, but throughout the continent as well: it is "the largest multimedia festival in Europe", as I've witnessed with my eyes in various editions. Let's wait and see if Sonar will really make history in the Windy City.

PROGRAM - SONAR CHICAGO 2010

Thursday 9

12:00 pm :: Jay Pritzker Pavilion :: Millennium Park :: live :: Faraón

05:00 pm :: Jay Pritzker Pavilion :: Millennium Park :: live :: Bradien

06:00 pm :: Jay Pritzker Pavilion :: Millennium Park :: live :: Jimmy Edgar

07:00 pm :: Jay Pritzker Pavilion :: Millennium Park :: live :: The Slew featuring Kid Koala

08:00 pm :: Jay Pritzker Pavilion :: Millennium Park :: dj :: Martyn

Friday 10

03:00 pm :: SonarHall :: Preston Bradley Hall :: Chicago Cultural Center :: live :: Faraón

04:00 pm :: SonarComplex :: Claudia Cassidy Theater :: Chicago Cultural Center :: live :: Bradien

05:00 pm :: SonarHall :: Preston Bradley Hall :: Chicago Cultural Center :: live :: Lesley Flanigan: Amplifications

06:00 pm :: SonarComplex :: Claudia Cassidy Theater :: Chicago Cultural Center :: live :: Nosaj Thing Visual Show

07:00 pm :: SonarHall :: Preston Bradley Hall :: Chicago Cultural Center :: live :: Oval

Sonar by Night

10:00 pm :: Sónar Club Night by Red Bull Music Academy: Smart Bar :: live :: Space Dimension Controller

11:00 pm :: Sónar Club Night by Red Bull Music Academy: Smart Bar :: dj :: Todd Osborn

12:00 am :: Sónar Club Night by Red Bull Music Academy: Smart Bar :: live :: Black Devil Disco Club

01:00 am :: Sónar Club Night by Red Bull Music Academy: Smart Bar :: dj :: Cosmin TRG

02:00 am :: Sónar Club Night by Red Bull Music Academy: Smart Bar :: dj :: Appleblim

Saturday 11

03:00 pm :: SonarHall :: Preston Bradley Hall :: Chicago Cultural Center :: live :: The Flashbulb feat. the New Millennium Orchestra

04:00 pm :: SonarComplex :: Claudia Cassidy Theater :: Chicago Cultural Center :: live :: bRUNA

05:00 pm :: SonarHall :: Preston Bradley Hall :: Chicago Cultural Center :: live :: Huan

06:00 pm :: SonarComplex :: Claudia Cassidy Theater :: Chicago Cultural Center :: live :: Ben Frost

07:00 pm :: SonarHall :: Preston Bradley Hall :: Chicago Cultural Center :: live :: Nicolas Bernier + Martin Messier: La Chambre des Machines

Ending party (Saturday night) @ Smart Bar?....

Death in the Love Parade

2010-07-29T14:19:00.008-05:00

Something went terribly wrong in the last edition of the Love Parade which took place in Duisburg (Germany's Ruhr region) on July 24. Massive crowds bottlenecked in one of the entrances, and 21 people were crushed to death and 500 injured.

Over the years, safety warnings have been issued, although only minimal incidents have been registered. The main problem has always been the huge mess and logistical chaos resulting from a concentration of up to 1.6 million revelers each year. In the early 2000s, Berlin curtailed its public services support (police, garbage collection, traffic control), and the Love Parade was moved to the post-industrial Ruhr region where its towns, looking for a new look and tourism, take turns in hosting the event.

But this year's Love Parade took place in an apparently compact area of a relatively unprepared town, as the venue was occupied by a long line of trucks with DJ music systems, whereto hundreds of thousands of people, as usual, concentrate. The safety controls collapsed against the massive crowd, which could not be hold back. Authorities could only pray for that the worst would not happen, but it did. More information can be accessed in the press, such as UK's The Economist.

As repercussions - it is unlikely that the Love Parade will be forbidden. But tighter regulations and professional organization will be certainly demanded by public authorities (- remember, this is Germany). The encroachment of public controls/commercial interests begs the question of whether the Love Parade remains a political carnival, a movement of critique of mainstream society. Certainly not.

Let's face it, an event that attracts 1.5 million young people and is sponsored ("co-opted") by a gym chain, structured nightclubs, and local mayors is by no means countercultural. That doesn't mean that it has no value, or that people can't have fun. Enjoying and taking it lightly is something that several countercultural subcultures have forgotten... In any case, minimal organization and safety must be provided, particularly at such massive levels of attendance.

12-Month Updates - Fresh from Google Analytics

2010-05-26T20:40:00.003-05:00

A few updates on Global Raver over the last 12 months, according to Google Analytics. This is what I found:

London overtook Calgary as the top city reading Global Raver.

UK overtook India as the second place in number of blog visits, after the US.

The most popular post now is "How to Find a Rave Party", overtaking the classic one on Pac Man quote hoax.

Lots of people in California trying to find parties around...

Stay tuned...

Rio de Janeiro: In between Gangsters and Drag Queens

2010-01-22T19:27:00.020-06:00

Electronic music scenes are quite unique in Rio de Janeiro. They unfold upon a sharp divide between funk and house, the underclass and the upper class, pushing and pulling a sizable middle-class youth in opposite directions.

On the one hand, "bailes funk" are highly popular parties playing a sort of proto-hip hop, James Brown-inspired music marked by a tough syncopated beat and irreverent, goofy lyrics. Originated in marginal segments of the working-class youth, funk parties are often sponsored by drug lords in ghettos outside police reach.

Nevertheless, funk music has become fashionable among a larger segment of the middle-class, and can be easily found in nicer venues, such as those in the "bohemian" (gentrified) district of Lapa and uptown Barra. "Ghetto cool" is not unique to Rio (- just see, for example, white college kids dressing like gangsters in the U.S. or France). But the popularity of funk among well-off segments also expresses the glamorization of gangsterism, a historical feature of carioca culture unfortunately.

On the other hand, electronic dance music per se (house, tech house, deep house, industrial, etc.) is almost exclusively found in gay milieus of uptown Rio. In larger parties, a mass of G.I.-looking teen males can be seen sweating shirtless on the dance-floor, showing-off their beefed-up muscles as if holding imaginary buckets. Most gay nightclubs in the city charge incredibly inflated entry prices to opposite sex individuals. (So, fag hags must find some other safe venue to show their love).

Yet, there are a few truly exceptional nightclubs in Rio that are more eclectic, diverse, queer in essence, welcoming all sorts of smart clubbers: straights, gays, lesbians, more or less discreet, more or less outrageous - just like any good party should be! Against the myriad of club labels that come and go over the years, I must mention Dama de Ferro (Iron Lady), located in an oddly-looking bunker-style house in Ipanema. This is a small yet highly cosmopolitan venue, hosting clubbers and DJs from the best corners of the planet. Moreover, in a fashion resembling Manumission (now defunct) or Bar 25 (Berlin), the creative promoters of Dama de Ferro - led by charismatic Adriana - have expanded their party portfolio to include experiments with cabaret art and "silent [headphone] parties". Viva Dama!

Massive Attack is Back!

2009-11-11T04:35:00.004-06:00

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

2009-09-29T06:12:00.012-05:00

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

2009-08-17T15:50:00.004-05:00

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

2009-08-01T22:10:00.003-05:00

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!

2009-07-18T18:56:00.010-05:00

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"

2009-07-03T04:39:00.017-05:00

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

2009-06-22T15:40:00.033-05:00

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

2009-05-17T15:13:00.012-05:00

"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

2009-05-05T04:45:00.010-05:00

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

2009-04-16T23:37:00.016-05:00

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

"When DJs Ruled the World" Really?...

2009-03-20T13:26:00.007-05:00

Leading UK newspaper The Independent recently published an interesting article about British super clubs, curiously titled "When DJs Ruled the World". The sub headline reads: "These superstars had it all – fame, money, drugs. But come the millennium, the party was over. Dom Phillips, former editor of Mixmag, tracks the boom and bust of the great mixmasters." (March 13 2009).

Despite a few rushed passages, it highlights important moments in the history of clubbing in UK, from the mid-1980s "acid house" parties, to the meteoric rise of megaclubs and superstar DJs in the mid-1990s, to the fall of corporate clubbing in the early 2000s. It is quite interesting to see the notion of "clubbing bubble", "boom and bust" resonating with the current economic recession.

Now, take a look at the title again. "When DJs Ruled the World". Given that all examples refer to a handful of British clubs and British DJs, the allusion to "rulling the world" smacks as ethnocentric and imperialistic. (Substitute "DJs" by "Great Britain" or "The Queen", and you get the picture. Well, Americans too are prone to such exaggerations...).

There is nothing wrong in picking a few selected cases. But the history of clubbing is much more than superclubs and celebrity DJs being co-opted by the big press and record industry, as described by Mr. Phillips. Not for nothing, Mixmag was actually a central player in all that, thus the heavy bias. (Think of Wall Street brokers telling the history of banks...).

We should not forget the long tradition of countercultural movements in the UK, connecting and influencing the outside world. Within this larger picture, it becomes clear that the history of clubbing is much more than the Mixmag's line subculture-becomes-corporate-and-decline-period. Maybe back to the underground in UK, yet corporate in several other countries. "The beat still goes on".

Drugs, Terror and Noise: The New Regime of Rave Surveillance (in Goa)

2009-01-31T17:22:00.018-06:00

Unusual things happened in the trance scene in Goa (India) this season. I start with an apparently trivial story. The police arrested a group of party promoters led by a German and a Russian DJ in the remote beach of Morjim this last January 11. Nothing special here, had they been caught selling drugs (which was not the case). Since the early 2000s, the government has largely eradicated the trance scene, but smaller secret parties still take place, under informal agreements among villagers, cops and expatriates. In any case, whenever the police raid these unauthorized events, the same outcome is expected: Western party promoters get away with a warning, perhaps losing the sound system, if not paying baksheesh (institutional bribe).

However, the recent arrest was different. To the best of my knowledge, this was the first time that Western party promoters have been arrested on charges of public disorder, as defined in the "Noise Pollution Rules" - a not-so-new law (year 2000) that bans unauthorized audio events from public spaces between 22:00 to 6:00. Ironical, as Goa police has only recently opened its very first anti-narcotics division...

As an additional twist, Goa authorities have been monitoring the trance scene within wider concerns about terrorism. Goa is a top tourist destination, in addition to boasting a significant Christian heritage. Considering the terrorist attacks in Bali, Egypt and Mumbai, it is somehow surprising that Goa has not been hit. Tight community oversight of their rural surroundings seems to be working as a strong deterrent. Nevertheless, authorities worry that free flows of party goers may serve as target (or conduit) for terrorist plots. Otherwise, how Techno freaks and Islamic terrorists are linked is still a matter for Bollywood imagination...

In sum, a new regime of global rave surveillance seems to be on the rise. From demonizing trance parties as drug havens, the State is now employing themes of "drugs", "terror" and "noise" within a single regime of surveillance/environment/development for regulating the local trance scene and tourism. This is not the result of any intentional orchestration, but rather, the expression of the messiness of global forces acting upon rave scenes and tourist resorts around the world.

Yet, where there is power, there is resistance...

Raving, Ranting and Aging: 1998 and 2008

2008-12-12T01:54:00.016-06:00

I came across a long email thread the other day, a heated debate about the decline of psytrance music. On the one hand, there were those who complained about the enormous amount of bad releases; on the other, aficionados who maintained that this genre is still very enjoyable (psytrance.tribe.net). Some of these postings were quite reflexive, with fans pondering about how their aging in the scene and in life may interrelate with taste saturation, musical skills, the "intrinsic quality" of the music, the market, etc.

I was struck. For a reason, I recall quite similar debates back in the late 1990s. Veterans will remember, those were the years when candy ravers loved each other while prophesying a Techno revolution of love and understanding. Nonetheless, some slightly older kids were already posting complaints about the "decline" of rave music and scene (and particularly about the worsening quality of pills, a topic that has interestingly disappeared from online rave/club discussions).

Yes, subcultures rise and decline. Some reappear, or die. Ironically, I'd say that 9/11 terrorist attack contributed to the rise of psytrance in urban centers, in lieu of the sugary P.L.U.R. ideology. Not only in the U.S. but in the West overall. Notice the growing interest in Batman, the Gothic, all of which indexing times of darkness, fear, uncertainty. There never was huggin'-kissin' on a psytrance dance floor, but mostly the guerrila theme... That's the Global Gothic of psytrance in times of global, wild capitalism.

Techno Trance scenes were already hardcore way before 9/11. So it perhaps makes sense that this genre would overflow the underground, though I'd never call it "mainstream"... I just wonder what will happen with these trends, now that neocon warmongers leave the White House, for a more hopeful Obama (yet amidst a big global recession...).

Back to the curious recurrence of the "decline" theme in online debates - I've always heard that "old skool" clubbers and ravers gradually get into trance music as they age. And I did notice this happening to many people back in the years.

However, I do not see this psytrance conversion happening to post-House folks nowadays. Perhaps the quality of psytrance music has indeed deteriorated; perhaps we are in a different generational timing which makes people deaf to sophisticated transitions; perhaps electronic music has lost some of its mind-altering appeal as it becomes more socially pervasive... Perhaps all of these and else...

I still listen to psytrance while pumping the iron or running at the gym. But my iPod helps a lot. I dumped hundreds of old and new psytrance tracks in it. I enjoy many, but, in between sets, I also press skip-forward a lot...

In what ways have your taste for electronic music evolved over the years?... (Feel free to post below, thanks).

"Bouncer, let me in, I'm an anthropologist"

2008-10-25T21:50:00.031-05:00

In conferences and conversations, people always ask me how I introduced myself in nightclubs and raves during my doctoral fieldwork. This is a good question. Curiosity about nightlife ethnographers is just natural, as this job is often glamorized. Moreover, research institutions try to make sure that scientists follow ethical protocols - an amazing challenge in subcultures operating at the margins of social convention.

My answer is - the way I introduce myself depends on the situation and interlocutor. With party promoters and club managers I was clear about my research goals. So was the case with other informants who wanted to listen to my explanation. Some would later become my friends. Needless to say, many ravers and clubbers have taken classes of anthropology/sociology, so I'd be no stranger!

Now, due to its secretive nature, the psychedelic trance scene would represent a challenge, some people say. Often in illegality and chased by police and tourists alike, trance freaks are protective of their scene. Outsiders warned me that I'd be rejected. In Goa (India), I met a researcher who faced difficulties because insiders thought he was undercover police. Too formal he was, not able to connect with the party crowd, at their level.

But the trance scene also provided a curious advantage to my fieldwork. In Goa, nobody asks questions about who you are (to the dismay of talkative backpackers...). Freaks display a performed disinterest in self-introductions. After a while nonetheless, I noticed that they recognized me as a "researcher interested in electronic spirituality" or a "techno writer" (as I sometimes carried my own club mag articles around). Trance freaks were never hostile to my work. I suppose that it was because I was both discreet (and they appreciate that) as well as sincerely interested in them, engaging them at their level while also asking puzzling questions.

In contrast, in the Ibiza club scene, people were always asking me questions about who I was. Usually in ephemeral and inconsequential circumstances: a club, a bar, on the street, etc. Interested in celebrity games, clubbers were often bemused to learn about my research, the "PhD writing a thesis on club culture." I was even featured in DJ Magazine (London/Ibiza), and also contributed to club magazines on the island.

I must admit that, in a few situations, out of boredom or sheer curiosity, I would make up my answers to strangers, just to see what happened. At some noisy bar or club VIP area, I'd say that I was a DJ, a landlord, a bohemian writer, that I was rich and didn't have to work, and, even, that I was a prostitute. It was really quite interesting to see how people reacted, according to their expectations, interests and stereotypes.

My opinion, in sum, is that, while respecting ethical research principles, a field researcher must also explore the ambiguities implied in the multiple encounters of the nightlife. Yet, I always try to be sincere, revealing my intentions and identity, but according to the person's potential role in my research, to their ability to understand my work, and, as importantly, to their genuine interest in me as a person and professional. It is an issue of empathy as well as of mutual respect.

I finish with an interesting story – recently in Munich, I went to a relatively exclusive nightclub named P1. It was late (3am) when I arrived at the door. Two massive door staff blocked my way. I asked if one has to pay entrance. The chief bouncer replied in good English, "You have to have your name on the list. So, you can't get in, I am sorry." I quickly realized that he was just trying to get rid of me: male, alone, late at night, looking in no way special... I wasn't too bothered but tried a final shot that had worked before. With poise (showing that I was sober), I calmly said: "Well, I am a writer of techno music, from Chicago. My name is Techno Tony. I'd like to check out your place." The giant cracked up laughing. He moved out of the way, and said, "Ok, Techno Tony. Come in. Enjoy."

War on Raves in India: Goa and Mumbai

2008-10-06T09:11:00.011-05:00

The tourist season in Goa starts again this November. As usual, state authorities and police officers announce measures to curb "rave parties" in the northern region of the coastal state. (To clarify, Western insiders call these events "trance parties", whereas Indians prefer the more generic term "rave" to include both rural trance parties and urban nightclub events in cities like Mumbai and Bangalore.)

For almost 20 years, the official anti-rave stance has functioned more as a rhetoric than any effective police repression. However, in the last two seasons, the mainstream segment of the trance scene has indeed disappeared. And, for the first time, Goa police will have its own Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) unit. Until then, special anti-drug operations had to be issued and executed from Mumbai central.

The trance scene in Goa is now limited to a few licensed bars that must stop the music at 22:00, and to a few micro-parties illegally taking place in the far remote periphery of the state. These are small events promoted by a few Russian and Israeli aficionados for the multinational hardcore populace of trance freaks. No more overt multi-day marathons for loud party tourists, while Goa is still visited by "shanti" backpackers transiting across the state.

"Raves" have become a nightclub phenomenon in urban India at large. Along with it, drug trafficking has emerged as a national concern: geographically widespread even if circumscribed within the upper-middle class youth. This week in Mumbai, police raided a top nightclub (72 Degrees East), detaining 240 revelers, mostly in the 20-25 years of age, 40 of which women, one Israeli tourist, and even a few Bollywood celeb connections... Police has arrested a bunch of drug dealers in possession of cocaine, ecstasy (100 pills), LSD and charas.

Yet, back to northern Goa, the economic importance of party tourism to local communities must be pointed out. Certainly, natives do not approve drugs or criminality; however, they do emphasize that their relations with the foreign youth have overall been quite positive throughout the years. Some research studies have even noted the positive economic impact that low-budget tourism has on local communities.

Not surprising thus, official decisions to eliminate the party scene are originated in the state capital city of Panaji. Northern villagers worry with the consequences of such central decisions, lest that their main income source will vanish. In the past, governmental measures were calibrated and even relaxed according to villagers' complaints, pressure (and also bribery) throughout the season. Yet, perhaps as these communities find alternative economic sources, they would become less inclined to defend party tourism.

Stay tuned. Global Raver will be monitoring one more party season in Goa Dourada!

Silent Raves: iPod vs Walkman Revolution

2008-09-20T17:34:00.023-05:00

Imagine hundreds of people dancing in a public park but in silence; or more precisely by each one’s own iPod chosen track. In fact, this has been happening in cities like London, New York and Boston. Very simply, teens schedule a "silent rave" in social websites (Facebook, My Space), and the crowd then shows up at the designated place and time. Then, by the organizer's shout, everyone turns on their iPods simultaneously, dancing to the song of their choice. In relative silence (other than eventual shrieks from mouths and rubber-soled shoes), hundreds of bodies widely gesture at different rates, styles and rhythms. A silent rave lasts no longer than one hour. (Watch video at the end).

It is not simple to "sociologize" about this type of "dancing together but individually." Actually, the element of silence is not totally new in rave culture. In the early 1990s, silent raves were reported in northern California, but with a very significant difference. The dancing crowd had Walkmans which were set on the same radio frequency, with music being broadcast by a DJ with a pirate radio transmitter by the dancefloor. They danced in silence, but in synchrony - a very important difference in terms of ritual connection and experience.

Left-leaning NPR was ready to criticize the new iPod dance phenomenon as an example of autistic alienation, of a hyper-individualism that fragments society, and which teenagers sadly exemplify. Not too differently, from a radical countercultural viewpoint, these silent dance gatherings could be dismissed as pacified pseudo-raves, events that do not transgress the logic of state control of urban spaces and moving bodies. In fact, a passerby thought that the silent rave in London was a "city-sponsored program to combat stress"!

However, iPod raves could be rather seen as an emerging and sophisticated way to reclaim public spaces by indirectly circumventing laws on noise and public space. These are teen crowds celebrating togetherness through body expression, yet within the strange realm of "non-illegality". According to videos and anecdotal reports, these are daylight, apparently drug-free crowds. Nevertheless, if such events were to become popular, perhaps it would not take long for state authorities to take some repressive action. Does the state have the right to intervene in the private space of one's own subjective interiority?...

More deeply, I'd argue that the lack of a single rhythm unifying the crowd would prevent the liberating experience of self-transcendence which is very typical in religious gatherings - whether shamanic, evangelical or clubbing. As a collective catalyst, music binds all individuals together. It engenders an organic entity, triggering states of collective effervescence that overtake the individual, and may last for many hours. Perhaps, the fact that iPod raves last no more than one hour is indicative of such a lack.

Therefore, I am inclined to believe that the ancient Walkman syncronic silent rave (California 1990s) provides a much more socially connective experience than the emerging iPod variant (London 2000s). What is the point of choosing your own music to dance, if you can't share it with the person next to you, at any deeper level?... As such, it is ironical to observe that the iPod is an involution from the Walkman!

Well, we don't need to be deep all the time. All and all, iPod silent raves should be welcomed as a soft form of daylight socialization, why not?... At least, they will probably pave the way for real, all night long syncronized silent raves, yeah...

Video: London, Victoria Station, April 2007. Author: twittervlog

"Nazi Criminal Caught at Trance Party in Goa"

2008-09-02T01:56:00.019-05:00

The above headline was widely used by the Indian press last June. The story allegedly involves an 88 year old German man, internationally sought for war crimes, trying to sell a rare piano over the Internet, a lead which finally led to his arrest by authorities flown from Berlin, as he desperately tries to flee the scene on a taxi towards Karnataka.

This was a hoax spread by an Indian blogger who successfully exposed the lousy job being regularly done by several newspapers in India.

Yet, anyone who knows the trance scene in Goa would not be so surprised if the story were true. In this environment, there is a silence by which nobody openly talks about their past - no questions asked. It is not so much that Westerners may be involved with the drug scene, directly or not. The fact is that many have gone to India to forget about who they are in the West. Moreover, note what I wrote about the trance scene in northern Goa a few years back:

A mosaic of diverse peoples interacted closely in the region: villagers, trance freaks, backpackers, Israeli ex-soldiers, Japanese hippies, Osho sannyasins, Nepalese workers, Goan businessmen, beach vendors from Karnataka, Kashmiri traders, European charter tourists, drug dealers, junkies, sadhus etc. Though populated by petit criminals and many other marginal types, the socio-economic order in northern Goa was rather determined by shady deals (…). As freaks pointed out, even though the ‘scene’ is potentially dangerous (due to drugs, strangers, corruption and lawlessness), the situation in the region was exceptionally peaceful.

In this contact zone you can find some marvelous individuals, as well as some shady types – from various nationalities, ages, and walks of life - people who can really give you the creeps. As I mentioned above, it is not easy to find out about who these people actually are. As such, a Nazi criminal in the shadows of a trance party in Goa would not be, after all, too far off reality.

Not only hippies were fascinated with India. Former Nazis were interested in Hindu mythology, to the point of inverting the Hindu swastika, a symbol of peace and good luck that can be traced back to the Neolithic, misused to represent a horrible ideology of hatred and racism.

Joe Biden and the Decline of Rave Parties in America

2008-08-25T14:40:00.025-05:00

A few days after Senator Joe Biden was chosen as a vice-presidential candidate, my net crawlers unexpectedly dug some old debates about his role in the anti-rave legislation in the U.S.

As I crosschecked U.S. Congressional records, Joseph Biden indeed authored the RAVE act, a piece of legislation approved in 2003 that has allegedly contributed to the demise of rave parties in the U.S. (or, at least, the first generation of "underground" events).

As a legal acronym, RAVE stands for "Reducing Americans' Vulnerability to Ecstasy". It cracks down on rave promoters if drugs are found in their events, even if they have provided effective security, and even if they have no relation with individuals who consumed or traded drugs in their events. Moreover, based on former "crack house statutes", the law also criminalizes the venue owner (club, bar, warehouse etc.) just for renting their space. Again, landlords don't have to be related to - or not even aware of - those dealing or consuming drugs in their venue, in order to be heavily prosecuted.

Civil liberty groups have found some problems in the content and manner of the bill when it was introduced to Congress. Strangely, it entered legislative discussion as an amendment to a child abduction bill, a quite unrelated issue. As troubling, the bill was evaluated without any public hearing or vote in Congress.

After ten months, 30,000 protest faxes and the withdrawal of two senators' support, the RAVE act was finally passed, but after some revision. The original bill proposed that the sales of water, glowsticks and even telletubbie bags were to serve as criminal evidence. This disposition was soundly removed, as well as the word "rave". Though formally focusing on ecstasy, the act targets promoters and landlords for any type of drug or musical event (hip-hop, rock, etc).

Despite its repressive effects, I don't think that the RAVE act was the main cause for the decline of rave in America, as claimed by some insiders. Although being a tool for controlling any emergent rave scene locally, the law has been very inconsistently applied, according to state, city, authority, and scene status.

The terrorist attacks of September 11 (2001) likely had a much worse impact on the rave scene across the country. Before 9/11, the growth of rave culture in America was fueled by a blatantly pop Romantic ideology. Permeated with sheer optimism and the overtly celebration of innocence, mainstream-to-be "candy ravers" were seen hugging strangers, sucking on pacifiers, and declaring P.L.U.R. at each email (Peace, Love, Understanding, and Respect). But, with 9/11, the nation was immediately regimented for war - a decisive blow on the spirit of rave. Party kids were frightened and demoralized, to say the least.

The RAVE act is a missed opportunity. It could and should have been much better formulated. I support civil rights liberties, but also find it disturbing when masses of teenagers are buzzing high on drugs. Not only drugs become part of their lives, but are often abused at every weekend, just worsening psychological and social problems typical of this age. Yes, this is also true of alcohol, which surprisingly is quite tolerated by U.S. Law. Just attend any bar district of any big city, and you'll see ethylic overdoses at a staggering level.

There is no easy solution for the problem. The typical move has been to criminalize subcultures, with contradictory results, and the RAVE act is a recent example. Yet, from a variety of international cases, a more intelligent approach on drugs - one that recognizes the differences among drugs, uses, user profiles, and official intervention -, tends to produce much superior results.

Who is then to be monitored and educated? Kids, parents, MTV, or government itself?...

Letter to Journalists vacationing in Ibiza

2008-08-11T13:20:00.016-05:00

News about Ibiza's club scene are often written by outside journalists on vacation. Off work, their initial plan is just to relax. However, they soon realize that the island's party frenzy is easy material for a one-off piece, then sent to their employer in some big city.

These articles are typical. The style is upbeat yet rushed. They start with vague notes on mass tourism and mega-clubs, then zooming on anecdotes about party tourists, annoyed residents, and official authorities. To note, Pacha is the only club that these mainstream journalists seem to attend: "the best club on the island", so they believe.

I sometimes respond to these articles. Below is a letter I recently wrote to a Chicago Tribune journalist. Based in Italy, she was apparently vacationing on La Isla Blanca (- Italy literally shuts in August due to collective vacation...).

"Nice article, Christine,

I lived on the island for several years, and can say that your letter is very accurate in showing this specific side of Ibiza. Yet, you only describe one scene of the island: mainstream clubbing. You letter says nothing about "real" underground clubbing, or the hippie scene, the trance parties in the countryside, the expat scene, the eco-organic scene, etc...

That's understandable. Islanders tell outside journalists to go to Pacha, renowned for attracting celebrities and models. But, in fact, Pacha is not the favorite club among native and global clubbers, who prefer wilder venues at Space, Amnesia, or DC-10. These clubs can indeed be a tad overwhelming, if you are not used to that.

Thanks for the letter. I love the expressions you use. (They remind me of my conversations with expats).

In sum, Pacha is not the best club in Ibiza. And clubbing is not the only thing on the island for natives and expatriate residents - and, mind you, not even for tourists. As a matter of fact, according to different estimates, only 15% of tourists fall in the clubbing category...

If interested in more details, please check my book on Ibiza expats, global clubbing and tourism titled "Global Nomads" (Routledge 2007). I also have a blog about global dance music scenes: <http://globalraver.blogspot.com/>

Sincerely,"

Can you recognize the place on the photo?... Post your answer below!

Laser Blinds at a Trance Festival in Moscow

2008-08-04T05:08:00.008-05:00

Following a psytrance festival in Moscow last month, about 30 people sought treatment in the city hospitals with injuries to their eyes. The diagnosis was the same for all victims: retinal hemorrhage. Though most victims recovered their sight, some of them will suffer partial permanent loss.

According to a participant, "When I was hospitalized, the loss of eyesight was 70 percent. It is 30 percent after the hospital and the eyesight will never restore." Other victims have already actioned the police and consumer rights authorities to investigate the case.

The trance festival Aquamarine is promoted by the Cosmic Connection. According to crew member DJ Sashi: "the laser show was ordered from a firm that has all safety certificates, but the firm responsible for the laser delivered the program with the beams descending sometimes." In any case, the team has already decided never again to use lasers in their parties.

This is very unfortunate. I recall my own experiences. In Es Paradis, a top nightclub in Ibiza, I regularly witnessed stroboscopic lights being used forcefully for periods of over 30 seconds. I've seen similar situations at clubs in Rio de Janeiro. Clearly, some countries - such as USA and UK - have stricter regulation concerning lights, comparatively to other countries like Spain or Brazil.

Wherever and whoever you are - promoter or dancer - watch out for those powerful lights. Make sure that this is a pleasant, beautiful and safe experience, to be seen many times over again...

1.6 Million at Love Parade 2008

2008-07-22T23:12:00.032-05:00

The Love Parade attracted 1.6 million people this year. With the theme "Highway to Love", it featured 37 floats and 250 DJs from 15 countries. The massive crowd crammed along a 2km road in the city of Dortmund this last July 19.

The Love Parade is the largest outdoor electronica event in the world. From a single float with 150 people in Berlin 1989, it quickly became a mega spectacle amassing 1.5 million in 1999. It also inspired like-minded parades in Paris, Sidney, San Francisco and Rio.

However, the event has recently suffered some setbacks. It didn't happen in 2004 and 2005, due to financial problems. In 2006 it reappeared in Berlin with a 600,000 crowd. But city authorities denied permission for a future edition, as organizers failed to reach an agreement over sanitation and security issues. Are you planning on attending the Love Parade? You might want to get some cheap health insurance first. All those people mean good times but also a good headache perhaps.

The Love Parade was thus moved to the Ruhr metropolitan region, near the Dutch-French border. In 2007 it took place in the city of Essen, attracting 1.2 million people. Dortmund hosted the Love Parade this year. The next edition is scheduled to take place in Bochun town. With the new geographic location, the event may benefit from an extra influx of revelers for neighboring Netherlands, France and UK.

A change in the crowd demographics has been noticed over the years. Originally, the Love Parade congregated artistic, deviant and countercultural segments of metropolitan Berlin. Gradually, it started attracting more teen, working-class and small-town strata, which now make the mainstream of the Love Parade. (Watch the video).

In comparison with North America, Techno has achieved a truly popular status throughout Europe. Its popularity creates great opportunities for electronica artists and events. It also provides a source of entertainment, escape or enlightenment for millions of aficionados. By the same measure, mega events do require a good deal of coordination with urban authorities, to secure some safety and order.

Yet, it is odd to see official mayors formally and explicitly welcoming electronica events, in the hopes of boosting local tourism and bar sales. In the case of Dortmund's Love Parade, check the city-hosted website for the event, as well as the official Dortmund city website.

Is this one example of the cooptation of electronica? What do you think?

History of Hippies in Goa (India)

2008-07-22T11:31:00.025-05:00

I forwarded my previous post ("The First Hippie in Goa") to a listserv on Goa research. Some subscribers there asked for more details about the history of the hippie scene in Goa, and particularly Colva. This is a beach in southern Goa that no longer belongs to the techno trance scene.

Colva beach was indeed the first place chosen by a handful of hippies upon arrival in Goa by the mid-1960s. But "Eight Finger" Eddie soon moved to South Anjuna, as he heard about the beauty of that unknown place. In his mid-40s, Eddie already was a popular veteran. Consequently, many Western youngsters soon followed suit, also settling down in Anjuna beach, which is where the "Goa scene" actually started.

Local natives recall that hippies chose Anjuna because there was no police station in the area. The closest station was located miles away southwest, beyond Mapusa town. Therefore, hippies could enjoy the necessary peace to do drugs, without having to pay baksheesh (bribe) at every corner.

Moreover, one native family was pivotal in the early Anjuna scene. In a region where most of the population only spoke Konkani, Joe "Banana" Almeida spoke very good English - an important factor for global travelers. Joe and his family have just returned from Kenya. They had opened a simple restaurant which also provided a variety of ancillary services for hippie newcomers. It was logical that hippies would gather around his restaurant (currently run by his son Tony), still located in South Anjuna.

However, with the ongoing modernization of Anjuna since the 1990s, the emerging techno trance scene was gradually pushed north. It moved towards the villages of Chapora, Vagator and Arambol. Original Anjuna followed the steps of Baga-Calangute tourist strip, which caters to charter tourists from India, Russia, UK and Scandinavia. In the meantime, the Goa trance scene is still fleeing farther north and elsewhere...

In any case, it is important to ask: among various suitable places in India, why did hippies choose northern Goa? They could have well settled in Gokarna village located in the coast of Karnataka state (towards the south), or in Pondicherry, former French colony on the east coast of India. Two critical factors must be pointed out:

Mobility: well-established transportation lines connecting Goa to Pune and Bombay were very important for hippie travelers. They could thus easily travel to the Osho-Rajneesh ashram located in Pune (a pleasant hilltop town), or take advantage of Bombay as a hub towards Rajasthan, Nepal, or back to the West.

Portuguese-Christian legacy of Goa: in comparison with the rest of India, Goan people were more familiar with Western leisure practices (party, alcohol, smoking). They also grasped Western notions of individuality and privacy. It was thus ironical that hippies running away from Christian Europe/America would decide to settle down in the most Christian state of India!

For anyone devoted to finding causes and origins, I'd say that some of the initial decisions made by hippies and Goans back then were purely incidental, often based on individual whim and preference.

It is the ensuing snowballing effect that has an impact on the collective. The location and culture of a host society, combined with the needs of guest travelers, will define the rise of a subcultural scene at a given time. Feel free to post your comments.

The First Hippie in Goa (Pre-History of Trance)

2008-07-20T05:01:00.030-05:00

Goa is a main tourist destination in India. But it also is an important global center for the counterculture, now in the digital stage of techno "trance parties". There is much to say about contemporary Goa, counterculture and globalization. But how did the Goa scene actually start?

In the late 1960s, a handful of beatniks and hippies were traveling, overland, from Western Europe toward Southern Asia. They came on bikes, beetles and "magic buses". They entered India, and almost incidentally reached Goa, a former Portuguese enclave on the west coast of India.

By the Arabian Sea, they gathered on the secluded palm-lined beaches of Anjuna and Vagator. These were modest fishermen villages with no urban infrastructure, let alone tourist facilities. Precarious roads led to the place, linking the state capital Panaji, to Mapusa town, and then to Anjuna. As more Westerners spread out across the continent, the New Year's Eve in Goa began to work as the meeting-point for the countercultural diaspora.

The "first hippie" of that movement is now 84 years old. Eight Finger Eddie, an American expat of Armenian ancestry, still lives in Goa. His friends have set up a website for him. It compiles his autobiographical memories, in text and podcast format. I find the podcast "Anjuna 26 Feb 2007" to be particularly insightful. In typical Goa freak story-telling fashion, Eddie exposes his life trajectory in detail. Recorded at his house, it lasts two hours. As he speaks, you also listen to common background noises of northern Goa...

This is the pre-history of Goa trance counterculture. Forget about big DJ and hearsay stories. Listen carefully to Eddie's firsthand account. It will take you to a fantastic world of travel and self-exploration... (podcast).

Are 1960s hippies the same as 2000s trance freaks? Leave your comment below.

Famous Pac-Man Quote: Urban Legend?

2008-07-17T11:16:00.017-05:00

"If Pac-Man affected us as kids, we'd all be running around in darkened rooms, munching magic pills and listening to repetitive electronic music."

Interesting allegorical quote. It suggests a connection between the behaviors of a cartoon and a raver. It also shows an underlying connection between subcultures of ravers and gamers. Although largely unnoticed, both subcultures share a lot, either as ravers who are also computer geeks, or as young IT professionals who are also into electronic music. (To noe: Matrix's resistance celebrated incoming fights in a nightclub!).

This quote is often seen at the Internet. Allegedly, it was said by a Nintendo Vice-President in 1989. But a British comedian later claimed that he is the author of the quote. This is yet to be confirmed. I'll post any updates...

PS Update: I contacted Nintendo HR department, who was unable to answer whether someone named Kristian Wilson (the alleged VP) has worked there. Given the absence of any other Internet records about this fellow, it can be safely presumed that this story is probably untrue, or that its authorship is yet to be verified.

If you have any lead, please feel free to post it here. Thanks.

"Rumours of Rave's Demise"

2008-07-17T01:39:00.027-05:00

News of a 60,000-strong "rave" party in Los Angeles appeared at LA Metromix (July 15, 2008). The article opens with this paragraph:

"No one expected the onslaught of humanity that crammed in and around the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum last month for the Electric Daisy Carnival, the annual rave that has played all over the West Coast since 1997. An estimated 60,000 party people danced to such DJs as Moby, Paul van Dyk and Benny Benassi, and it seems any rumors of rave’s demise have been greatly exaggerated." The article then goes on and on, with typical catchword references to "underground", "rave culture", "positivity" and even "P.L.U.R." (article).

With all due respect, it is nice to witness successful mega events like this, but a highly structured concert, with expensive tickets, in a modern stadium, featuring famous pop artists, is anything but a rave.

To define "rave", just invert the above italicized elements. Unfortunately, even by loose countercultural criteria, most events called "rave" nowadays are transvestites of such original, wild, free parties. Watch out. Or next time, you may be raving with mom and dad.

The Global Raver Manifesto

2008-07-16T17:55:00.032-05:00

"If I can't dance, it is not my revolution."

This space starts as an experiment. For years I'd spam friends with striking news about rave, club, techno and trance music. (I'll call all this electronica, for the lack of a better term). These materials were unusual enough to make us think - at least from the peculiar viewpoint of global countercultures.

Like many in the scene, I always asked what is the meaning of electronica - if any. After attending the craziest event or downloading the latest tune, one may ask: beyond celebration and hedonism, what else is there to be mode deeply learned from electronic dance culture?

Yet, a lack of discussion about electronica is clear on the Internet. Club and rave websites feature nifty networking and visual devices (party announcements, music reviews, and beautiful photos). On the end of the spectrum, the mainstream press portrays electronica very superficially at best, and most commonly, with negative articles that feed on public fears.

We must go beyond endless celebration and ignorant bashing. In this space I explore rave/club cultures in their social, political, cultural and spiritual dimensions. I am not a DJ or promoter, but have experienced different dance scenes around the world (mostly, Ibiza, Goa, Chicago, Rio, Barcelona). As an additional twist, I am academically trained to investigate dance subcultures, put under the microscope of social sciences...

This space is to inform and entertain you, as well as to engage and provoke you. On my side, while fond of underground elitism, I am open to mainstream populism. Although progressive, I am also realistic in regards to the virtues and limits of electronica. I want license to discuss any topic that promotes creative thinking, insight, liberation...

You are welcome to share your ideas. Feel free to use the comment area, or email me. I hope you come back soon.